Is the Thunder the Whampoa Military Academy of the NBA? There is Dewey Ha in the front and Jewei Chet in the back. The two second-round picks are also very good.

The Thunder, are they really the Whampoa Military Academy of the NBA?

The vision in selecting people is outstanding. There are three young players from the Thunder (Durant, Westbrook, and James Harden) before them, and there are three new young players from the Thunder behind them (except Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jaylen Williams). In addition to these big names, the Thunder's ability to pick up treasures in the second round is also very powerful.

So far in the new season, the team has achieved 8 consecutive victories. It is worth noting that the team's second star Jaylen Williams has not played in 1 game, and the team's third star Chet Holmgren has not played in 3 games. Only Alexander has played steadily in 8 games.

Winning continuously in today's league cannot be accomplished by a single-core superstar. In addition to Alexander, the two second-round picks selected by the Thunder have become an important core of the team.

According to statistics, in the first 8 games of the season, Alexander's total plus-minus value was +68, only third in the lineup. The top two were Aaron Wiggins (+78) and Ajay Mitchell (+77).

Wiggins was the No. 55 pick in 2021 and averaged 13.3 points per game this season.

Mitchell was the 38th pick in 2024, averaging 16.1 points per game;

In addition, the Thunder not only selects accurately, but also has strong incubation capabilities. The team's Isaiah Joe averaged 18.3 points per game this season and shot 48.3% from three-point range!

He was selected by the 76ers with the 49th overall pick in the second round in 2020. He did not get many opportunities in the first two seasons with the 76ers, averaging only 3.6 points per game. However, since arriving with the Thunder in 2022, his performance has been getting better year by year~

So, it is not too much to say that the Thunder is the Whampoa Military Academy of the NBA~