OKC Thunder Rookie Dillon Jones is Most Interesting First Year Player in 2024 Class

The Oklahoma City Thunder have selected Dillon Jones with the No. 26 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and he represents one of the most interesting players in the class.

Dillon Jones speaks during an introductory press conference for the 2024 Thunder draft picks at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday, June, 29, 2024. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2024 NBA Draft lacked star power and true conscientious at the top. This led to an interesting first round with players shuffling up and down the board and even a few surprising stumbles to day two.

Though, perhaps the most interesting player is Dillon Jones who the Oklahoma City Thunder selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the class - the superlative of most interesting player in the draft for Jones might come as a shock to some. However, it stems from the unknown.

Sure, the Oklahoma City Thunder are poised to build off their 57-win season from a year ago and once again be at the top of the Western Conference - the Thunder have made massive moves to bolster their rotation that was already 10-12 players deep a night.

This has led to some passiveness toward the Thunder rookie class which once again is three players deep, though No. 12 pick Nikola Topic will be sidelined for the entire 2024-25 season with an ACL injury, leaving Jones and No. 38 pick Ajay Mitchell still in play this year.

Though many assume the Bricktown boys will be too good to find minutes for their youngsters, but specific Jones represents one of the most interesting names in this class. The Weber State product was coveted by the Thunder a year ago in the second round before the swingman elected to return to school in hopes of being a first round pick.

Not only did he reach his goal, but Oklahoma City shipped off five future second-round picks to make it happen, signaling the type of belief top executive Sam Presti has in Jones. It is typically a good sign when one of the best decision-makers in the sport has such a belief in your skillset.

From there, you look at the Thunder on the court where no coach likes tinkering with his rotations and exploring lineups than Oklahoma City bench boss Mark Daigneault. it will not be surprising to see the reigning coach of the year dip into his depth so far that the rookie is pulled onto the floor for the Western Conference contenders.

With the shot to get on the floor, you then get to the most interesting part of the Weber State product. What makes him such an interesting player is no one knows what he is or what the plan will be for him.

Jones is the definition of an unorthodox player, will Oklahoma City - who is known for positionless and wacky lineups - use him as a power forward thanks to his wingspan and frame? A guard? Some sort of floating position with traits of each position blended together?

The Thunder clearly have a plan for Jones after wanting to draft him in back-to-back classes, but what is that plan? The jack of all trades will be fascinating to follow all season long as the rookie carves out his lane in the NBA.

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