OKC Thunder's 2025 Rookie Class Could be Special

With one of its selections from the 2024 draft making his debut in 2025 along with a few other picks, next year's class is in the making to be great.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Nikola Topic shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 rookie class the Oklahoma City Thunder has assembled is promising as-is. Headlined by Nikola Topic with the No. 12 pick in the lottery, it also acquired Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell later in the draft.

However, Oklahoma City drafted Topic with the knowledge that he would miss the entirety of the 2024-25 due to an ACL tear. Yesterday it was reported that he officially underwent successful surgery to repair it, starting the recovery process.

So while Topic is technically apart of the 2024 class, he will be playing his rookie season alongisde the rest of the 2025 class the Thunder puts together. Having a year around his team on the sidelines could be beneficial for the 18-year-old — similarly to Chet Holmgren's situation —giving him the time to get comfortable before suiting up for the first time.

Looking ahead to the potential prospects that will join Topic, it could get exciting. Oklahoma City currently has a stockpile of picks prepared for the 2025 draft, which is by all accounts sure to be a talented group of players.

Thunder's 2025 first round picks:

• Utah Jazz: 1-10 protected
• Miami Heat: 1-14 protected
• Philadelphia 76ers: 1-6 protected
• Most favorable of: Houston Rockets (1-10 protected), Los Angeles Clippers (unprotected), Thunder's own

Whether Oklahoma City uses all of these picks is to be determined, but as of now, it's a good list of picks to have in its back pocket. The Jazz pick is unlikely to convey, but the rest are more than likely to.

The last pick is the most interesting, because it could go a number of ways. The Rockets could be good enough to land just outside of the top 10 or the Clippers could struggle with the loss of Paul George and border lottery territory, setting the Thunder up for another desirable position in the draft.

The top of the 2025 class should consist of big names such as Cooper Flagg, Nolan Traore and Dylan Harper that Oklahoma City could look to package assets to trade up for, but it's not exactly a top heavy class. There will be plenty of depth and high-potential players down the lottery and beyond, which could make for strong additions to its young core.

Between the debut of Topic and any other player the Thunder acquires in 2025, it could be looking at a stacked class of rookies. Even if it's looking to contend right now, adding more young talent never hurts when extending the timeline.

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