Way back in December, ESPN's Tim MacMahon revealed that the league was in an all-out "panic" about the idea of the OKC Thunder potentially landing a top-billed prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft as a result of their ownership of the LA Clippers' unprotected first-round pick.
Considering they just took home the Larry O'Brien Trophy the season prior and are spearheaded by a star-studded, youthful trio of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and, of course, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it's easy to see why such a hypothetical would instill fear in the hearts of rival ball clubs.
Fast forward four months, and it seems these concerns are still very much alive, as the Thunder now hold a 7.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick in June's festivities after Los Angeles was eliminated from postseason contention following their 126-121 loss to the Warriors on Tuesday.
Based on their standing among lottery-bound franchises, their pick also holds a 1.5 percent shot of falling to the number one spot on the draft board. Though certainly a long shot, let's not forget that the Mavericks won the lottery with similar odds just a season ago.
Being Oklahoma City is seemingly on the brink of becoming the game's next great dynasty as is, simply seeing these odds anywhere above 0.00 percent is likely enough to send shivers down the spines of the 29 other teams strewn across the association.
Thunder will have plenty of quality talents to choose from in lottery
It goes without saying that the Thunder would obviously prefer to have the Clippers' pick beat the odds and land somewhere in the top-four come draft night.
From BYU's AJ Dybantsa slotting in out on the wing to Duke's Cameron Boozer taking over as the future of the power forward position and sliding Holmgren down to the five, the idea of seeing any of this year's top-shelf prospects coming aboard this already stacked rotation is next-level excitement for OKC fans to think about.
However, even if they don't end up with such a high-end selection, Sam Presti and company are still bound to come away from the draft with a standout young talent.
Viewed as an "absurdly deep class" by experts, even outside of the top-five, it's believed that there are still quite a number of star-caliber prospects expected to be available well into the mid-lottery.
Be it Louisville's lightning rod scoring threat Mikel Brown Jr., or Michigan's Swiss Army Knife big man Yaxel Lendeborg, there is a slew of quality players in this year's class who sport incredibly high upside and are widely believed to be destined for a double-digit pick-up.
With this in mind, regardless of where the Clippers' pick falls, the Thunder have a great chance of scooping up an impressive young baller with their recently solidified lottery pick.
The rest of the league has every right to be panicking.
Add us as a preferred source on Google