The calendar has flipped to August. Which means we're in the dog days of the NBA's year-round calendar. Little will happen over the next two months as teams across the league prepare for the 2026-27 season. Before we move on, though, let's reflect one last time on last year.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a league-best 64-18 regular-season record. Juggling injuries all year, they overcame notable absences all year. Alas, they fell short of a second NBA championship with a 2026 Western Conference Finals exit.
To reflect on their 2025-26 season, Thunder Wire will conduct player grades for all 20 players who suited up for them this past year. Thirteenth up is Aday Mara, who was the No. 12 pick of the 2026 NBA draft:
Weaponize size at NBA level
The top thing that jumps off the
screen when seeing Mara is his behemoth size. Even by NBA standards, he casts a shadow over his basketball colleagues. The 7-foot-3 center is taller than most of the league. Sans a few exceptions. This is the first time the Thunder have ever had someone of his stature. You gotta take advantage of it. Heck, it'll be his bread and butter.
Mara's addition adds a whole new element to OKC's game on both sides of the floor. He completely tilts the halfcourt geometry. He should help the Thunder by camping in the paint. His catch radius gives their playmakers plenty of room for error. Just throw the ball up and he'll catch it. Or he can clean up misses pretty easily. Not even needing to leap off the floor for offensive rebounds. His offense will be pretty elementary, but efficient. That's all you need.
Improve conditioning
This is a big one for Mara. At 7-foot-3, he inherently has conditioning problems. Don't expect me to blaze up and down the court for 30-plus minutes every night. At least not to start things off. The Thunder must remain cognizant of his workload. He can likely be extremely effective in a pitch. But asking him to play beyond 20 minutes might be too much at this point.
Thankfully, the Thunder won't depend on Mara this upcoming season. But he must improve his conditioning. The Gatorade symbol can't be popping up on his sneakers after just a couple of in-game stints. He has to figure out a way to be quicker and build strong endurance. That's going to be important for his odds at being a regular-season contributor considering OKC will play every other night.
Dominate G League stints
Chances are, Mara will spend time in the G League. Even with their cost-cutting summer, the Thunder remain pretty stacked. Specifically, in the center position. Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams remain among the NBA's top center rotations. The trio spans from All-NBA to starting level. Knocking on wood, that means Mara won't be required to log a thousand-plus minutes.
In that scenario, Mara should have plenty of G League assignments. The Thunder typically utilize the OKC Blue as a chance for their prospects to log serious minutes in low-leverage environments. Sharing the same system and home gym makes it a seamless partnership. The 2026 No. 12 pick should put up monster numbers at that level. He should be a walking double-double threat. That would at least build up some encouragement that he's taking steps in the right direction.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder 3 goals: Aday Mara has to utilize unique size at NBA level
