How Victor Wembanyama Fits with the OKC Thunder

Kicking off the Thunder Fits series, which will detail each draft picks fit with the Thunder, is French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated from postseason contention and the 2023 NBA Draft closing in, it’s time to switch gears to prospect evaluation mode.

And this year’s impending draft has plenty of players that can help OKC continue to arm themselves for years to come.

No matter how unlikely it is Oklahoma City lands certain prospects, the Thunder Fit series will take a look at how they would fit with the current team’s configuration. And with a war chest of assets, you never know how far the front office could move up to acquire a player.

With the first prospect, projected No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, we have down to the decimal point the odds of the Thunder landing him: just 1.7 percent. That's OKC's chances at landing the top pick, and thus, their chances at landing the generational forward's talents.

Here’s how French phenom Victor Wembanyama could fit alongside the rest of the Thunder core:

Offense

At 7-foot-3 with an 8-foot wingspan, Wembanyama would be a heralded addition to any NBA team, but especially the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Offensively, his length offers his several advantages most players simply don’t have from all over. He leads the LNB Pro A league, one of the tougher divisions in France, in points per game with 21.4 at just 19-years-old.

But even at his size, he’s much more perimeter-focused than one might guess. He takes 5.1 threes per game, hitting on just 30 percent of those. And has a wide range of face up moves at his disposal in the mid range.

Offensively, with Oklahoma City, he would be a perfect lob-threat and floor-stretcher alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddy and Jalen Williams while he continues to hone the moves that make superstars just that. Which is one of the primary reasons they grabbed Chet Holmgren in the 2022 NBA Draft.

With two mobile 7-footers and positional length one through three, OKC’s potential on offense would skyrocket.

Defense

After drafting one of the better shot-blocking prospects in recent memory in Holmgren last season, the Thunder would add another with Wembanyama.

He also leads the LNB Pro A league in blocks at 3.1 per game, using his 8-foot wingspan to function as an essential black hole. He’s less good at blocking the ball from a technical sense than Holmgren, but projects to be even better with additional length.

His perimeter-focused game lends itself some to the defensive side of the ball, too. He’s shown promise guarding outside of the paint, and can often make up for mishaps with his unprecedented frame.

In tandem, Holmgren and Wembanyama wouldn’t allow much in the paint. Holmgren would likely serve better as a true paint protector, at least in the short term, leaving Wembanyama as probably the best roving, weak-side helper in the league.

Teams would likely try to stretch both Holmgren and Wembanyama out beyond the 3-point line, so bolstering both of their perimeter defense would be a must.

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