Clemente Almanza, OKC Thunder Wire
Fri, June 19, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC
Only a handful of days remain until the 2026 NBA draft. While the New York Knicks celebrate with the Larry O’Brien trophy, the rest of the league is ready to play catch-up as we’re in the infancy stages of the offseason. One of the first big events of the summer? The two-day draft. Teams will get a chance to inject some youth into their rosters.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are no different. Over this decade, they’ve got to enjoy the best of both worlds — competing for championships and studying up on lottery picks. They finished five wins shy of back-to-back titles and are about to see some roster shakeup.
The Thunder will enter the 2026 NBA draft with three picks — No. 12 via the LA Clippers; No. 17 via the Philadelphia 76ers; and No. 37 via the Dallas Mavericks.
To see what the Thunder could add, let’s look at the last five No. 12 selections:
2025: Noa Essengue, Bulls
Career stats: 0.0 points, 0.0 rebounds, 0.0 assists in 2 games
2024: Nikola Topic, Thunder
Career stats: 5.2 points on 43.1% shooting, 4.4 assists, 1.9 rebounds in 10 games
2023: Dereck Lively II, Mavericks
May 11, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) reacts after scoring during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game three of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Career stats: 8.4 points on 72.5% shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 blocks in 98 games
2022: Jalen Williams, Thunder
Career stats: 18.0 points on 50.9% shooting, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 steals in 248 games
2021: Joshua Primo, Spurs
Career stats: 5.7 points on 37.1% shooting, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 56 games
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: What can OKC Thunder expect at No. 12? Looking at 5 previous No. 12 picks