The OKC Thunder just won their first NBA Championship of the Sooner State era, and, based on their decisions made during the first round of Wednesday's 2025 NBA Draft, they're clearly aiming for a repeat come next season as well as to hang many more banners up in the rafters out at Paycom Center throughout the years to come.
Heading into the festivities, reports were that GM Sam Presti was highly interested in moving into the lottery for a shot at snatching up one of this year's top-billed prospects. NBA insider Jake Fischer even went as far as to report that the franchise was looking to thrust itself into the top 10 in the pecking order.
In the end, the storied executive opted to keep up with his general philosophy of avoiding splashy blockbusters, as Oklahoma City remained stationary at 15 and selected Thomas Sorber out of Georgetown.
While perhaps not as exciting as the highly buzzed-about trade-up idea, without question, the addition of the promising young pivot is bound to benefit the Thunder tremendously, both next season and beyond.
Thunder bettering their odds of becoming a dynasty after NBA Draft
In just a matter of days, the defending champs found a way to get even better.
With the addition of Sorber, the Thunder are now backing the likes of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein with arguably the best rim-protector in all of college basketball last season, who finished his one-and-done season with the Hoyas averaging 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks.
Considering OKC was forced to use 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams as their primary pivot for a chunk of the 2024-25 campaign as a result of injuries, bringing on the 6-foot-10, 255-pound big man boasting a 7-foot-6 wingspan seemed like a no-brainer.
However, perhaps the most important aspect of their first-round decision-making is that, not only does Sorber possess the talent and tools necessary to crack coach Mark Daigneault's rotation as soon as his first year, but he'll also be able to do so for the next several, as the 19-year-old will be under contract for at least the next four seasons at low-cost, rookie-scale rates.
Considering the looming contract extensions for guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, along with the overall spike in the club's total payroll and the tax apron fears that are bound to come as a result, adding affordable contributors is a highly strategic way to keep Oklahoma City's supporting cast well-rounded and their cap situation managable.
On top of this, the Thunder ultimately decided to offload their 24 overall selection, thus keeping it to just one roster spot that the front office will need to open up this summer rather than two.
And while there may be some who believe keeping Nique Clifford would have also been a desirable decision (traded to Sacramento upon being selected at No. 24), even with the lone addition of Thomas Sorber (highest on-off defensive rating on the season in division one at 26.5), it's more than apparent that OKC is already setting themselves up to take home the Larry O'Brien next season.