Despite being the best team in the association, regularly rolling out two All-Stars, and rostering the league's likely MVP winner in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for the majority of the season, there was a real possibility that the OKC Thunder could find themselves with a top-flight pick in this June's NBA Draft.
Thanks to the strategic moves made by storied executive Sam Presti over the years, Oklahoma City is absolutely loaded with capital heading into 2025's festivities, as they could feasibly roll into draft night with multiple first-round picks in their possession.
Over the past several months, many believed one of these said picks could fall into the lottery, perhaps even as low as a top-10 selection, as they hold the rights to the struggling Philadelphia 76ers' top-six protected draft pick this year thanks to the Al Horford salary dump deal of 2020.
However, due to recent events, the odds of this happening have now officially dropped to all-time lows.
Dreams of Thunder getting Sixers pick may now be dashed
With their newly assembled star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey leading the charge in the City of Brotherly Love, many expected Philadelphia to be a serious title threat heading into 2024-25.
Sadly, through roughly six months of action, this has been far from the case for the Sixers.
As has been a regular theme throughout The Process era, injuries have played a significant role in their campaign.
Embiid played just 19 games before being ruled out for the season with an ongoing knee issue. Their splashy free-agency acquisition, George, played a mere 41 games in his debut campaign before being shelved for good in mid-March with a groin issue.
Though initially, these unfortunate happenings for the 76ers may have given the Thunder and their fanbase hope that their dreams of a draft day miracle would come true, the latest news coming out of Philadelphia may have officially put the kibosh on such a fantasy.
As reported by ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday afternoon, star guard Tyrese Maxey is expected to be ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with a finger tendon injury.
With such a news break, all three of the team's best players (by far) are now out of the lineup for good, which, considering they've already struggled mightily even with them semi-in the fold, suggests that losses are bound to pile up over these final games of the season.
This is likely not what OKC was hoping for.
Already, Philadelphia boasts the fifth-worst record in the NBA at 23-53. With this standing, coupled with the top-six protections attached to their 2025 pick, they now have a 63.9 percent chance of holding onto the rights themselves, likely leaving the Thunder high and dry.
Their final six games of the season will see five opponents heading toward postseason play (Play-In Tournament and Playoffs), which only strengthens their odds of holding onto their bottom-five status leading up to May's NBA Draft Lottery.
The decision to shelf Maxey will undoubtedly improve Philadelphia's chances of keeping their top-billed selection this season, meaning, if they retain it, the rights would then be transitioned to a top-four protected pick in 2026.