NBA Mock Draft: Thunder Land Two-Way Prospect

Oklahoma City could draft any position in this week's draft, even if it's a guard.

The 2023 NBA Draft is just days away, as the Oklahoma City Thunder prepare to select a prospect late in the lottery. Although the team would have preferred to land a higher pick, the back half of the lottery often produces extremely productive players. 

It's still unclear exactly how the early part of the draft will unfold, so there's a variety of players that could be available for OKC with its first selection. 

Matt Babcock of Draft Digest recently released a mock draft for the 2023 class, which gives insight into where some of the top players in the upcoming rookie class could land. His projection has the Thunder selecting a guard that produces on both ends with the No. 12 overall pick.

© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kobe Bufkin definitely isn't the best pure fit based on the current Oklahoma City roster, but this is a team that still has longer term aspirations. As much as contending this year would be a promising sign, it's unlikely that the Thunder are really able to make a deep playoff run in the 2023-24 season.

As such, taking the player that has the highest ceiling might be the best play. Bufkin is able to impact the game on both ends of the floor and has good positional size. He might take a few years to really emerge as a starting-caliber player, but in the Thunder's developmental season he could turn into a really good backcourt player.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.