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Mar 31, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Jared McCain (0) controls the ball against North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Jayden Taylor (1) in the second half in the finals of the South Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at American Airline Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Report: OKC Thunder Linked to Five Prospects in 2024 NBA Draft

Originally posted on NBA Draft on SI | Last updated Jun 7, 2024 3:30 PM ET

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the best drafting teams for nearly two decades now. How they drafted three MVPs in three straight drafts — Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden — is widely known, at this point. But, more recently, they drafted two-thirds of their young core — Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams — in the same draft class in 2022.

While they're one of the best teams at drafting, they're also one of the best at limiting information leaks and keeping their cards closed to their chest. Leading up to draft night, nobody outside of the organization knows what the Thunder are going to do; no clue whether they're looking to make any trades or draft any specific players. So, any report about what they may or may not be looking to do in a draft should be taken with a grain of salt.

ESPN's Jonathan Givony, joined by Jeremy Woo, published ESPN's latest top-100 board filled with intel on Friday morning, which included reports about who the Thunder have been linked with at No. 12 thus far. Those names are Nikola Topic, Jared McCain, Zach Edey, Johnny Furphy and Kyshawn George.

Prospects that Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have linked to the Thunder as a landing spot at 12:

Nikola Topic
Jared McCain
Zach Edey
Johnny Furphy
Kyshawn George

How would you rank these 1-5 in terms of your preference? #ThunderUp
— ThunderChets (@ThunderChats) June 7, 2024

Each of these five prospects bring something different to the table to Oklahoma City:

Nikola Topic

After suffering a partial ACL tear, Nikola Topic's stock has seen a slight fall. Still, he's one of the best creator bets in the 2024 draft. The Thunder would be betting on his advantage creation, finishing, and playmaking developing in the NBA.

Jared McCain

Jared McCain is one of the best shooters in the draft. He shot 41.4% from three on 11.0 three-point attempts per 100 possessions, had a 55.4 three-point rate, and has excellent touch indicators with 43.8% on 80 non-rim two-pointers (mostly midrange jumpers and floaters) and 88.5% from the free throw line.

While the Thunder were the best three-point shooting team in the regular season, they struggled in the postseason due to a lack of true elite volume shooters. McCain would come in and help fix that hole as a sniper.

Zach Edey

Zach Edey is one of the greatest college basketball players of all-time. He would come in and help fix the Thunder's lack of screening, rolling, rebounding, and add to their interior finishing.

While he does excel in a number of areas the Thunder don't, he doesn't fit the typical Presti mold of prospects who are versatile, can move and put the ball on the floor. For that reason, the likelihood he's really headed to Oklahoma City is low.

Johnny Furphy

Johnny Furphy is a 6-foot-9 wing who can shoot, put the ball on the floor and drive, excels in transition, defends, and adds value on the glass. He's someone who has a great shot at impacting winning right away with his translatable dribble/pass/shoot skillset at his height.

Kyshawn George

At 6-foot-8, Kyshawn George is another tall shooter. He shot 40.8% from three on 10.4 three-point attempts per 100 possessions, had a 68.4 three-point rate, and shot 77.8% from the line at Miami. He was good defensively, and also possesses some ballhandling and playmaking upside, which is where the bulk of his long-term intrigue comes from.

This article first appeared on NBA Draft on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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