When fully healthy the OKC Thunder have one of the most well-rounded rosters in the entire league.
From their star players (both budding and super) in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams to their bevy of rock-solid two-way contributors, Oklahoma City's assortment of talent is rivaled by few other teams across the league.
That said, as a result of their wide-spread injury woes, it has become evident that this team could seriously use for another big man on their depth chart, as their unfortunate health has forced coach Mark Daigneault to frequently roll out severely small-ball lineups.
This past offseason, the Thunder had an opportunity to stockpile their pivot position even beyond the free agency signing of Isaiah Hartenstein, as many were hopeful that they would snatch up one of the several impressive center prospects with the 12 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Ultimately, Sam Presti and company opted to go the route of "best available player" during the festivities, as they snatched up Serbian-born guard and once-upon-a-time potential top-pick, Nikola Topic instead.
While the idea was that the reigning top-seeded Thunder are well positioned to wait out the rookie's redshirt season in 2024-25 while he rehabs a partially torn ACL, through this point in the year it's easy to say that selecting a big man talent would have been more beneficial to the team in the immediate future.
Unfortunately, the latest Rookie of the Year odds are a grueling reminder of this.
Kel'el Ware's recent play a reminder of what could have been for Thunder
Leading into draft night, one player many believed could be a logical target for Oklahoma City was Indiana product, Kel'el Ware.
With his size (7-feet, 230 pounds), defensive abilities (2024 Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection), and trusty shooting stroke (converted at a 42.5 percent clip from deep with the Hoosiers), his fit with the Thunder appeared to be seamless.
Of course, in the end, OKC decided to go with Topic, thus leaving Ware on the board for another three picks before being selected by the Miami Heat at 15.
Almost immediately, we at TI argued that such a decision could wind up being a major regret for the Thunder and now, seven months later, this appears to be more true than ever.
While his first few months down in South Beach may have started a bit slow, as he saw highly inconsistent playing time and numerous DNPs, of late he's managed to see a sizeable uptick in minutes. In turn, his production has absolutely skyrocketed.
Over his last nine games, Ware has seen his minutes increase quite considerably to 29.8 per night and has gone on to post impressive averages of 14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from deep along the way.
His play has been so electric, in fact, that his Rookie of the Year odds have soared from +20000 coming into the season to, now, a league-leading +140, per ESPN.
Now, granted, it's far too early to say whether the Thunder made a mistake passing on Kel'el Ware in June's draft -- after all, Topic has yet to even step foot on the hardwood as a member of the team.
Still, considering how badly this team could use another big-bodied baller, especially with Chet Holmgren still a ways away from returning from his hip fracture, the center's surge up the ROY leaderboard is a grim reminder of what OKC could have had.