Thunder NBA Draft Picks 2023: When do Oklahoma City Thunder pick? Order and more explored

The Oklahoma City Thunder look forward to adding another talented player to their young core in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft. With that in mind, here's a look at where they're placed in the draft order and how many picks they have this year.

The draft class this year is possibly one of the most anticipated classes in recent memory. Headlined by stars like Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, teams are eager to acquire and secure such young talent in the upcoming days. One of the teams that will look to add another valuable player is OKC.

The draft order shows OKC has two picks in the event this year. They have one pick in the first round and another one in the second round.

Like other years, they're still in the lottery and acquired the 12th pick for this year's draft. Following that, they won't be selecting new players until the second round, where they have the 50th pick. So far, there haven't been reports of the Thunder trading for picks this year, but anything could happen during the day of the draft.

Last year, they had the 2nd, 11th, 12th, and 34th pick in the draft. The front office used those picks to acquire Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng, Jalen Williams, and Jaylin Williams, respectively.

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Who could the Oklahoma City Thunder draft in the first round?

Oklahoma City Thunder v Portland Trail Blazers

NBA Draftroom released their updated mock draft that has the Thunder selecting Dereck Lively II with their 12th pick. Lively is a 7-foot-1 center who's known more for his defensive skills. He spent one year at Duke University where he showed his excellent shot-blocking skills, swatting 2.4 shots per game.

Lively II could fit well alongside Holmgren, who could be more of an offensive frontcourt player moving forward.

Other mock drafts have the Thunder picking Jett Howard, a 6-foot-8 wing player, capable of making shots at an efficient rate. Coming out of Michigan, Howard showed his scoring skills that could be valuable to Oklahoma City.

He was able to average 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists during his lone season in Michigan.

Pairing him with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could make the Thunder a scary offensive squad. With SGA's shot creation, things would come easy to Howard, as he's already able to score with ease.

Interestingly, Oklahoma doesn't have a ton of picks this season, but that could be enough as they already have a solid young core to try and build around this year.