Just a few days removed from winning the franchise’s first-ever NBA Championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2025 NBA Draft with three selections. Two of those were first-round picks (No. 15 and No. 24) and one would be in the second (No. 44). Opening night of the NBA Draft featured the first 30 picks, with the first-round changing franchises around the league forever.

As such, Oklahoma City had two big decisions to make on Wednesday night.

As the lottery unfolded and unexpected selections were made, the Thunder had the first pick beyond that range. With the first non-lottery selection of the 2025 NBA Draft, Oklahoma City drafted Thomas Sorber at No. 15 overall. A one-and-done freshman center out of Georgetown, he’ll have the chance to develop into an eventual Isaiah Hartenstein replacement. As great as Hartenstein is, it’s unlikely that the Thunder will be able to afford him when he’s due for his next contract. Sorber will have a couple of seasons to grow into a borderline starting-caliber big who can play alongside or behind Chet Holmgren.

In his lone college season, Sorber was phenomenal and highly productive. The 6-foot-11 center with a 7-foot-6 wingspan averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a freshman starter. Just 19 years old, he’s now one of the most promising young players on Oklahoma City’s roster. He has work to do in terms of his perimeter shot and processing the game at an NBA pace, but he should find early minutes as a rookie based on his defensive upside and rebounding ability.

His season was cut short in February due to a foot injury that required surgery, but he is expected to be ready by training camp. This did hinder Sorber’s pre-draft process, which may be one of the reasons that OKC was able to land him at No. 15. His NBA Summer League status is still unclear, but he is getting close to a full recovery.

From there, the Thunder were back on the clock at No. 24 overall. Oklahoma City drafted Nique Clifford out of Colorado State, but traded his rights to the Sacramento Kings for a future first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.

As good as Clifford is — and would be a great fit in OKC, just like several other players on the board at No. 24 — the Thunder simply doesn’t have a roster spot for another guaranteed contract. The full 15-man roster is returning next season, and one of those spots will already need to be cleared in order to bring Sorber on.

That future first-round pick Oklahoma City got in return via the San Antonio Spurs, protected 1-16, via the Kings. That means if the Spurs’ pick ends up being 17-30 in that draft, it will convey to the Thunder. If not, then OKC will get a pair of second-round picks in the 2027 NBA Draft instead.

Given how good San Antonio should be by then, headlined by Victor Wembanyama, there’s a high chance that first-round pick will convey. And given pick No. 24 is roughly the midpoint of that conveyance range, there’s essentially a 50/50 chance that the 2027 selection ends up being higher or lower than 24th overall. This is essentially a move to delay the use of the first-round pick, and the value of the 2027 selection Oklahoma City received in return is very close in value. It was a fair trade for both the Thunder and Kings.

The second round of the 2025 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday night, as the NBA continues its two-night event style. The Thunder is the No. 44 overall pick, which is expected to be used to land a player in the second round who can be signed to a two-way contract or drafted and stashed internationally.