Last month, I wrote that, in order for the Thunder to reach true dynasty status, they need to "be the Warriors" in multiple regards. Good advice, I know, someone hire me as a GM. Well, it looks like the Thunder are well on their way to doing that after they ranked No. 1 in this year's ESPN NBA Future Power Rankings — and have "the highest FPR for any team since the Kevin Durant-era Golden State Warriors."
Thunder fans will never tire of reading lines like that, and it's yet another step from the Thunder toward replacing the Warriors as the most recent dynasty in the NBA. Being a team that does anything for the first time "since the Kevin Durant-era Golden State Warriors" is an impressive feat, no matter the statistic. Unless it's, like, "you made people more angry than any team since the Kevin Durant-era Golden State Warriors." Still impressive, but not as positive.
I would go even further and argue that one aspect in particular of this Thunder rebuild will allow it to accelerate even faster than the Warriors dynasty did; picks!
The Warriors big three was built through the draft. Steph Curry in 2009, Klay in 2011, Draymond Green in 2014. Three monster, league-changing hits in six years. Harrison Barnes in 2012 was not quite that, but was still a fantastic pick.
Then, after that, up until even today... the Warriors weren't great at adding talent through the draft. Jordan Poole in 2019 was good for a bit, but that was the exception, definitely not the rule. James Wiseman in 2020 and Jonathan Kuminga in 2021 were both swings and misses, as were Jacob Evans in 2018 and Patrick Baldwin in 2022. Funny enough, even though the Warriors' dynasty started through the draft, that trend didn't continue throughout the actual dominant years.
That could be different for the Thunder, who appear to be entering their dominant years... and are set up to just keep drafting with pretty much no pressure at all, plus the ability to take as many home run swings as Sam Presti desires with those picks. When they don't need to hit, might as well try to find another star, right?
Thunder roster, picks, and management land them at no. 1
It's no surprise the Thunder landed at No. 1 on this list after an NBA title last season and still a cache of future first-round picks, sitting their for the hoarder Sam Presti to either use (unlikely) and hope for another draft hit, or trade (far more likely) for a player or more future picks because I think he gets a thrill by adding more picks.
These three parts of the Thunder are more aligned than any other team in the league. The roster being nearly flawless makes the management easier, which makes drafting easier because it never feels imperative to get it right. Ousmane Dieng? Poku? Worth the shots!
The Thunder topped the Future Power Rankings list despite being No. 28 in money — which is something that doesn't really matter (at least right now). Of course the team has a lot of money tied up for years to come; championship teams don't come cheap. They were also ranked No. 29 for "market," which feels a little disrespectful to the people of Oklahoma, but they can't be brought down right now, they're still riding the high of... well, all of this.