It wasn't all that long ago that the OKC Thunder were in a realistic position to win 70 games and land the top spot in the 2026 NBA Draft, as they hold the rights to the first-round pick of the Clippers, who, through the early stages of action, boasted one of the worst records in the game.
Fast forward to mid-January, however, and it appears that both aspirations are on the cusp of extinction.
Not only is Oklahoma City six losses away from dipping under the aforementioned win-total, but Los Angeles' recent play clearly threatens their shot at the first overall pick, and perhaps even one that simply falls into the lottery.
Clippers recent surge threatening lottery hopes for Thunder
After starting the season 6-21, the Clippers have gone 11-2 over their last 13 games, the best record in the association over this span.
This surge has skyrocketed LA up the Western Conference standings, as they've gone from a cellar-dwelling bottom-three rank to, now, being right on the cusp of a top-10 seed and claiming a Play-In Tournament berth.
Now, if the season were to end today, Oklahoma City would be owed somewhere within the nine to 12 range in regard to a spot on the draft board, which, obviously, falls into lottery status.
However, there are still roughly three months left to play in this year's campaign, and, with their recent trends coupled with the fact that there are ongoing reports of the Clippers wanting to add more talent ahead of the February 5 trade deadline to gear up for a playoff push, a lot could still very well change.
What once seemed like a sure-fire shot at adding a high-end talent in this upcoming draft now seems more like a gradually fading pipedream.
Now, of course, not all hope is lost on Oklahoma City inevitably landing a lottery pick in the 2026 draft. They are still in possession of the 14-26 Jazz's first-rounder, though, considering it's top-eight protected and that Utah is currently projected to nab either the sixth or seventh pick, said rights seem to have a real shot of falling short of conveying.
At this point, it seems that all the Thunder can do is either hope for the rest of the competition in the Western Conference to level up or that the trade rumblings surrounding Clippers star guard James Harden ultimately lead to some sort of in-season deal, which, in all likelihood, would spark a full-on teardown.