Through 13 games played, the OKC Thunder rank atop the league in the standings. At 12-1, they find themselves on pace to not only surpass their 68-win total from a season ago, but also to become just the third team in history to dip into the 70-win range, joining only the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (72) and 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (73) in doing so.
However, unlike both of these aforementioned ball clubs, Oklahoma City also shockingly could wind up winning the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and, in turn, a chance to draft BYU standout AJ Dybantsa along the way.
Thunder could realistically win 70 games as well as the top NBA Draft pick
Though it may sounds strange, this hypothetical scenario is objectively realistic.
As a result of the gift that keeps on giving trade that swapped Paul George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in 2019, the Thunder find themselves in possession of the unrestricted rights to the LA Clippers' first-round pick for this year's festivities.
Despite having serious title aspirations coming into the campaign, Los Angeles is currently amid a devastating 3-8 start, tied for the second-worst mark in the West. However, with their ongoing injury woes (most notably with Kawhi Leonard), they are currently on a six-game losing streak with no end seemingly in sight.
If the season were to end today, the Clippers' pick would fall to the seventh overall slot in what is slated to be a strong incoming class.
This, alone, should be an exciting prospect for the Thunder to hear, though, whether it be due to LA's ongoing slide continuing or some sort of trade-up scenario (OKC owns the protected rights to Utah's, Philadelphia's, and Houston's picks as well), they could not only finish with a top-three record ever recorded, but also land the number one selection in next summer's festivities.
Right now, Dybantsa seems to be atop nearly every draft guru's big board, as the wing is off to a sensational start to his freshman year with the Cougars while averaging 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 57.5 percent shooting from the floor.
That said, other options who revolve in and out of the conversation are guys like Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke big Cameron Boozer.
Regardless of who winds up leading the charge for this incoming rookie class toward the end of the year, whatever team ultimately wins the lottery will have no shortage of high-end talent to choose from.
Shockingly enough, the potential 70-plus win, repeat champions could feasibly be the ones holding onto such power come June.