The Oklahoma City Thunder are fresh off winning the first NBA Championship in the team’s history since moving to Oklahoma City. Barring the need for a center, the Thunder had the fewest voids in their roster heading to the 2025 NBA Draft, and they addressed it on Wednesday with the No. 15 pick, selecting Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber. They also traded their No. 24 pick to the Sacramento Kings for a future first-round selection.
However, it’s hard to understand the Thunder’s selection in the second round. Oklahoma reached for Northwestern wing Brooks Barnhizer with the No. 44 pick and has received the worst grade of the night for the selection.
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive League-Worst Grade Of the Night For Picking Brooks Barnhizer 44th Overall
Oklahoma general manager Sam Presti is one of the best in the league when it comes to building a competitive team.
While the Thunder’s first-round selection was graded an “A-“ by PFSN’s Brandon Austin, he couldn’t understand the logic behind selecting Barnhizer, who had more chances of getting undrafted than being picked in the mid-second round.
Barnhizer is coming off a decent four-year career at Northwestern. Though he has improved in each of his four seasons, his shooting percentages have only gone down, and Austin doesn’t see a way in which he can succeed in the young Thunder team. He graded the selection “D”, making the Thunder the only team to receive such a low grade in the second round.
OKC, you are gonna love Brooks Barnhizer pic.twitter.com/iu30h5V3Xj
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) June 27, 2025
“At 6’6″, Barnhizer plays with a brand of defensive grit that you just can’t teach,” Austin wrote. “Before his senior year was derailed by a foot injury in January, he filled the stat sheet for the Wildcats: 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game.
“It’s clear the Thunder clearly fell in love with his defensive motor during the pre-draft process. He’s a relentless on-ball defender who doesn’t back down, and OKC has long valued players who can switch, scrap, and cover ground. Barnhizer fits that mold to a tee.
“But this pick isn’t without risk. His outside shot? Still a major question mark. Barnhizer hit just 31% from deep over his college career and dipped to 26.6% last season while playing through injury.
That’ll have to improve if he wants to stick on a deep, competitive Thunder roster. But OKC has been known to invest in high-IQ wings with defensive chops and let the shot develop later. This isn’t a splashy pick. It’s not a scorer’s pick. It’s a culture pick. A toughness pick. A ‘we see something you don’t’ pick.”
The Thunder fans would hope Presti is proven right yet again, and while Barnhizer does have a realistic chance of carving out a rotational role in the NBA, Austin does not envision him staying in the league for long.
Barnhizer averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game last season and became the first Northwestern Wildcat to be taken in the NBA Draft since Evan Eschmeyer in 1999, who went No. 34 overall to the New Jersey Nets.
However, Eschmeyer lasted just four seasons in the league, scoring a total of 421 points. While he didn’t have as impressive a college career as Barnhizer, the latter’s shooting development will be a crucial determinant of his future in the NBA, and the Thunder would hope their Wildcat to turn out to be the opposite of Eschmeyer.
