For The Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky decided to rank all 30 NBA teams in terms of how many draft picks they own for the remainder of the 2020s.
As Kalbrosky mentioned in the article, draft picks are the easiest way for teams to acquire a star player that’ll stay in the long-term due to their rookie contract and first extension.
That is especially the case for small-market teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who will never be big-time free agency players due to their location. It seems like the Thunder front office are believers of this theory as they own the most first-round draft picks out of any team for the remainder of this decade.
Thanks in large part due to the Paul George and Russell Westbrook trades from 2019, the Thunder has been able to stock up and collect the most future draft picks in the league with 15 first-round picks.
- 2023: Own (can swap w/ LAC)
- 2024: Own
- 2024: via HOU (protected 1-4)
- 2024: via UTA (protected 1-10)
- 2024: via LAC
- 2025: Own (can swap w/ HOU if 11-30 or LAC)
- 2025: via MIA (protected 1-14)
- 2025: via PHI (protected 1-6)
- 2026: via HOU (protected 1-4)
- 2026: Own
- 2026: via LAC
- 2027: via DEN 1-5
- 2027: Own
- 2028: Own
- 2029: Own
Potential pick swaps: 2
The Thunder already have a nice core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort. Having 15 future first-round draft picks down the pipeline only increases the ceiling of the franchise in a multitude of ways — whether it’s them drafting their next franchise player or acquiring one via trade.
To see where the other 29 NBA teams stack up, click here for the full list.
