Oklahoma City relied on the same five starters, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, for most of its healthy games across the past two seasons, including the 68-14 regular season and championship run in 2024-25. Team options on Dort at roughly $17.7 million and Hartenstein at $28.5 million for 2026-27, combined with Cason Wallace entering extension talks after his rookie deal, create the clearest opening for a shift next season.
Wallace, the 10th pick in 2023, earned starts in key playoff games when Hartenstein sat out and posted strong defensive metrics that ranked him among the league's better young perimeter defenders. The Thunder finished with 132 regular-season wins over those two years while deploying double-big lineups far more often than most title contenders. They also showed willingness to go smaller in stretches where Wallace replaced Dort or Holmgren slid to the four.
Wallace brings better spacing and switchability on the perimeter than Dort in many matchups. Inserting him into the starting group would allow Oklahoma City to reduce its reliance on two traditional bigs without sacrificing rim protection from Holmgren. That adjustment fits the team's evolution from a defense-first identity into one that must balance elite half-court offense with the growing salaries of its core three.
The front office has already navigated similar roster compression after the title. The SGA-Williams-Holmgren trio is set to combine for more than $123 million next season and push the team deep into the second apron. Keeping Dort and Hartenstein would limit flexibility for future moves or extensions, while declining the options opens paths to re-sign Wallace on a second contract that begins impacting the books in 2027-28.
Decisions on the team options arrive by late June. Any move to start Wallace or experiment with smaller lineups will likely surface first in training camp and the early regular season schedule. The Thunder have thrived by prioritizing continuity when it works, yet the current cap math and Wallace's development make a permanent change to the opening group more probable than at any point since the championship.
Oklahoma City Thunder 