Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsOver the past 10 NBA Drafts (2006-2015), the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics) have made 27 selections, yielding three All-Stars in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
The following table details Oklahoma City’s track record by tiers, noting the number of All-Stars and starters selected, along with players who either never made the league or were out in five years or less:
| Tier | Picks | All-Star | All-Star Appearances | Starter* | Not in NBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 4 | 3 (75%) | 16 | 4 (100%) | 0 |
| 6-10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (100%) |
| 11-15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 (33.3%) | 0 |
| 16-20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21-25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 (25%) | 1 (25%) |
| 26-30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 (25%) | 1 (25%) |
| 31-40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (75%) |
| 41-50 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (100%) |
| 51-60 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (100%) |
| Total | 27 | 3 (11.1%) | 16 | 7 (25.9%) | 13 (48.1%) |
*Starter criteria determined as an average of 50 or more starts, over at least 40 percent of the player’s career.
The following is the league average over the same tiers:
| Tier | All-Star | Starter | Not in NBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 12 (24%) | 30 (60%) | 3 (6%) |
| 6-10 | 8 (16%) | 30 (60%) | 7 (14%) |
| 11-15 | 2 (4%) | 12 (24%) | 8 (16%) |
| 16-20 | 3 (6%) | 10 (20%) | 8 (16%) |
| 21-25 | 2 (4%) | 8 (16%) | 15 (30%) |
| 26-30 | 1 (2%) | 5 (10%) | 20 (40%) |
| 31-40 | 1 (2%) | 11 (11%) | 52 (52%) |
| 41-50 | 2 (2%) | 8 (8%) | 70 (70%) |
| 51-60 | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | 87 (87%) |
| Total | 32 (5.3%) | 115 (19.7%) | 270 (45.0%) |
The Thunder have had tremendous success in the draft with their All-Star selections of Durant, Westbrook and Harden (who is now with the Houston Rockets). They’ve also landed valuable rotation players like Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka. The pick to draft Adams was acquired from the Rockets as part of the Harden deal.
Note that players are included with the team through any draft-day trades. Some teams pick well but let an eventual starter leave for another, but that’s beyond the scope of this article. Recently drafted players have yet to officially pass the “at least five years” test, but were considered as such if on a team’s roster by the end of the 2015-16 season.
Additionally, recent picks who have yet to join the NBA may still do so, but for this analysis are considered “out.”
Pick History 2006-2015
All-Stars: Kevin Durant (2007-2) — seven appearances, Russell Westbrook (2008-4) — five appearances, James Harden (2009-3) — four appearances
Starters: Jeff Green (2007-5), Serge Ibaka (2008-24), Steven Adams (2013-12), Andre Roberson (2013-26)
Rotation Players: D.J. White (2008-29), Cole Aldrich (2010-11), Tibor Pleiss (2010-31), Reggie Jackson (2011-24), Mitch McGary (2014-21), Josh Huestis (2014-29), Cameron Payne (2015-14)
Out in Five Years or Less: Mouhamed Sene (2006-10), Denham Brown (2006-40), Yotam Halperin (2006-53), DeVon Hardin (2008-50), Byron Mullens (2009-24), Robert Vaden (2009-54), Latavious Williams (2010-48), Ryan Reid (2010-57), Perry Jones (2012-28), Alex Abrines (2013-32), Grant Jerrett (2013-40), Semaj Christon (2014-55), Dakari Johnson (2015-48)
