Issue #14 - Draft Day 2026
it's gonna be a good one
It’s that special time of the year again, and I once again have completely procrastinated until the very last minute in writing my annual draft day newsletter. Fortunately, I’ve been more engaged with the draft prospects this year than last, so I think I have a pretty good feel for who the Thunder will have their sights on.
This year, the Thunder have picks #12 and #17 in the first round and #37 in the second round. As per usual, I’ll just focus on the first round picks as I am lazy and not a serious scout!
A couple call outs just so we are all on the same page:
My mock draft at the end will assume there are no trades1
As a result, I am assuming the Thunder will use both of their picks in the first round. And I’ll put it on the record that I believe it is the smart and prudent thing that they use both of those picks.
The player comparisons I give are mostly in terms of playstyle. I’m not suggesting each player becomes an all-star!
Lastly, each tier is roughly in order of how I grade the players, but I think players in a tier are close enough that you could convince me any way within a tier.
With that said, let’s get into it!
Big Board
Tier 0 - Impossible to get
These are players that the Thunder will absolutely not have a shot at getting. They are franchise changing prospects who would go #1 in nearly every draft of the last however many years.
Cam Boozer - Comp: Kevin Love-ish
AJ Dybantsa - Comp: Tracy McGrady
Darryn Peterson - Comp: Devin Booker, maybe Kobe Bryant lite?
Tier 1 - Why not?
This is a one man tier for the clear #4 player in the draft. Potentially also a #1 pick in a decent number of past drafts.
Caleb Wilson - Comp: A funky combo of Evan Mobley and Paolo Banchero?
Tier 2 - Here come the guards
I feel stupid for making these absurd player comparisons - but hopefully it gives you some insight into the quality of these prospects
Keaton Wagler - Comp: Austin Reaves, shades of Tyrese Haliburton
Kingston Flemings - Comp: less athletic John Wall, De’Aaron Fox
Darius Acuff Jr. - Comp: Damian Lillard lite
Mikel Brown Jr. - Comp: smaller Lamelo Ball
Tier 3 - The Sweet Spot
This the range of players that I suspect will be available at 12 and potentially also 17 for OKC, who fit very well on the Thunder.
Brayden Burries - Comp: Poor Man’s Derrick White
Brayden Burries is the classic archetype of a combo guard. He has great ability to run an offense with the ball in his hands and spread the floor when it’s not. He is the definition of a dribble-pass-shoot guard and competes well on defense. His only knock in my eyes, is that he is very good at everything but not truly elite at any one thing. For a Thunder team that has its eyes on another NBA title, I think he would be a very easy plug-and-play player who could work himself into the playoff rotation quickly.
Yaxel Lendeborg - Comp: Denver Aaron Gordon
Yaxel Lendeborg is probably exactly what the Thunder need. He is a massive 6’10 wing with a 7’4 wingspan who can dribble, pass, shoot and defend a variety of positions. On top of that, he is very willing to play both off the ball and on the ball, and slots in seamlessly into whatever role is necessary for his team to win a game. My only real concern is that this guy is old. Like really, really old. In draft terms, being nearly 24 years old is absolutely ancient and would be an immense outlier from the kinds of players Sam Presti has typically selected. With that said, there’s a lot to like about Yaxel based on his film and numbers, and so I still consider him to be a very coveted prospect.
Morez Johnson Jr. - Comp: Somewhere between Isaiah Stewart and Bam Adebayo
Morez Johnson Jr. was Yaxel’s teammate at Michigan where they won the national championship last year. He has a massive 6’9 frame and 7’3.5 wingspan with all the athleticism in the world to back it up. His claim to fame is being an incredibly versatile defender who is takes full advantage of his god given gifts on defense and vacuuming up rebounds. On the offensive side, he is an elite play finisher when it comes to scoring at the rim though he lacks a ton of polish as a passer and shooter. Ultimately, this is a player where you bet on his athleticism and hope he is able to improve his tertiary swing skills on offense. I see him as an incredible complimentary piece to the Thunder’s front court and could see him having a lot of success in lineups with Chet Holmgren.
