Summer League Remains Critical for OKC Thunder After Championship

Oklahoma City has established itself as the NBA’s top team, and it will continue to use summer league to maintain that status.

The Thunder are still only weeks removed from winning their first championship. After a championship parade covered the streets of Oklahoma City, summer league was just around the corner.

After winning a title and getting to the NBA’s mountaintop, summer league can feel like an afterthought for most championship teams. However, the Thunder are in a unique position moving forward.

As summer league has tipped off, the Thunder have agreed to long-term deals, keeping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams in Oklahoma City. Of course, those three are the Thunder’s core and will be stars for years to come, making their deals among the biggest in the league.

As the Thunder pay their big three over the next several years, they will have to make some tough decisions with role players, which is where their vast selection of future picks comes into play. With cheap talent coming in every year, the Thunder have a chance to continue supplying their stars with good depth.

Of course, that’s where summer league can still have a massive impact for the Thunder in this championship era. Currently, the Thunder are getting their first look at Nikola Topic and Brooks Barnhizer while Ajay Mitchell gets some truly pressure-free reps for the first time since January. 

Summer league can be used as a tool for Sam Presti and company to better evaluate not only the players who already have a spot on the team, but also some under-the-radar players who could be worth taking a risk on.

As for the immediate future, there isn’t much the Thunder have to worry about in terms of depth. After signing Mitchell and Jaylin Williams to team-friendly deals and already having guys like Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe tied down long-term, summer league isn’t quite as important this year.

However, as extensions kick in and the Thunder have some critical financial decisions to make, getting a good look at how incoming rookies or second-year players could fit on the floor with Oklahoma City’s core will make summer league a key piece of the Thunder’s offseason for the foreseeable future.