OKC Thunder rookie Dillon Jones’ NBA debut could be delayed

The Oklahoma City Thunder posted 57 wins last season en route to finishing first in the Western Conference, their first playoff series win since 2016 and just the second sweep in franchise history. After another surprising, but extremely successful season, the Thunder turned to the draft to bolster their roster.

Given the Thunder’s large number of draft picks, Oklahoma City managed to enter the 2024 NBA draft lottery with the 12th pick via the Houston Rockets, who used it to select Nikola Topic. The top point guard in this class will be sidelined for the entire 2024-25 campaign due to an ACL injury.

Sam Presti’s draft class didn’t stop there, trading five future second-round picks for Weber State product Dillon Jones, selecting the player with the 26th overall pick in the draft and acquiring Ajay Mitchell in the second round on the second day.

This adds to the already best young core in the NBA, which only got better this summer when the Thunder added Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso to the mix, with only Josh Giddey missing from last year’s cast, who made a significant impact.

Given Oklahoma City’s wealth, Jones’ debut could be delayed because of how stacked the Thunder’s rotation will be. The season opener against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24 won’t be a blowout, limiting the rookie rookie’s chances of cracking the rotation even with a stellar training camp and preseason.

However, given Mark Daigneault’s penchant for going 12 in the first round and a roster to justify it, it’s hard to rule anything out. While it might be tough to get minutes for Jones on Night 1, it won’t be long before the Thunder find a way to add the first-rounder as they next face the Bulls and Hawks.

Ultimately, until a clearer picture is obtained during training camp, the safe bet at this point will be that Jones spends the majority of the 2024-25 season in the NBA G League with the reigning champion OKC Blue due to the nature of the Thunder’s loaded roster.

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