The 2026 NBA Draft concluded with Wednesday’s second spherical as groups made their remaining alternatives in one of many deepest lessons within the draft’s historical past.
One choose which will have flown somewhat beneath the radar was forty first total choice Otega Oweh. The previous Kentucky guard, who spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma, was drafted by the Miami Heat earlier than his rights had been traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Whereas he might haven’t been the flashiest choose of the evening, Oweh affords a variety of upside for a younger Thunder crew that simply received the NBA title two seasons in the past.
Otega Oweh may very well be one of many greatest steals of the draft
This was the second Oweh’s identify was known as by NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.
Throughout his senior season in Lexington, Oweh averaged a team-high 18.6 factors, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals. He solely shot 33.3% from lengthy vary and will definitely must be extra environment friendly to achieve the NBA, however his defensive tenacity and talent to bully his option to the rim may show precious on a gifted Thunder squad.
The Thunder allowed the second-fewest factors within the 2025-26 season (108 PPG), so it’s not out of the query that Oweh may very well be a stable position participant off the bench who is usually a disruptor on the defensive finish and grow to be a dependable depth piece.
Whereas Oweh’s taking pictures may use some enchancment, his knack for driving to the rim may enable him to both draw fouls or draw some consideration away from back-to-back league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and set him and others up for open seems.
Certain, Oweh’s efficiency within the Summer time League will likely be key to the Thunder elevating him to the principle roster and having an opportunity throughout his rookie season. With that stated, his toughness and physicality must be an enormous profit on a crew that he matches in extraordinarily nicely on.
For starters, Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace are additionally former Wildcats, so he has that going for him already. When totally wholesome, this was a Thunder crew that clearly had an awesome shot at repeating as champions, setting Oweh up for rapid success on a contending crew if he can earn some minutes.
It is usually vital to take into account that Oweh had a number of video games at Kentucky the place he utterly took over on offense. His defensive prowess was his greatest trait at Oklahoma and was definitely an element at Kentucky, however he confirmed that he’s greater than able to stepping up in clutch conditions.
Most notably, followers will at all times keep in mind his scintillating half-court buzzer-beater to power time beyond regulation towards Santa Clara within the first spherical of the 2026 NCAA Match.
Once more, nothing about Oweh’s recreation factors to him being greater than a task participant off the bench at this level. Nonetheless, performs like that, coupled along with his toughness driving to the basket and his defensive acumen, counsel the Thunder made a sneaky-good choice right here with somebody who has the instruments to develop right into a major roster participant in due time.
The Thunder are usually not going wherever anytime quickly as they proceed to construct some depth round their star gamers. Oweh might not instantly make an influence within the NBA and must exit and earn some minutes, however he’s precisely the kind of participant who could make key performs when counted on and supply a spark when the photographs are usually not falling.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘1324276914788316’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
