Just like that, the basketball world has shifted its focus to the offseason. The New York Knicks will have their moment in the sun as NBA champions, but the rest of the league is ready to play catch-up this summer. The first step to doing that is the 2026 NBA draft.
The two-day event is a little over a week away. It’s the one time franchises everywhere can inject their roster with some youth. That includes the Oklahoma City Thunder. They finished five wins shy of another Larry O’Brien trophy and will return to square one.
Heading into this year’s draft cycle, the Thunder have three draft picks. Let’s take a look at some of the best options at the No. 12 pick:
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
The most popular guy among them. Thunder fans have fawned over Lendeborg for a while now. And the feeling feels mutual, considering he’s publicly vouched for OKC to take him. He had a unique journey to get to this point. The 23-year-old started at the JUCO level before transferring to UAB. Finally, a breakout year in Michigan put him on the map. He averaged 15.1 points on 51.5% shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He eventually helped the Wolverines capture the 2025 national championship.
Lendeborg is a little polarizing. No doubt he’s been awesome this past calendar year, but what about before that? Why did it take him this long to make a name for himself? Those questions will anchor him throughout the draft process. Ultimately, you have to bet on his development curve despite being older than your average draft prospect. He has a good size for his position at 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds. He also became a decent-volume outside shooter at Michigan.
Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan
My personal favorite of the three highly-touted Michigan prospects. Johnson is a straight-up tank. He helped the Wolverines bring home a national championship as one of their best players. He averaged 13.1 points on 62.3% shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He only played in two collegiate seasons, with his first year at Illinois. A little undersized, he makes up for it with his sheer size. He was one of their top defensive players and an anchor. He averaged 1.1 blocks.
Think it’s very easy to see Johnson Jr. on the Thunder. The 20-year-old also has plenty of runway to grow as a player. The offense right now is pretty elementary stuff as a rim-runner and play-finisher. But who cares? OKC has plenty of playmakers who can feed him on the roll. I really like what he brings to the table in the immediate future and what he could grow into in the long run.
Aday Mara, Michigan
Another beneficiary of college sports’ transfer system. Mara was a benchwarmer at UCLA for two seasons before moving to Michigan. That’s where he broke out as the best player on a national championship team. He averaged 12.1 points on 66.8% shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He also put up 2.6 blocks. Of the three Wolverines, he’s likely to be taken first of the bunch and well before the Thunder are on the clock at No. 12.
But if OKC is interested enough, it could package picks to move up. It’d be hard to get too mad at them, either. Mara is the perfect blend of size and skill. He can playmake as a secondary ball-handler. And at 7-foot-3, 255 pounds, he’s NBA-ready right now. With the West jampacked with beefy frontcourts, the Thunder might need to invest more in that area of their roster. The 21-year-old would be a pitch-perfect addition. Just depends on their appetite at moving up.
Brayden Burries, Arizona
One year at a high-winning program, Burries had your prototypical one-and-done season. He led Arizona to the Final Four as its top scorer. He averaged 16.1 points on 49.1% shooting, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. If you’re looking for an extra scoring punch, he’s your guy. The 20-year-old showed he can excel at getting to the rim, shooting from the outside and drawing contact. For reference, he shot 39.1% from 3 on 4.6 attempts and was an 80.5% free-throw shooter. Those marks indicate that scoring the ball is his speciality.
Elsewhere, Burries can keep up on defense. At least when it comes to disrupting passing lanes. He averaged 1.5 steals. You can never have enough ball-handlers on your roster. And as the NBA playoffs progressed, the Thunder desperately needed another one once the injuries piled up. Let’s see if he falls to the No. 12 spot, but the scoring and shooting are tantalizing enough to bet on his upside.
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Forged at a defense-first program, Flemings has the makeup of being a high-quality two-end player. He was the best player on a Houston team that went to the Sweet 16. As a one-and-done prospect, he averaged 16.1 points on 47.6% shooting, 5.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds. He also averaged 1.5 steals. Alas, most mocks have him well gone by the time the No. 12 pick is on the clock. We already know what he brings on defense. And the offense showed enough at the college level to sell yourself on his growth. Especially considering he’s just 19 years old.
To show you how differently he’s wired, Flemings recently admitted he watches a lot of tape on Cason Wallace. Yep. You heard that right. That’s when you know you’re going to get a perimeter defensive hound. He’d fit the Thunder to a tee. Especially if they end up losing Lu Dort due to roster and financial constraints. OKC has relied on a three-headed POA defensive monster to be a title contender. He’d seamlessly slide into Dort’s spot. And with the excitement of how much more room he can grow as an offensive player. His shooting splits, albeit on a small sample, show there’s something there.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2026 NBA draft big board: Who makes sense for OKC Thunder at No. 12?
