Bennett Stirtz stoked to help OKC's championship ambitions: 'It's go time'

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Needing to restock the back end of their bench with youth, the Oklahoma City Thunder came away from the 2026 NBA draft with a shopping cart filled with new toys. They coughed up some of their draft capital to ensure they landed one player during Tuesday's Round 1.

The Thunder selected Iowa's Bennett Stirtz with the No. 16 pick of the 2026 NBA draft. In a move-up trade, they sent the No. 17 pick and two future second-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies to ensure they added him to their roster with pending departures coming up in the offseason.

For a first-round pick, Stirtz had a unique journey to get to this point. He wasn't a household name at any level until this past year, when he exploded on the scene at Iowa. Before that, though, he was a relative no-name hooper. With zero offers, he played two years at D-II school Northwest Missouri State.

Eventually, he made the jump to D-I. He played for Drake in the 2024-25 season. Attaching his basketball hopes and dreams to head coach Ben McCollum. The bet and loyalty paid off. Both moved to the Hawkeyes and led them to a surprising Elite Eight appearance this past March Madness.

Stirtz averaged 19.8 points on 47.7% shooting, 4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 37 games this past season. He shot 35.8% from 3 on 6.9 attempts. He was Iowa's whole offense, if we're being real. That's why he averaged an eye-popping 37.8 minutes in 40-minute games. He was a pick-and-roll surgeon who manipulated geometry angles to make up for his lack of burst. And then he was a tough shot-maker who's not afraid to let it fly from deep.

The Thunder are banking that those skills translate over to the NBA. The 22-year-old should be ready from the jump. After learning he'd actually go to OKC and not Memphis, he was stoked to join an NBA title contender at the very start of his career.

"It's a crazy whirlwind just with the trades and everything, but super excited to get going. The work starts now. It was a long process, pre-draft and everything. But now it's go time," Stirtz said. "I think the fit couldn't be better. Organization, just the people around it, nothing but good people. Community is great. Love the city of Oklahoma City. Just excited to create relationships with everyone and get going."

The NBA calendar is year-round. Rosters never stand still. While the Thunder have enjoyed spotless continuity over the last two summers, we're about to see them make some tough roster decisions — and not solely based on talent. They could say goodbye to some familiar faces for cap space reasons. Just the tough reality of the basketball business.

For a while now, the Thunder have known who their three franchise pillars are — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. As the payroll balloons for the rest of the decade, they have to navigate ways to fit the rest of the puzzle pieces to their roster. Stirtz will be given chances to do that.

"Again, just great people. Not a lot of the guys were in there, but just know how hard they work. Watched a bunch of their games the past three years. I know some guys on the team. Payton Sandfort obviously went to Iowa. Got some connections," Stirtz said. "But all the way from the coaching staff, front office to the players, they run it the right way and the culture is something that's really fun to watch."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Bennett Stirtz stoked to help OKC's championship ambitions: 'It's go time'

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