The Oklahoma City Thunder walked into the NBA Draft with picks No. 12 and No. 17, with the options to do almost anything. From trading up, to trading back or completely out of a selection. The OKC Thunder ended up staying pat at No. 12 to select Michigan big man Aday Mara. That left everyone wondering what Oklahoma City would do with its second pick.
As the Memphis Grizzlies went onto the board at No. 16, the Oklahoma City Thunder elected to trade up one spot to ensure they could select Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz. The Thunder traded a pair of second round picks to nab Stirtz as the Grizzlies eventually collected three more to trade down against from No. 17 to No. 21 with the Detroit Pistons.
The Oklahoma City Thunder only moved up one spot, which on the surface doesn’t make a ton of sense to msot. however, you must remember that teams behind the Thunder at No. 17 could have been attempting to leap up in the draft order to nab Stirtz out from under Oklahoma City.
Stirtz adds a lot to Oklahoma City and marks a two prospect haul that gives the Bricktown Baller more cost controlled talent into the fold as this roster continues to get more expensive.
The iowa guard averaged 19.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.6 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game while shooting 47% from the floor, 35% from 3-point land and 84% at the charity stripe in 37 games while averaging a jaw-dropping 37.2 minutes per night.
Stirtz offers the Oklahoma City the ability to be more offensive slanted next season with his playmaking chops. Not only does he make his teammates better as a facilitator but really operates the pick-and-roll at a high clip on top of his 3-point upside. The Thunder can use him to thrive off the ball with the scoring gravity offered to him via Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell while also adding insurance to that trio with another ball handling playmaker in hand now.
The Oklahoma City have a crowded guard room, needing minutes for Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Mitchell, Jared McCain, Cason Wallace, Nikola Topic an Stirtz. Perhaps this trade opens up flexibility moving forward for a different offseason move but for now he adds to a log-jam and makes for a creative roster construction in Bricktown.
Stirtz and Mara likely end the Oklahoma City Thunder first round haul in the 2026 NBA Draft with two selections inside the top 20.
