With the 2026-27 regular season right around the corner, the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the year as a popular title pick. Even after their summer of cost-cutting moves, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams remain one of the most successful and decorated trios in the league.
The Thunder had a league-best 64-18 this past regular season. But fell short of their back-to-back ambitions in the 2026 Western Conference Finals. Injuries played a large part in that. But that's in the past. Can't change anything about it now.
Now that the offseason is behind us and we're looking ahead to another nine-month marathon, let's rewind on OKC's biggest moves and preview what most folks believe the Thunder will do this upcoming year.
To get
ready for the upcoming season, Thunder Wire conducted a 16-question fan survey. A total of 1,145 Thunder fans participated. Not every question was answered, though. The response totals for each question can be seen at the top left corner of the pie charts.
One question was about OKC's 2026 NBA draft class. They added Aday Mara with the No. 12 pick; Bennett Stirtz with the No. 16 pick; and Otega Oweh with the No. 41 pick. Obviously, it remains to be seen how things shake out. We likely won't know the true answer until two or three years down the road. That said, most Thunder fans are optimistic about their future. Over half of the voters handed the class a B grade.
The Thunder are hoping that Mara and Stirtz can at least be hits. After a summer of cost-cutting moves, they badly need the back end of their bench to be developmental success stories. I think Stirtz has a clearer path to that. At least from the jump. He should help out with the bench scoring and is a capable outside shooter.
Then there's Mara. The 7-foot-3 giant is a unique addition to the roster. The Thunder have never really had somebody of his size. He makes the average NBA player look small in comparison. There's a weapon in that. He should be an easy play-finisher and also help with his rim protection. But he remains a work in progress. Specifically, with his conditioning.
How Mara and Stirtz look in the 2026-27 season will be one of the more underrated storylines to follow. The Thunder desperately need some fresh blood in their rotation. Especially with their league-best depth taking a hit this past summer due to the financial realities of the NBA cap space world.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2026 OKC Thunder fan survey results: Most optimistic about latest NBA draft class
