Oklahoma City Thunder 2025 NBA Mock Draft Roundup 2.0

The Thunder have built one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. There aren't many true positions of need on the roster. OKC can take the best player available. Clifford can shoot, rebound, and defend at a very high level. At 6-6, he was the shortest player in Division l basketball who averaged at least 9.5 rebounds per game.

Broome was one of the best players in college basketball this past season and his rebounding and rim protecting will translate to the next level. Broome could step in immediately and be a key rotation piece for Orlando.

Demin entered the season as the first five-star recruit to commit to BYU and responded by averaging 10.6 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He dazzled as a playmaker throughout the season, ranking third in the Big 12 in assists after setting the freshman program record with 180. After shooting just 27.3% from 3-point range, Demin showed improvement at the combine, connecting on 14-of-25 attempts in the 3-point star drill. His showing on Tuesday will certainly help his case among teams with concerns about his potential as a shooter.

González has been with Real Madrid over the past three seasons, splitting time between its second team and main roster. He has played sparingly this year on a veteran-laden roster, though he has shown potential when given the opportunity to log significant minutes. The Spaniard hasn't yet developed a consistent 3-point shot, converting 29.2% on 1.2 attempts per game, but is a good playmaker and can defend multiple positions. He'll likely spend time in the G League next season, and the Thunder have been one of the best teams in recent memory at developing players, making this a good fit. Many believe his range begins around this pick.

Over their recent history, the Thunder have valued players with terrific positional size as well as the ability to dribble, pass and shoot for their position. Wolf is exactly that, as he's a real creator at nearly 7-feet tall with the ability to play in ball screens as a ballhandler as well as pass and make plays as a big man. He averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, though he had a real turnover problem owing to a bit of a high handle and wild decision-making. Defensively, there are also some questions, although I think that his overall movement skill has been underrated throughout the process. For the Thunder, Isaiah Hartenstein's massive deal has a team option after next season, and they likely will struggle to afford him along with the extensions that will be owed to Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Jaylin Williams will also be owed an extension by next summer, too, meaning they could easily be in the market for another big.

The Thunder have a pretty significant roster crunch to the point that it will be difficult to bring two rookies onto the team next season. I would expect them to look to either stash or trade one of these players; otherwise, they will need to make significant movements near the end of their roster to dump a few of their recent draft picks. Given that I'm not projecting trades here, I've gone with Penda, who I'm not convinced would even agree to be a stash.

Penda ticks a lot of the developmental dribble, pass, shoot and defend boxes that the Thunder has tended to value at 6-8, 245 pounds. He's averaging nearly 10 points per game to go with five rebounds and three assists. I think his defense is slightly overrated by his counting stats, as he can gamble from time to time, but he's physical and projects to be switchable on that end long-term as long as his footspeed stays at a solid level as he ages. He also rotates around the court well and knows where he's supposed to be.

Pro Comparison: Keegan Murray

NBA teams have envisioned a clear picture of what Liam McNeeley offers and what he doesn't.

His spot-up shooting, off-screen scoring and transition finishing should translate first and get the most use. He should eventually provide some ball-screen handling with the ability to attack downhill and make passing reads.

The athletic and defensive limitations just make it difficult to envision star-caliber upside, and he'll need to grow his pull-up game to pose more of a threat offensively. A 43.9 two-point percentage is relatively concerning if we're talking about a lottery pick.

Pro Comparison: Cody Martin

Nique Clifford's 21 points, seven boards and six assists weren't enough to hold off Maryland, but his overall production and development from a year ago definitely won more NBA scouts.

He had come off as a prospect to watch this season based on his ability to play a Swiss Army knife role by finishing plays, passing, defending different spots and making enough open threes. But he quickly turned into a top-option skill player who can get his own shot or serve as the offense's playmaker.

Scouting report: Traore started this year projected firmly in the top 10 but tumbled down the board amid an inefficient season struggling with turnovers, inconsistent defense and streaky shooting and finishing prowess. He has been on a major upswing lately, putting together some of his best performances as the season comes to a close, reminding teams of why he was so highly regarded with the way he gets to spots on the floor creating shots in volume for himself and teammates.

The 18-year-old has plenty to offer from a talent standpoint, showing flashes of brilliance with his ballhandling, passing and all-around creativity. His scoring ability and shotmaking prowess have been on display more vividly as of late with quite a few NBA teams in attendance. -- Givony

NBA intel and fit: With three first-round picks, but 14 players expected to be under contract next season, it's unclear how much room there is on Oklahoma City's roster to add more rookies. Packaging picks to move up in the draft, trading some nonrotation players to other destinations or kicking the can down the road by swapping this year's picks for future first-rounders could be options the front office considers.

