While the Oklahoma City Thunder are locked in a Western Conference Finals battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA Draft process continues.
Thunder fans may not be as focused on the draft cycle this year, since the team has a shot at winning the title to cap off an impressive 2024-25 campaign, but OKC owns a pair first round draft picks. Additionally, the team sent representatives to the combine to get a look at a few potential targets in June's event.
In a recent mock draft from ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, Oklahoma City added a player who impressed at the combine, and another who is still competing internationally.
With the No. 15 pick in ESPN's mock draft, the Thunder selected French wing prospect Noa Essengue.
Essengue currently plays for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany's professional basketball league alongside fellow first-round hopeful Ben Saraf. In Ulm's most recent playoff contest against Alba Berlin, the 6-foot-10 18-year-old went 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe, tallying 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
On the season, Essengue is averaging 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and just one turnover per game in 18 EuroCup contests.
With the No. 24 overall pick, Givony and Woo paired Stanford standout Maxime Raynaud with the Thunder.
Raynaud is fresh off an impressive performance at the combine that saw the big man record 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists while shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep. After a strong showing in his first scrimmage, Raynaud elected not to participate in exhibition contests the rest of the week.
This decision usually signals that a prospect played well enough to earn solid feedback from agents, NBA teams and others.
As a senior at Stanford, Raynaud averaged 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field and 34.7% from beyond the arc on more than five attempts per game.
Raynaud would add another big man to Oklahoma City's rotation of Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams, giving the team another option for specific matchups.
With the No. 44 selection, the ESPN duo slotted Florida State wing Jamir Watkins to the Thunder.
At the combine, Watkins measured at 6-foot-5 and 214 pounds without shoes, also boasting a wingspan just longer than 6-foot-11. As a senior, the FSU standout averaged 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 42.7% from the field and 32.1% from 3-point range.
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