Winning one NBA championship with a double-big lineup, the Oklahoma City Thunder have triple-downed on that roster-constructing philosophy. In their last two draft cycles, their top pick has been a center — Aday Mara and Thomas Sorber. Suddenly, their frontcourt room is filled to the brim.
No offense to Sorber, but Mara is the more intriguing of the two additions. The 21-year-old is a 7-foot-3, 260-pound behemoth. In a sport filled with giants, he’s already little-brothered most of the NBA before even logging in a single minute. Only a handful of NBA players can say they’re taller than him. One being Victor Wembanyama — by an inch.
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Which segues to my next point. Did the Thunder add Mara in response to their 2026 Western Conference Finals? Where Wembanyama led the San Antonio Spurs to a Game 7 win and a Conference Finals MVP award? That seems to be the consensus on a national scale. But I don’t think that’s exactly accurate.
The Thunder can’t specify roster decisions with just one team in mind. That could lead them to get lost within the trees of the forest. If anything, OKC is getting ahead of the curve as the NBA swings back to being a size-oriented talent pool. That said, it doesn’t hurt to see them roster Mara as a potential giant to throw at Wembanyama.
Best-case scenario, Mara helps anchors OKC’s league-best defense. Alongside Holmgren, they can provide the Thunder with one of the best two-man combos that hover in the paint. He gives the Thunder another stylistic curveball as he’s more of a traditional center whose sheer size should give him a leg-up against the rest of the league.
Just moments after a life-altering moment, Mara is ready to join the Thunder and aid them in their quest to dethrone the Spurs next season and beyond. If OKC hopes to bring home a second Larry O’Brien trophy, it feels like it eventually has to take down Wembanyama.
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“That’s exciting. Obviously, after winning the championship with Michigan, you want more,” Mara said. “So it’s great to be in a contender team like OKC. But excited. Excited to be there to start working and help the team as much as I can.”
The NBA is still trying to figure out how to slow down Wembanyama. If we’re being blunt, there’s no stopping a top-three player. The 22-year-old broke out this year as an MVP candidate. It’s a leap everybody has anticipated since before he even joined the Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. But the New York Knicks at least provided a blueprint to turn him ineffective in the NBA Finals with just 26 points on 42.3% shooting in five games.
You need a bunch of jumbo-sized forwards. That’s a checkmark for the Thunder. At least when Jalen Williams is healthy. It also doesn’t hurt to have someone who can look at Wembanyama’s eyes without looking up. Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein tried their best, but Mara gives OKC someone who can actually do that. Remains to be seen if it’ll be a successful plan, but how he matches up with the NBA superstar is something the entire basketball world is excited to see happen — whether this upcoming year or down the road.
“I think it’s going to take time for adjustment, but I’m excited. I’m excited to play against him,” Mara said. “Obviously, to play in the NBA. But I feel like I’m going to play against him a lot. If it’s not the NBA, it’s going to be on the national team. So I’m excited to get ready to play against him.”
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Aday Mara ‘excited’ to help Thunder in slowing down Victor Wembanyama
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