Like going down the work elevator in “Severance,” the Oklahoma City Thunder are back to it. They’ve shifted their focus back to work mode with the 2025 NBA draft a day after they celebrated their 2025 NBA championship on Tuesday.
The schedule-makers continue to put the Thunder in a tough spot. They did it one last time in the 2024-25 NBA calendar with the NBA draft taking place just a couple of days after their Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals.
The Thunder have three draft picks ahead of the 2025 NBA draft. They own the No. 15 pick (via Heat), No. 24 pick (via Clippers) and No. 44 pick (via Hawks). Not a bad haul. Especially since the average champion only has the No. 30 pick.
Nonetheless, while most fans didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to focus on the predraft process, here are five reasons why they should still tune in to the two-day event. The Thunder have climbed the mountaintop after coming up short for nearly two decades. But that doesn’t mean they can rest on their laurels.
One of the best days of the NBA year
The NBA draft is one of the best days of the year. Even with Adam Silver weirdly breaking it up to two days, the extravaganza is the unofficial start to the following season. All 30 teams enter with the hope of a brighter future. Adding new talent is always a novelty that fans enjoy. It feeds their interest through most of the offseason with summer league overreactions.
It’s also one of the busiest transaction days of the NBA year. Teams move up and down the board. Veteran players on rebuild teams are dealt to contenders for draft picks. A chunk of prospects are forced to wear the wrong team hat because of league rules.
Even though it’s quite a whiplash, Thunder fans should enjoy this year’s NBA draft. Cooper Flagg is set to join the Dallas Mavericks. That could reignite a classic rivalry that was prematurely ended when Luka Doncic was traded.
