As August nears its end, the Oklahoma City Thunder enter the 2026-27 season as a co-title favorite — alongside the San Antonio Spurs. Even though they spent the summer trading away some of their depth, they remain one of the league's top teams. That said, for the first time in a while, they enter the upcoming marathon with new faces on the roster.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams remain OKC's best players. The two-time MVP winner and two All-NBA members form one of the league's best trios. With one NBA championship in hand, they hope to add another.
To prepare for the upcoming season, Thunder Wire broke down a few lineups Mark Daigneault can use during the 2026-27 regular season. Here's a look at a handful:
The starters
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Cason Wallace - Jalen Williams - Chet Holmgren - Isaiah Hartenstein
Business as usual here. It'll be mostly the same group of five guys from the last couple of years — with one promotion in hand. Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams are OKC's pillars. The two-time MVP winner and two All-NBA talents headline the Thunder for another year. And after making it a priority to keep him, Hartenstein should remain a starter. He's a key piece of their success. That leaves Wallace as the lone change from last year. He's replacing Lu Dort. Expect him to seamlessly take over as the top perimeter defender. He should also get more freedom on offense with the change. The Thunder will go as far as these five take them. Fairly easy prediction to make.
The closers
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Ajay Mitchell - Alex Caruso - Jalen Williams - Chet Holmgren
Now this is the more interesting question — who does Daigneault go with in crunch time? Starting is a nice feather in your cap. But who closes things out affects the final result more. Three spots are mainstays in Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams. Like past years, the Thunder will only go as far as they take them. The next two spots are up for grabs. And could depend on a night-to-night basis. Going with Mitchell and Caruso in this exercise — but important to emphasize that it can truly change. Mitchell has turned into one of OKC's best go-to scorers. It desperately needs his scoring bag. Plus, he's a solid defender. Meanwhile, Caruso is a plus-minus darling. Anytime he's on the floor, he completely changes the game's dynamics. The one-man hurricane causes havoc.
The shooting lineup
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Jared McCain - Cason Wallace - Jaylin Williams - Chet Holmgren
This is where it hurts the most to lose Isaiah Joe. He was an absolute sniper from the outside. As one of the best bench sharpshooters in the league, his lineup data with Gilgeous-Alexander was always through the roof and one of OKC's stronger two-man pairings. Now that he's gone, we have to get creative. The same concept applies — surround the drive-heavy scorer with their best outside shooters. You can bank on plenty of kick-out passes with that formula. I think this is the best combination of guys who can shoot off the catch and create their own looks from deep. Wallace and Williams, in particular, have seen most of their shot diet over the years fall into that category as role players.
The all-bench lineup
Ajay Mitchell - Jared McCain - Alex Caruso - Kenrich Williams - Jaylin Williams
For the first time in a couple of years, the Thunder have a vulnerability. They spent the summer making cost-cutting moves. While they saved OKC's ownership a lot of money, the price was some of their rich depth. Now, the back-end of the bench is filled with young question marks. Until those are answered, they will rely on the remaining role players from last year to take another step. Mitchell and McCain are prime candidates for getting more added to their respective plates. I think both could have breakout years. Especially in Mitchell's case — health has been his only real problem through two years. The other three players are pretty settled in terms of their ceilings. Maybe there's room to grow, but for the most part, we know what they bring to the table.
Going big
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Jalen Williams - Jaylin Williams - Chet Holmgren - Isaiah Hartenstein
This is the lineup you go with if you're fighting size. The shortest player is Gilgeous-Alexander — at an abnormal 6-foot-6 as a point guard. Also, if we're being honest, he was a must-have regardless of height. That's how important he is to this whole operation. The tallest is Holmgren at 7-foot-1. I debated adding 7-foot-3 mammoth-sized Aday Mara, but he's simply not ready yet. The Holmgren-Hartenstein frontcourt has been a staple over the last two years. It's led to one NBA championship and almost another. Considering how historically deep the center position is nowadays, you need real size of your own to not get constantly bullied. The Thunder have had that with those two. Being the league-best defense over the last two years is proof of that.
Going small
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Ajay Mitchell - Cason Wallace - Alex Caruso - Jalen Williams
On the contrary, going small remains a weapon in the NBA. Even if we're about a half-decade late of when it was the top lineup trend throughout the league. The tallest player here is Gilgeous-Alexander at 6-foot-6. The shortest is Wallace at 6-foot-3. We've seen the Thunder thrive in Williams' center minutes over the years. His pterodactyl-esque wingspan has turned him into a sneaky lengthy defender. You could argue that he's one of the more underrated defensive players in the league. Caruso has also shown he can scale up as a defender. Ask Nikola Jokic. He's one of the best perimeter defenders of his generation. With this group, you get the perks of going small with a fast-paced group that can spread the floor without any of the true negatives of getting beat up on defense.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Breaking down potential lineups for the 2026-27 OKC Thunder
