The Oklahoma City Thunder shocked the NBA world five years ago when they received a record five first-round draft picks, two pick swaps and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the LA Clippers in a trade for Paul George.
Thanks in part to that load of draft picks and Gilgeous-Alexander developing into an MVP contender, the Thunder are a favorite to win the Western Conference this season.
The return value from that trade between the Clippers and Thunder set the standard in how fringe playoff teams would rebuild by acquiring multiple future draft picks and adding more young prospects to the roster.
In the years following that franchise-altering trade in 2019, other teams have followed the Thunder's blueprint to acquire picks and prospects. The Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets have acquired 22 first-round picks and seven years of pick swaps in six different trades. Each team received a minimum of three first-rounders.
In two separate trades with the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, Brooklyn acquired nine first-round picks, including eight unprotected.
As a result of all the transactional movement, five teams control a whopping 62 first-round picks over the next seven years. Brooklyn, Oklahoma City, Utah and San Antonio hold 13 out of the 30 first-round selections.
The blockbuster trades have resulted in a perfect storm as it relates to the 2025 NBA draft that could feature the next franchise stars, Duke's Cooper Flagg, the Rutgers duo of Airious "Ace" Bailey and Dylan Harper and French guard Nolan Traore. The four players are projected top-5 picks in ESPN's latest 2025 mock draft.
To gain a better understanding of which teams are positioned to dominate the league's annual draft for the rest of this decade, here's my ranking of the cache of picks for the five teams that hold the most first-round choices as of Sept. 10, 2024.
It starts with San Antonio, which could have four first-round picks in June and the possibility of selecting a franchise player to complement star Victor Wembanyama.
More teams beyond top 5:
Grizzlies, Pelicans, Raptors, Magic
Warriors, Lakers | Celtics, Knicks, 76ers | More
