The Oklahoma City Thunder are heading into a different kind of season in 2026-27, and the roster squeeze is already reshaping the conversation around what comes next.
With the extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren set to kick in, Oklahoma City had to part ways with Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe in separate trades. Those are all movable pieces in theory, but they were also familiar parts of the Thunder’s rotation, the kind of steady contributors that help a team keep its edge night after night.
That leaves the Thunder looking for answers in-house. Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell will have to help absorb what Dort brought.
Jared McCain, and maybe even Bennett Stirtz, will be asked to pick up some of the perimeter shooting that walked out the door with Joe and Wiggins. However it gets sorted out, the message is clear: Oklahoma City is going to need its depth to reload itself.
But the biggest pressure point sits with Holmgren.
The Thunder can survive a lot if Holmgren keeps growing, and right now that growth has to come on offense. He’s already established himself as a defensive force.
Holmgren finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Victor Wembanyama last season, and even though his raw blocks and steals dipped, his impact still showed up everywhere. He ranked sixth among all players and third among centers in estimated defensive plus-mins, according to Dunks & Threes.
Opponents shot 42.7% from the field with Holmgren as the primary defender, and Oklahoma City was 6.9 points better per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.
The problem is that the playoffs exposed the other side of the equation.
Holmgren had strong regular-season moments, including a 30-point game against the Los Angeles Clippers in the final matchup of the campaign. But when Jalen Williams was out and the Thunder needed Holmgren to function as a primary scoring option against the San Antonio Spurs, the offense stalled. Over seven games, he averaged just 10.7 points and shot 27.3% from three.
That’s the leap Oklahoma City needs now. Under the modern CBA, teams that pay more than one star have to make sacrifices elsewhere, and the Thunder are already living that reality.
Holmgren is no longer on his rookie deal, which means he’s part of the financial core now. With depth thinning out, the Thunder need him to do more than protect the rim and anchor the defense.
If Williams or another key starter misses time, Holmgren has to be able to handle the ball, get to his spots and finish inside with consistency. That’s the piece that can round out this roster and give Oklahoma City the kind of offensive balance it will need to keep rolling.
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Thunder Title Hopes Suddenly Feel Tied To One Summer Development
The Thunders championship conversation this summer has centered less on roster tinkering and more on growth from within, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams spending offseason time in the gym together under longtime trainer Nem Ilic. For Oklahoma City, that kind of work matters because the title case already starts with Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been operating at an MVP level and giving the Thunder the kind of nightly edge that keeps them in the contender tier.
Williams is the other piece that could swing the whole picture. After a season interrupted by injuries, his return to form would give Oklahoma City another creator and a lot more lineup flexibility, which is why the Thunder are watching this summer development so closely. If both players come back sharper, the teams optimism about a real championship push only gets louder, even if the final answer still has to wait until the games begin again. [Read more 🡒]
Thunders 2024 Draft Suddenly Looks Brilliant And Unsettling At Once
The Thunders 2024 draft class has become one of those rare cases that looks sharper with time, even if the path to that conclusion has been messy. Oklahoma City spent the No. 12 pick on Nikola Topic, and his early pro story has been defined more by health setbacks and limited playing time than by any clean first impression, which has made the pick feel more complicated than the usual draft-night celebration or disappointment.
At the same time, the Thunder have found real value elsewhere in the class, with Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain emerging as important offensive pieces. In a speculative redraft of the 2024 lottery, both have climbed into the top tier of the board, a reminder that Oklahoma Citys haul can be viewed as a major win overall even if the original headline pick still carries plenty of uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]