Dailyn Swain - Comp: OG Anunoby with a questionable jump shot
Dailyn Swain is another massive wing with great ball handling and passing ability. He would slot in nicely in a secondary creator to alleviate pressure from players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who command multiple defenders. Swain’s ability to attack close outs from defenders and drive to the rim and then make another decision to either finish or pass it out is quite special for a player his size. He is also an excellent slasher to the rim and generally is elite in putting pressure on the rim. His only downside is that his jumper is not great, and will take some amount of work to get to a reasonable NBA level, though with Chip Engelland on the Thunder’s staff - that may be a bet that Sam Presti is willing to make.
Cameron Carr - Comp: Kentavious Caldewell-Pope? poor man’s Trey Murphy?
To me, Cameron Carr is the prototypical 3-and-D player. He’s a super explosive 6’4 guard with a massive 7’1 wingspan. He shoots the three ball at a solid 37.4% on good volume and is a great finisher at a rim with his athleticism. Like many players making the transition to the NBA, Carr is quite skinny and does get pushed around a lot and that makes it difficult for me to see him do anything more that spot up shooting on offense. With that said, his excellent shooting form may be able to keep him afloat as his body catches up. If he can fill out his frame and utilize his strength, he could be a truly special wing in the NBA.
Tier 4 - Other names to keep an eye on
These are some players that are fairly well rated, but I don’t love the fit on OKC for one reason or another.
Aday Mara - Comp: Skinnier Donovan Clingan
Labaron Philon Jr. - Comp: smaller, skinnier Nickeil Alexander-walker (kinda)
Nate Ament - Comp: Somewhere on the spectrum of Ousmane Dieng and Giannis Antentokoumpo
Bennett Stirtz - Comp: Last season in Phoenix Chris Paul
Allen Graves - Comp: (potentially slower) Kyle Anderson
Hannes Steinbach - Comp: David Lee? David West?
Ebuka Okorie - Comp: 2026 Payton Pritchard
Jayden Quaintance - Comp: Robert Williams III
Mock Draft
My mock draft is based on my own big board, some trust in other well known draft scouts, and NBA rumors.
Washington Wizards - AJ Dybantsa
Utah Jazz - Darryn Peterson
Memphis Grizzlies - Cam Boozer
Chicago Bulls - Caleb Wilson
LA Clippers - Keaton Wagler
Brooklyn Nets - Mikel Brown Jr.
Sacramento Kings - Darius Acuff Jr.
Atlanta Hawks - Aday Mara
Dallas Mavericks - Kingston Flemings
Milwaukee Bucks - Nate Ament
Golden State Warriors - Brayden Burries
OKC Thunder - Yaxel Lendeborg
Milwaukee Bucks - Labaron Philon Jr.
Charlotte Hornets - Hannes Steinbach
Chicago Bulls - Cameron Carr
Memphis Grizzlies - Ebuka Okorie
OKC Thunder - Dailyn Swain
Conclusion
I whipped this issue of Ankit’s Cool OKC Thunder Newsletter up in a couple of hours the night before the 2026 NBA Draft. However, I feel much more comfortable than last year about my thoughts and feelings on many of these prospects.
I tried really hard, but I too have succumbed to the Yaxel-pilling of the Thunder Twitter community, and I think we may see Sam Presti break some of his unspoken rules due to the changing college environment in light of changes to NIL. I have a feeling that players will choose to stay in college longer and longer because they can get paid to develop in a lower stakes environment - thus leading to older prospects entering the draft. Dailyn Swain on the other hand feels like a good hedge to get a player at a position of need (size) who has skills to fill big holes on the roster (creation ability). As I would be ecstatic if the Thunder come away with 2 Tier 3 prospects on my Big Board, and certainly expect them to come away with at least 1.
I will almost assuredly be wrong about many things I’ve said in this article - but make sure to tune in to the draft tomorrow at 5pm PT to see how wrong I actually am!
If you ever want to talk about anything I’ve said, you can find me at most places on the internet as @ankitpancakes. Here are links to some of those places: Twitter, Bluesky, Reddit.
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Literally had to update this 1 hour after I called this done because of the Giannis trade
Skinny Clingan and last season in Phoenix Chris Paul, not bad. Let's see what happens to topic and sorber and dort and KRich and...