The Oklahoma City Thunder played an amazing season, going 44-28 and taking the Rockets to 7 games in the Western Conference first-round. Needless to say, without a star in his prime, nobody expected the Thunder to play so well.
Even still, they enter a season of uncertainty as the 2020 offseason closes in.
With Chris Paul on the trade block and their (former) coach Billy Donovan having just taken the Chicago job, nobody knows what this team will look like next season.
Fortunately, the Thunder can hang their hat on the future, regardless of how things turn out over these next few months, because from this year through 2026, OKC has a whopping 15 first-round draft picks.
Draft picks are the foundation of building a title contender. By drafting a young player who turns into a star, it can attract other players and set up the team to win for years to come.
With 15 picks (not counting the second round), The Thunder have put themselves in fantastic shape to build a strong roster.
Of course, the trick for Oklahoma City will be getting these players to stay. This is the same team that had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka until they lost them all. This time around, Sam Presti and the front-office really have to wrestle with which players end up being most valuable going forward.
It’ll be a long process, that might take years. But in the end, it should blossom into something truly extraordinary.
