The Oklahoma City Thunder have no shortage of young talent, and thanks to Sam Presti stockpiling picks for the last several years, the Thunder can continue to add young talent in every upcoming draft.
This year, the Thunder's own pick won't be very valuable since they will likely finish with the best or second-best regular-season record, but they own a war chest of picks from other teams.
Thanks to the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers and bright Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to OKC, the Thunder own the Clippers' selection. A recent mock draft has them using the pick to snag a French star.
The French have been slowly taking over the NBA, with young stars Victor Wembanyama, Bilal Coulibaly, and Alexandre Sarr leading the way. The 2025 draft class is expected to be no different, and in a recent mock draft published by The Athletic, the Thunder selected Noa Essengue 18th overall.
Essengue is at his best either streaking towards the rim or on the defensive side of the ball, but for Ulm this season he is shooting 29.4 percent from 3-point range, which isn't horrible for international prospects.
At 6-10, he has impressive court vision and can run the offense, although next to more established players he will likely serve as a cutter and secondary facilitator. He uses his frame well, averaging 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the German League.
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"He looks quite long and has real athleticism to match," wrote Sam Vencenie. "He needs to keep getting stronger and become more accountable with his overall team defense. In general, this is very much a project player. But the upside if he hits is quite high, and Oklahoma City has a strong developmental track record."
The Thunder are in a good spot to be patient and can afford to miss on a pick or two, so taking a high-risk player with star potential is clearly the right choice.
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This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 11:18 AM.