Oklahoma City returns the NBA's best net rating and a 64-18 record largely intact, but its payroll now sits above the first tax apron. How long this exact core stays together runs through Sam Presti's stockpile of future draft capital.
A Champion Built to Repeat
Oklahoma City won 64 games last season with a league-best net rating of 11.1 and the No. 1 defense in the league alongside a No. 7 offense, and the group that did it mostly returns. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds; Chet Holmgren added 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds; Jalen Williams put up 17.1 points and 5.5 assists in just 33 games. Mark Daigneault has now taken the West's top seed three straight years with a young group, 17 players averaging 24.3 years old, that leans on cheaper rotation pieces like Cason Wallace and Jaylin Williams alongside its stars.
The Apron Bites
That success now has a price. Payroll sits at $214.8 million across 14 contracts, above the $200.4 million luxury tax line and the $209.0 million first apron, though still below the $221.7 million second apron. Jalen Williams and Holmgren each earn $41.5 million, Gilgeous-Alexander $40.8 million, Isaiah Hartenstein $23.1 million and Alex Caruso $19.6 million. Operating above the first apron narrows the tools Presti has to reshape the roster around that group, from trade exceptions to how it fills out the rest of the roster.
The Answer Is in the Picks
The offsetting asset is draft control. Oklahoma City owns its 2029 and 2030 first- and second-round picks outright and holds swap rights in both 2027 and 2028, capital that gives Presti options the apron does not. Whether that capital buys more depth around the top three or gets held back against future tax bills is unresolved. For now the answer is simpler: Oklahoma City keeps the group that just won a championship together, pays the bill that comes with it, and saves the harder call on how to spend those picks for later, once extensions for this group come due.
Is Oklahoma City over the luxury tax entering 2026-27?
Yes, payroll sits at $214.8 million, above the $200.4 million tax line and the $209.0 million first apron, though still below the $221.7 million second apron.
Does Oklahoma City still have draft picks to work with?
Yes, the Thunder own their 2029 and 2030 first- and second-round picks outright and hold swap rights in both 2027 and 2028.
