The Thunder are already looking ahead to 2027, and they’re doing it overseas.
Oklahoma City was among several NBA teams that sent representatives to Australia for the 2026 NBL Blitz to get an early look at Dash Daniels, a 2027 draft prospect, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. Uluc reported that the Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets were in Bendigo for the event, with the Miami Heat set to arrive later in the week.
Daniels, who plays for the Southeast Melbourne Phoenix, opened the NBL Blitz with a 2-0 record. The Phoenix beat the Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets, and Daniels put together a strong showing against Brisbane with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
A younger brother of Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Dash Daniels has built part of his appeal around his defense. He’s viewed as a solid perimeter stopper with enough tools to carve out an NBA role on that end of the floor.
Offensively, there’s still work to do. In 2025-26 with Melbourne, Daniels averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 42% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range on 1.5 attempts per game.
At 18 years old, Daniels still needs to take another step on offense to strengthen his case for the 2027 NBA Draft. That said, with the class considered weaker than recent ones, even a modest jump could push his stock in the right direction.
The fit with Oklahoma City is easy to see. At 6-foot-5, Daniels checks boxes the Thunder have tended to value, and he could line up as another perimeter defender in the mold of a player like Lu Dort, if his game keeps growing. For a team that has built so much of its rise through the draft, that’s the kind of profile worth tracking early.
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