NBA Mock Draft: Thunder Land Another 7-Footer to Pair With Chet Holmgren

Could Oklahoma City add another center in the 2024 NBA Draft?

Although the Oklahoma City Thunder have the potential of landing three first-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, there’s a chance only one ends up conveying. Given the protections on the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz picks that Oklahoma City owns, it will all come down to how those teams pan out in the 2023-24 campaign.

Regardless, Draft Digest recently released a mock draft for the 2024 class with more than ten months until the event, which gives insight into where some of the top players in next year’s rookie class could land. Their projection has the Thunder selecting one of the best center prospects in the class with a late lottery pick, in Aday Mara.

Mara stands at 7-foot-3 and continues to emerge as a game-changing talent each time he takes the floor. He recently dominated FIBA U18 European Championship play with Spain, proving he has a skillset that will translate in the modern NBA.

Although the Thunder already have Chet Holmgren, he is certainly capable of sliding down to the power forward spot next to a prospect like Mara. Having two frontcourt starters over 7-foot-1 would really make OKC an interesting team to monitor moving forward.

After recently committing to play college basketball at UCLA, Mara will have every opportunity to prove he is worthy of a lottery selection. It will be a different style of play than he is used to internationally, but if he can adjust quickly his draft stock will rise.

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