Thunder By The Numbers: Payroll, Net Rating, Record and…

By the Thunder Nightly Desk · Saturday, October 10

The Thunder have not played a regular-season game yet, so last season's numbers still set the terms for 2026-27. Payroll, net rating, last season's record and the cost of keeping this core together show a club built to win now, with little room for error as camp gives way to games.

Payroll Past Both Lines

Oklahoma City's payroll totals $216.2 million, spread across 15 contracts, past both the $200.4 million luxury-tax threshold and the $209.0 million first apron, with a $221.7 million second-apron ceiling still ahead. Holmgren and Jalen Williams each carry a $41.5 million cap hit; Gilgeous-Alexander sits close behind at $40.8 million. Hartenstein ($23.1 million) and Caruso ($19.6 million) complete the top five earners. That bill is simply the cost of keeping last season's championship-contending roster mostly intact.

Last Season's Ceiling

A net rating of 11.1 last season, built on a 117.6 offense and a 106.5 defense that ranked first in the league, is the clearest measure of how good this group already is. Pace sat at 100.4, middle of the pack, proof the defense carried the weight. That efficiency produced a 64-18 record, the best mark in the Western Conference. None of it carries into 2026-27, where the record resets to 0-0 after two preseason losses, to the Pelicans and the Bucks. Three more preseason games remain before the October 20 opener against the Spurs.

Scoring Load and Draft Cost

Gilgeous-Alexander's 31.1 points a game led the roster last season across 68 appearances, with 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds alongside it. Holmgren added 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds over a full 69-game slate, while Jalen Williams matched that scoring average in only 33 games before injury cut his season short. Carrying that much production also comes with a cost beyond payroll: two of the next four first-round picks, 2027 and 2028, are tied up in swaps, leaving only 2029 and 2030 fully Oklahoma City's own.

What is the Thunder's payroll for 2026-27?

Oklahoma City's payroll totals $216.2 million, already past the $200.4 million tax threshold and the $209.0 million first apron.

How many first-round picks does Oklahoma City control through 2030?

Two of the next four are swaps, 2027 and 2028, leaving the 2029 and 2030 first-round picks fully in Oklahoma City's hands.

By the Thunder Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.