Thunder draft Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz

With the #12 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Aday Mara. Soon after, they dealt two second-rounders to Memphis to move up one spot for Bennett Stirtz at #16.

A 20-year-old center out of Michigan, Mara will aim to join fellow seven-footer Chet Holmgren in OKC's frontcourt as a potential successor to Isaiah Hartenstein. The 7'3, 260 lbs defensive behemoth–selected last among Michigan's Mara/Yaxel Landeborg/Morez Johnson Jr. trio–averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds for the 2026 championship Wolverines. Mara believers project him as a starting center who will lock down the paint and facilitate offense from the elbows.

Stirtz, taken at #16, is a 22-year-old point guard out of Iowa. Stirtz is a polished high-feel with elite pick-and-roll command, whose biggest fans envision an elite organizer who will reliably lead the second unit. Stirtz averaged 19.8 points on very solid shooting for Iowa his senior season.

With no other trades announced, OKC currently has 16 players for 15 slots. Whether these picks reveal any posture or planning around the contract status of Hartenstein or Lu Dort remains to be seen, but Thunder fans are watching closely until OKC makes a decision on their respective team options for next season and/or reaches an agreement on an extension. With rookies at the 1 and 5 joining Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber, the long-term competition is on for the backcourt and frontcourt in Oklahoma City.

Aside from the reality that rookies are rarely plus players in their first season, there are concerns about Mara's strength and mobility against demanding NBA coverages, and Stirtz's limited athletic ceiling. We had Mara ranked at exactly No. 12 on the Daily Thunder Big Board, and had Stirtz at #23. Our readers were lower than consensus on both players, and will spend the next few months watching highlights and talking themselves into one or both panning out for OKC in the long run.