A summer filled with celebration nears its end. Only a month remains until the Oklahoma City Thunder start the 2025-26 regular season. The NBA champion has enjoyed its accomplishments, but soon a new marathon will start with them at the top.
Bringing back mostly the same roster, the Thunder are the consensus title favorite. They’re viewed as a team that could pull off the rare feat of being a back-to-back champion. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all signed contract extensions this offseason to keep their title window wide open.
To prepare for the 2025-26 regular season, Thunder Wire will lay out three goals for all 17 players on the roster. OKC has 15 standard players and two two-way players. Let’s look at Branden Carlson and what he could accomplish this upcoming year:
Convert to standard deal
Carlson is the only two-way player from last season who was brought back. He went undrafted out of Utah in the 2024 NBA draft. After he spent some time with the Toronto Raptors, he was added by the Thunder. Considering all of that context, you have to like what you saw out of him. He was a stretch center who looked decent in his limited minutes. There was plenty to like to be worth a second season.
Now, Carlson has to hope to get converted to a standard deal. That’s the goal for all two-way players. It’s tough to envision that happening right now, but rosters change over time. Perhaps he has another strong season and gives enough glimpses to be worth the contract upgrade and remove the 50-game limit that comes with two-way deals.
Take advantage of opportunities
Sam Presti mentioned him by name in his preseason press conference. When the Thunder learned Thomas Sorber would miss the upcoming season with a torn ACL, that continued an unwanted trend of first-year players being out with injuries. That now opens up a vacuum of minutes that the 19-year-old would’ve absorbed.
In comes Carlson. He’s the next player up on the depth chart. While Sorber’s injury doesn’t mean he’ll suddenly play every night, it does give him a chance to play more. You could’ve already made the case that the 26-year-old was going to be the better win-now player this upcoming season. This unfortunate injury opens up minutes that previously weren’t there.
Dominate G League
Whenever Carlson suited up for the OKC Blue, a video game stat line soon followed. He’d turn into a 20-point double-double machine with five-plus blocks. Opposing G League centers had no way to slow down the seven-footer with outside shooting. He needs to replicate that once again this season. He must ensure that decision-makers know he’s too talented to be there.
That’s always the battle two-way players go through. They’re in the weird spot between the NBA and G League. Similar to baseball players who destroy Triple-A pitchers but hit below the Mendoza line in the Majors. More often than most, two-way players don’t become regular NBA players. Bur Carlson showed enough in his first year to suggest he may join the rare club of those who do.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder 3 goals: Branden Carlson has chance to sign standard deal
