How the OKC Thunder Likely Rotation Shakes Out

The Oklahoma City Thunder are attempting to defend their title this season. For the first time in league history, the NBA is in a parity era. The past seven NBA champions have failed to make it out of the second round.

Oklahoma City owns the deepest and most talented roster in the NBA, as evident by the latest top-100 list. The Thunder are primed to defend its title, as the Championship favorites entering the season with a young core that is still expected to improve with one Larry O'Brien already in the bag.

As the OKC Thunder retain 99% of its championship roster from a year ago, how will bench boss Mark Daigneault handle all of this depth in Bricktown? Let's try to classify the Thunder's rotation.

OKC Thunder Projected Rotation to Start 2025-26 Season

Starters

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Lu Dort
• Jalen Williams
• Chet Holmgren
• Isaiah Hartenstein

Once Holmgren returned from injury in February, Daigneault stuck with this first five the entire way with a couple of blimps in the NBA Finals. It makes sense to put your best five players on the floor but they also needed to see what the double-big lineup had after not getting to unveil the duo until around the NBA All-Star Break.

Entering this season, this is still expected to be the starting five as they performed at a high-level a year ago with room to grow given the jump Holmgren should make offensively this season further removed from his hip fracture suffered back on Nov. 10.

Key Reserves

• Alex Caruso
• Cason Wallace
• Aaron Wiggins
• Isaiah Joe
• Ajay Mitchell
• Jaylin Williams

This bunch is the next wave of players Daigneault should deploy with elite defenders in Caruso and Wallace, a bucket-getter in Wiggins, sharpshooter in Joe, do-it-all guard in Mitchell and backup big man of Williams who had a stellar second round series against the Denver Nuggets.

Innings Eaters

• Kenrich Williams
• Ousmane Dieng
• Branden Carlson

While the veteran forward, project swingman and two-way big are good players in their own right, they fall in this inbetween stage. Racking up DNP-CDs isn't out of the equations but when games get out of hand, or the Thunder need a spark or when contests are compacted in a tight stretch of the 82 game slate, they can come in and soak up minutes. This is a valuable role for any team and the trio that falls into this category for this OKC squad is better than anyone else's innings eaters around the league.

Find some burn

• Nikola Topic
• Brooks Barnhizer

Topic and Barnhizer fall into the same categories as rookies, with the obvious caveat that it is more pressing to get the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on the floor earlier and more often and the No. 44 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Neither has done enough to warrant a key reserve, staple of the rotation label. Though, they are more than just innings eaters as developmental players with upside that need some real experience in varying ways.

Seeing how Daigneault will get these two on the floor and in what situations will be interesting. Luckily for the Oklahoma City Thunder's crowded rotation, Barnhizer can grow at the NBA G League level.

Out for the Season

• Thomas Sorber

Sorber tore his ACL last week placing him out for the season after being selected with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Oklahoma City Thunder shouldn't struggle to fill out lineups in his absence as illustrated by this list.