The Thunder would have little use for a player such as Traore, but they have very few needs that this draft would help resolve anyway. The team will likely go for a best-talent-available approach if it ends up using all its picks. -- Givony

Scouting report: Gonzalez, 19, has had a difficult time gaining traction this season amid inconsistent playing time with Real Madrid, hitting 29% of his 3-pointers. When given the opportunity, Gonzalez has shown what makes him interesting with his defensive intensity, feel for the game and explosiveness.

He can guard multiple positions, and has shown glimpses of the passing prowess and winning qualities that made him a highly regarded prospect at a young age. -- Givony

NBA intel and fit: It's difficult to envision Oklahoma City using all three of its first-rounders with its current roster situation. Nevertheless, the Thunder have several months to determine a plan, and there will be no shortage of suitors if they decide to trade some of their picks. -- Givony

Richardson finished second in freshman BPM behind Flagg despite not earning a starting role at Michigan State until Feb. The guard left a massive imprint on winning with his knockdown shooting anchoring his efficient halfcourt scoring. Only Knueppel finished with a better true shooting percentage than Richardson's 62.4 percent mark among perimeter players in this draft class. NBA evaluators will be concerned about his size (he's listed at 6'3 and that seems generous) and his lack of a heavy on-ball reps after a below-average 19.4 percentage usage rate. Still, Richardson is talented finisher despite his stature and just knows how to find soft spots in the opposing defense to get off his jumper. Small guards always have a tough road ahead in this era of this league, but Richardson is good enough to make it work.

McNeeley was identified as a potential lottery pick during his high school career at Montverde where he played alongside fellow first-round picks Flagg, Queen, and Newell (as well as BYU point guard Robert Wright II). He was supposed to be one of the best shooters and smartest offensive processors in this class, but that didn't really come to fruition during his freshman season at UConn. McNeeley only hit 31.7 percent of his threes, and generally struggled with physicality at both ends of the floor. An ankle injury slowed him down a bit and took away his chance to build momentum this season. The movement shooting and close-out attacking that looked so promising on his high school tape should still be in there, but his limited athleticism will be tough to overcome.

The whispering about Coward around the league hasn't quite turned into a shout, but it's definitely as loud as an "inside voice" at this point. That's probably because a ballhandling leap is more or less the only thing keeping Coward from being widely perceived as a lottery type of talent in this class. Coward's a young senior at only 21 years old, and his touch from beyond the arc and in the paint has really begun to synchronize with his broad shoulders, condor wingspan, facehugger hands, and increasingly sharp footwork in a way that has allowed him to imprison defenders. Tightening a wobbly handle would help, too—but history shows that handling development is as steep an uphill climb as shooting.

Coward committed to play next year at Duke, marking his fourth stop in a winding college career, but I wonder whether that was merely a PR move to keep the buzz about his draft stock building. Any team that takes Coward will need to give him time to develop his handle, and OKC, with its track record of taking on longer-term projects in the draft, could be the right organization to try to tap into his immense upside.

Penda doesn't have the kind of thrilling game that'll make for an exciting draft night sizzle reel. But you'll understand this pick when the ball goes up. Penda is a clever defender on and off the ball, he's a little-thing king on offense, and to top it off, he's got excellent perimeter size. It's not as if the Thunder need someone else who fits this bill, but you can never have enough players who cleanly fit your approach.

OKC will have plenty of options here at No. 15 to add to its No. 1-seeded Western Conference team — and here I have them selecting Danny Wolf. He has a funky but functional game as a dynamic passer, playmaker and occasional point guard. His IQ and feel would fit a team like the Thunder.

OKC has enough on its roster and in its treasure trove of assets to be afforded big swings in this draft. Powell is indeed a big swing. He was just-OK as a freshman at UNC but has length, shooting and defensive tools to be a special role player.

The Thunder have a habit of selecting raw forwards, whether it's Ousmane Dieng or Aleksej Pokuševski. Bryant would be a similar type of risk. Beyond his cutting, he needs to improve as a shooter to earn minutes in high-leverage games. And that's exactly what he did to close his freshman year at Arizona, making 45.5% of his 3s in the conference tournament and NCAA tournament. Beyond scoring, Bryant is a rangy, athletic forward who projects as a highly versatile defender.

Lendeborg fills the stat sheet in every category, showing off athletic shot creation, dominant rebounding and versatile defense. There really isn't anything he can't do, it's just a matter of whether what he does in a weaker conference can translate to the pros. Some NBA teams hope he returns to school, since he'd face a much higher level of competition as a Michigan transfer. But what if he gets promised by a team such as OKC, where he'd be in a great player developmental program? It'd be a tough choice for Lendeborg, and certainly the Thunder would be wise to take a big swing with one or two of their firsts.

Yang is a massive Chinese 7-footer who scores with old-school craft, passes well and cleans the glass. But how much his slow feet and lack of shooting range can be improved will determine whether he can stick in the pros. For Oklahoma City, a team that doesn't need anything specific, it would make sense to have him in the developmental pipeline.