2023 NBA Draft: Why Position Shouldn’t Matter For Thunder

The modern style of play at the NBA level continues to shift as each season passes. Players are asked to be more versatile and serve multiple roles. As this happens, we’re beginning to see a more positionless style of play as many athletes on the court are able to make plays with the ball regardless of their size.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has embraced this new style of play, and has even pushed those boundaries some. There were many points in the 2022-23 season in which Oklahoma City ran unorthodox lineups. At times, the Thunder played upwards of four guards at the same time with no traditional big on the floor. Inversely, at other times OKC played multiple forwards that possess guard skills and didn’t have anyone on the court under 6-foot-7. In either scenario, this just goes to show that traditional positions are starting to fade as players can do more now than ever before.

With the Thunder’s willingness to play positionless, this opens up options on draft night. While it would be easy at the surface to make an argument that taking a guard with the No. 12 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft would be redundant, that’s not entirely true. There’s also a case to be made that with Chet Holmgren coming back, selecting a center in the lottery wouldn’t be smart.

However, Oklahoma City can play long stretches of time with nearly any combination of five players. While positional matchups may be key when closing games, the reality is that for the bulk of the Thunder’s contests, having a surplus of quality players at any position isn’t truly an issue. This is especially true given Oklahoma City has jumbo guards like Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams that can slide all the way up to the frontcourt in small ball situations. Similarly, versatile forwards like Aleksej Pokusevski and Ousmane Dieng can play off-ball guard when needed.

At the end of the day, the Thunder can draft the best player available when the No. 12 pick comes around on June 22. Although the team is primed to take another step forward this season, it’s about thinking long-term and less about which prospects fit on the current roster. With the increased amount of player mobility and roster turnover across the league, there’s a chance that nearly half of the players currently in Oklahoma City are elsewhere in just three or four years.

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This is just another reason to take the player the team believes will be the most impactful in the long run. With the developmental system OKC has, even taking a player that needs a few years to reach their ceiling shouldn’t be a detractor either. The lottery pick used in June doesn’t have to be a contributor from day one. There shouldn’t be any internal expectations to win a championship in the upcoming season. While the Thunder will likely be very competitive, it’s not yet time to draft based on positional need or immediate impact to expedite the rebuild in any way.

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