Analyst Says That The NBA Is In "A Panic" Because Of The Thunder-Clippers Draft Pick Situation
Dec 2, 2025
In an era when winning back-to-back NBA titles has become more difficult than ever, the Oklahoma City Thunder are hard at work building a dynasty.
Here’s why the rest of the league should be deathly afraid of the defending champions: They have a young core, and their supply of fresh, top-tier talent is set to be replenished for years to come.
On Monday’s episode of “NBA Today,” analyst Tim MacMahon highlighted a key pipeline of assets that the Thunder will soon be thriving on: the Los Angeles Clippers, who have gotten off to a dismal 5–15 start this season. According to MacMahon, other NBA teams are paying close attention to the Clippers’ performance, as they have already dealt away some key draft assets to a powerhouse squad.
That powerhouse, of course, is none other than OKC. “The league is in a panic about the Thunder owning the Clippers’ picks over these next couple of years,” MacMahon said.
What’s in store for the Thunder in the near future? (Or, said in another way, how bad is it for the Clippers and the rest of the league?) Thanks to deals orchestrated by longtime Thunder GM Sam Presti, OKC holds the following assets from the Clippers: a 2026 first-round pick, as well as an unprotected 2027 first-round pick swap.
To drive home the concept of “the rich are getting richer,” the deal involving the 2026 pick was the very trade that landed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City. Back in the offseason of 2019, the Clippers essentially moved heaven and earth in order to acquire Paul George from the Thunder.
Now, George no longer plays in Tinseltown, while Gilgeous-Alexander has brought an NBA title, an NBA MVP trophy, and Finals MVP honors to the Thunder. As dominant as SGA and his young crew have been, OKC is set to add even more prized recruits to its roster if the Clippers continue to underperform over the next two years.
The SGA-powered Thunder, as we know them, are a formidable squad that seldom loses. NBA teams, then, can hardly be blamed if the prospect of an OKC dynasty is causing major anxiety.
