The night of the 2022 NBA Draft proved to be a crucial step in the Oklahoma City Thunder`s rapid ascent from a team in the lottery to a legitimate NBA Finals contender in less than three years. It`s also widely remembered as one of the most unpredictable draft nights in recent memory.
Holding the first overall pick, the Orlando Magic were widely anticipated to select Jabari Smith Jr., who had limited his pre-draft workouts to just Orlando and Oklahoma City. However, the Magic surprised many by selecting Paolo Banchero at No. 1. Picking second, Oklahoma City opted to pass on Smith and drafted Chet Holmgren instead. Despite never working out for them, Houston didn`t hesitate to take Smith at No. 3. Looking back, both the Magic and the Thunder appear to have made the right choices with their top selections, notwithstanding the drama leading up to the event.
At pick No. 2, Oklahoma City was reportedly set on Holmgren, regardless of who else was available. The Thunder also held the 11th and 12th selections, partly acquired through the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, a deal famously centered around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joining Oklahoma City. With the 11th pick, the Thunder selected Ousmane Dieng, a player who has yet to make a significant impact during his three NBA seasons.
Then, with the 12th pick, Oklahoma City focused on Jalen Williams. Williams, a rising star from Santa Clara, a mid-major program, saw his draft stock climb significantly throughout the pre-draft process. While his projected draft range was typically in the late teens or early twenties, much like the Holmgren selection at No. 2, Oklahoma City trusted its own evaluation of Williams and selected him confidently in the lottery.
That trust has paid off handsomely.
Finding multiple high-impact players from a single draft class is exceptionally rare. The list of teams with multiple lottery picks in the same draft over the past 15 years is not extensive. A notable example is the 2011 Cleveland Cavaliers, who selected Kyrie Irving first overall and Tristan Thompson fourth. While lottery picks generally have a high success rate, ending up with two players who develop into “blue-chip” talents, as Oklahoma City seems to have done, is exceedingly uncommon.
Here`s a look at teams with multiple lottery selections in the same draft since 2010:
| Year | Team | Lottery Picks/Players |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Cleveland Cavaliers | (1) Kyrie Irving, (4) Tristan Thompson |
| 2012 | New Orleans Hornets | (1) Anthony Davis, (10) Austin Rivers |
| 2012 | Portland Trail Blazers | (6) Damian Lillard, (11) Meyers Leonard |
| 2015 | Denver Nuggets | (7) Emmanuel Mudiay, (11) Trey Lyles |
| 2016 | Phoenix Suns | (4) Dragan Bender, (8) Marquese Chriss |
| 2021 | Orlando Magic | (5) Jalen Suggs, (8) Franz Wagner |
| 2022 | Oklahoma City Thunder | (2) Chet Holmgren, (11) Ousmane Dieng, (12) Jalen Williams |
Jalen Williams notably became the first player from the highly-touted 2022 draft class to earn All-NBA honors. Chet Holmgren`s season was impacted by a right iliac wing fracture that limited him to just 39 games, but he was performing at a level that would likely have earned him an All-Star selection had he remained healthy. His injury also made him ineligible for most major end-of-season awards requiring a minimum of 65 games played.
The selections of Holmgren and Williams are widely viewed as unqualified successes. Both players become eligible for contract extensions this summer, and despite the intricacies introduced by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it seems highly probable that the Thunder will secure both players with long-term deals. Adding to the team`s core stability, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also eligible for a substantial five-year contract extension (potentially up to $380 million) after earning NBA MVP consideration and his third consecutive All-NBA team selection.
These three players form the fundamental core of a team that has already compiled over 80 wins (regular season and playoffs combined). Historically, only 15 teams have reached this win total. Should Oklahoma City go on to win the championship, they would join an exclusive club as only the fourth team in NBA history to win 84 or more games in a single season, a feat previously accomplished only by the 2015-16 Warriors and the legendary 1995-96 and 1996-97 Bulls teams.
Oklahoma City is now undeniably on the verge of potentially capturing an NBA title. While the trade package received from the Clippers for Paul George, highlighted by acquiring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, rightfully remains a major topic of discussion for setting the stage, it was the 2022 draft that truly accelerated and solidified the franchise`s path toward contention. The Thunder may not have fully grasped it at the time, but the combination of drafting Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams was, quite literally, a franchise-altering event.
