OKC Thunder: A Team of Second-Round Role Players

The Oklahoma City Thunder has been a juggernaut at developing second-round prospects into vital supportive talent.

It started in 2021, where general manager Sam Presti had a vision. A 55th pick sparked a motion that would eventually lead to today, where the OKC Thunder boast its first NBA title in the city's history.

That pick was Aaron Wiggins, a second-round, wide-eyed pick who has now forged a huge path on this deep, versatile team, proving his worth in the bottom of the draft pool now as an NBA Champion and valuable role player. Following Wiggins, Presti and head coach Mark Daigneault found a significant piece of its team culture in the 2022 NBA Draft.

No, not Chet Holmgren. No, not Jalen Williams—well, kind of Jalen Williams but not really. Yes, Jaylin Williams, the 34th pick in the draft by Oklahoma City who has stood out on this team as one of his teammates' most passionate supporters, bringing speciality as a strong big with the ability to mesh well on both sides of the ball in the Thunder's scheme.

After that, the 3-point-shooting, heat-check maestro Isaiah Joe was set to accompany Oklahoma City in its rebuild—en route to success—as the former Philadelphia 76ers' 49th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft was signed on to a multi-year deal by Presti, cementing a path for him on this team which holds strong today.

These role players all have significant duties to uphold on this championship-winning Thunder team—for Joe, it's to shoot the tread off the ball; for Wiggins, it's to be whatever Daigneault needs him to be on a given night; and for Williams, it's to be an interior force and be an adept screen setter for his ball handlers.

Each of them far surpass any second-round placement they fell to. And even further, we can speak about Presti's undrafted pick-ups. Lu Dort, namely, has been the payoff of the century, sparking a feel-good story for a player who's seen the massive hills and valleys of this team, from rock bottom to on top of the world as an undrafted player. Now he sits atop the league's best defenders—earning his first-ever NBA First-Team All Defense placement this past season.

Kenrich Williams, an undrafted talent out of Texas Christian who has earned his spot on this team as a Swiss Army Knife, giving life to Paycom Center and its fans as many times as you can count.

The point is, this team, Presti and Daigneault know how to bring the best out of players. They know what it takes, that you get what you put in. And for all of Oklahoma City's second-round and undrafted guys, that philsophy is reciprocated—and it's now earned them the right to be called champions.