Oklahoma City’s roster is built to keep moving forward, and next season could bring noticeable gains in a few key areas. The Thunder were already one of the league’s top teams, but the missing championship makes the next step pretty clear: there’s still work to do.
A few of those improvements may come from the same place - the frontcourt. Offensive rebounding stands out as one of the biggest spots for growth, and Isaiah Hartenstein has carried most of that load. With two new big men entering the mix, he may finally get some help.
Thomas Sorber and Aday Mara are both expected to make their debuts for OKC this season, and each should add size and rebounding to the rotation. Both were strong rebounders in college, and the Thunder will be hoping that carries over.
That same group could also change the picture around the rim on defense. Chet Holmgren is the only Thunder player who averages more than a single block right now, but Sorber and Mara have the tools to boost that number.
Mara averaged over two blocks per game in his last season at Michigan, while Sorber put up two blocks per game in his lone season at Georgetown. Put them alongside Holmgren and Hartenstein, and Oklahoma City suddenly has a much bigger presence in the paint.
There’s also a shift coming on offense. For the past couple of seasons, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done a heavy share of the shot creation and scoring.
That may not be enough going forward. In the postseason, he was guarded tightly and had to lean more on helping others create shots, and that could be the template again as teams start focusing on the two-time Most Valuable Player.
If that happens, Gilgeous-Alexander may need more of his scoring to come from teammates finding him rather than him generating everything himself. The Thunder’s next step may come from a simpler idea: playing more through each other rather than with each other.
In Other News...
Cason Wallace Suddenly Carries A Bigger Thunder Question Than Expected
Cason Wallace entered the summer with a familiar kind of Thunder pressure, the sort that comes with a young player suddenly looking like part of the next layer of the rotation. With Oklahoma City reshuffling its perimeter group, Wallace is in the mix to absorb a bigger role as the season nears, and he has handled the added attention the same way the team has handled most of its business: calmly, with the focus kept on what comes next rather than what has changed.
There is another layer to the conversation, though, and it is the kind that tends to follow promising players in Oklahoma City once they start looking indispensable. Wallace is eligible for an extension this summer, and the talks are ongoing even if both he and Mark Daigneault say it is not becoming a distraction. For now, the Thunder are trying to keep the conversation centered on development and performance, but the calendar gives the situation a little more urgency than the usual offseason backdrop. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Training Camp Just Put Real Pressure On One Roster Battle
With Media Day and training camp opening, the Thunder are moving into the kind of fall that tends to reveal more than it resolves. Oklahoma City is set to begin its 2026-27 preparations with a full camp roster, giving the staff a chance to look closely at the young players and invitees who will spend the next few weeks trying to carve out a place in the mix before the season opener against the Spurs.
There is still real business to sort through, even for a team that has spent recent seasons building with a clear plan. The final roster spot is one part of it, but the deeper question is how the Thunder fill the minutes and responsibilities left behind by offseason departures while also deciding which of the newer faces can actually stick once camp competition starts to harden. [Read more 🡒]
Otega Oweh Suddenly Faces A Real Thunder Problem This Preseason
Sam Presti spent part of the preseason talking about the NBAs new 3-2-1 draft lottery format and why it could make the league more competitive while cutting down on tanking, but the same broader shift could create a more ordinary problem for Oklahoma Citys own young players. The Thunder have long leaned on big rotations to help develop talent, and that approach has usually given prospects room to grow while the games still matter.
This preseason, though, tighter margins could make those minutes harder to find for second-round pick Otega Oweh. If the Thunder are playing more competitive games and shrinking the floor for developmental reps, his path could get complicated quickly, especially with the team weighing how best to handle his roster status and long-term growth. [Read more 🡒]