The Oklahoma City Thunder can't help themselves: every year, whether it's the offseason or the NBA Trade Deadline, the Thunder find themselves wading into the trade market and coming away with more draft capital than they had before. At some point they will likely start cashing those chips in, but for now they continue to amass a deep warchest of assets.
The Thunder have gathered those picks in a variety of ways. They have taken on bad money, they have flipped decent veterans, they have traded back in the draft. At this year's trade deadline they did something new, handing out a first-round pick in exchange for an unprotected pick swap in the future. It's the kind of high-reward deal Presti loves to make, and it has only added to the upside of the Thunder's draft collection.
With the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline in the rearview mirror, what is the current makeup of the Thunder's draft picks? Let's look at all three categories of picks and detail each one, starting with the tall stack of first-round picks awaiting this team.
Thunder future first-round draft picks
- 2024 first-round pick (Houston, protected 1-4)*
- 2024 first-round pick (Utah, protected 1-10)*
- 2025 first-round pick (OKC)
- 2025 first-round pick (Miami, protected 1-4)
- 2025 first-round pick (Philadelphia, protected 1-6)
- 2026 first-round pick (OKC)#
- 2026 first-round pick (LA Clippers or Houston)#
- 2027 first-round pick (OKC)
- 2027 first-round pick (Denver, protected 1-5)
- 2028 first-round pick (OKC)
- 2029 first-round pick (OKC)
- 2029 first-round pick (Denver, protected 1-5)
- 2030 first-round pick (OKC)
* Thunder will send least favorable of Houston/Utah/LA Clippers/Oklahoma City first-round picks to the Indiana Pacers, and the second-least favorable to Dallas. They retain the two most favorable, almost certainly Utah and Houston.
#Thunder will keep the two most/more favorable of their 2026 first, Houston's 2026 first (protected 1-4) and LA Clippers' 2026 first; the least favorable will go to Philadelphia.
Thunder future first-round pick swaps
- 2025 swap with either Houston (1-10 protected) or LA Clippers
- 2027 swap with LA Clippers
- 2028 swap with Dallas
Thunder future second-round draft picks
- 2025 second-round pick (more favorable of Boston or Memphis)
- 2025 second-round pick (Atlanta, protected 41-59)
- 2026 second-round pick (most favorable of OKC, DAL, PHI)
- 2026 second-round pick (Golden State)
- 2027 second-round pick (OKC)
- 2027 second-round picks (2 most favorable of Houston, Indiana or Miami)
- 2027 second-round pick (Minnesota)
- 2028 second-round pick (OKC)
- 2028 second-round pick (Milwaukee)
- 2028 second-round pick (Utah)
- 2029 second-round pick (OKC)
- 2029 second-round pick (Atlanta)
- 2029 second-round pick (Boston)
- 2029 second-round pick (Houston)
- 2029 second-round pick (Miami)
- 2029 second-round pick (Phoenix)
- 2030 second-round pick (OKC)
- 2030 second-round pick (Houston)
- 2030 second-round pick (Miami)
Thunder outgoing picks
- 2024 first-round pick (Dallas or Indiana)
- 2024 second-round pick (Memphis)
- 2025 second-round pick (Memphis or Houston)
Oklahoma City Thunder updated draft picks
The Thunder are sitting on an insanely large collection of draft picks. Of particular note are pick swaps with the LA Clippers in 2027, when Kawhi Leonard will be both 35 years old and could be without Paul George and James Harden; and with Dallas in 2028, when Luka Doncic could be gone. The Thunder project to be near the top of the standings in both years.
How Sam Presti chooses to manage these picks moving forward will be fascinating to watch. Will teams force him to overpay because he has so many picks available? Will he continue to hoard them and build out depth through the draft, or push them in for a larger swing? Time will tell, but with the Thunder as good as they are right now, the future has arrived and this summer could be the start of a new philosophy