Looking Back: Early 2024 Mock Drafts Project OKC Thunder to Add Coveted Big Man

Before Oklahoma City had its remarkable performance during the 2023-24 regular season, NBA Draft analysts projected the team to select a center in 2024.

Feb 3, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara (15) / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

In August or September, the upcoming NBA Draft cycle is nearly impossible to accurately project.

With NBA basketball still awaiting the start of training camp, it can be hard to get a read on what teams biggest needs are or how they will finish in the standings. Additionally, the college basketball season has yet to start, meaning many of the top prospects are still being slotted based on high school production.

While a handful of these players will end up being lottery selections, there are a few who will fall down the draft board or return to school for another season.

In Sept. 2023, Bleacher Report draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman projected the Oklahoma City Thunder to select UCLA center Aday Mara with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Listed at 7-foot-3 and 240 pounds, the Spanish big man averaged 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.2% from the floor as a true freshman for the Bruins. After a lackluster first year of collegiate basketball, Mara elected to return to school where he will have another chance to test the NBA Draft after his sophomore year.

Wasserman's slotting of Mara to OKC indicates what many national media members thought about the Thunder before their impressive regular season performance in 2023: that the team needed to add a big man.

Even after winning 57 games, many observers still thought Sam Presti and company needed more size on the roster. Oklahoma City did end up addressing what was perceived as their biggest weakness, but not through the draft.

Instead, the team signed Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and selected two more players in the first round who will play on the perimeter in Nikola Topic and Dillon Jones.

In addition to Mara, Wasserman also slotted Tyrese Proctor, D.J. Wagner and Elmarko Jackson, who all ended up returning to school, in the lottery last September,illustrating how difficult projecting the NBA Draft is at this point in the year.

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