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 in the top-left corner of the pie charts.
One question was about a bundle of contract extensions that the Thunder could sign over the next 12 months. Right now, Cason Wallace is eligible for a new deal. Nothing has materialized yet. Next summer, Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain and Jaylin Williams will all also be eligible for new contracts. That's a lot of potential money to hand out among your secondary players.
So, who takes the highest priority? According to Thunder fans, it's Wallace. He had nearly 62% of the votes. Mitchell was next at around 32% of the votes. Those two are must-sign situations.
This is probably the most important question of the survey. At least in terms of OKC's long-term outlook. I just don't know how you can keep all four. Barring other roster moves. Maybe there are ways around it. Such as moving on from Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso next summer. Either way, this was just the first offseason in which the Thunder had to shed salary due to the hard-hitting salary-cap realities in the NBA.
Wallace has a long track record of being a championship-caliber starter. The 22-year-old has had flickers of offensive brilliance. With Mitchell, the potential is tantalizing, but his durability is a real concern. If he can have a healthy third year, perhaps the results of this question are different. Either way, those two should be the top priorities.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2026 OKC Thunder fan survey results: These 2 role players must get new deals
