Over the years, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had considerable success with their NBA Draft decision-making.
From landing players who would later become All-Stars to snatching up late-round steals, GM Sam Presti has proven to have a keen eye for finding young and promising prospects.
Now, with just under a month to go till 2025's illustrious event, it seems that the storied executive is already looking to find his next success story, as it was recently revealed that Oklahoma City has set up a date to hold a pre-draft workout for wing, Kobe Sanders.
OKC Thunder set to hold workout with rising young draft prospect
Following a four-year stint in the mid-major Big West Conference with Cal Poly, Sanders transferred out to the more competitive Mountain West Conference and joined the University of Nevada, where, in just one season, he generated some serious draft buzz.
Putting forth a true breakout campaign with the Wolf Pack that earned him All-Mountain West Third Team honors, through 33 games played Sanders found himself posting impressive averages of 15.8 points, 4.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 46.0 percent from the field.
Along the way, he displayed a natural ability to dominate in the pull-up game, showed flashes of becoming a capable three-level scorer (shot 34.2 percent from deep), and regularly found himself being utilized as a point-forward type of talent within coach Steve Alford's scheme
While he may have some notable concerns with his resume, such as lateral quickness, burst off the dribble, and the fact that he's coming into the NBA at an advanced age following a five-year collegiate career, considering this front office's past track record, Sanders still seems to have the makings of a typical Thunder prospect.
His style of play already suggests versatility from a schematic perspective, while his listed 6-foot-9, 207-pound build adds positional switchability to his pre-draft profile as well -- aspects Oklahoma City has coveted from their collection of ballers throughout the recent years of the Presti era.
Even with all his rawness and in-game limitations, Kobe Sanders finds himself drawing noteworthy pre-draft attention, with some, such as Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, going as far as to compare the tweener-forward to the likes of Kyle Kuzma.
Despite being largely considered a consensus early-to-mid second-round prospect, there's plenty to like with the super-senior's game.
The Thunder have proven more than capable of snatching up diamond-in-the-rough type of talents within the final 30 selections on draft night over the past several years (Aaron Wiggins, Ajay Mitchell, etc.).
Perhaps they're looking to Sanders as their next late-round surprise.