Less than a week removed from their Game 7 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the thunder/25/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Oklahoma City Thunder have little time to dwell. The NBA’s year-round business has every team focusing on one thing or the other. Right now, it’s about the upcoming draft cycle.
For the Thunder, they continue to enjoy the best of both worlds — contending for a Larry O’Brien trophy and doing their homework for a lottery addition. They will enter the 2026 NBA draft with three draft picks — No. 12 via the LA Clippers; No. 17 via the Philadelphia 76ers; and No. 37 via the Dallas Mavericks.
One prospect the Thunder reportedly met with in a predraft visit is Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr., per Rookie Wire. To add validity to their report, he was recently spotted at OKC’s airport. No other real reason for him to be in town unless he was making the rounds.
Johnson Jr. played in two collegiate seasons from 2024-26. He spent his first year at Illinois before transferring to Michigan. He averaged 13.1 points on 62.3% shooting, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 40 games this past season. The Wolverines went on to win the 2026 national championship.
The 20-year-old is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward. He would definitely beef up OKC’s frontcourt. If the Thunder are serious about their interest, they’d likely need to take him with the No. 12 pick. Most NBA mock drafts have him going around the lottery range.
The 2026 NBA draft will take place from June 23-24. The Thunder will look to add more young talent to their roster to keep their contending window open as long as possible around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
A full list of the Thunder’s 2026 NBA draft workout tracker can be found here.
