Thunder, Sixers Both Resting Stars in Battle for Top-Six Pick

The Thunder are trying to beat the 76ers at their own game. Just not on the court, where the teams will meet in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City announced Tuesday night that they are resting MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with starters Jalen Williams and Lu Dort, who are battling hip injuries.

While a team with a 56–12 record is an unlikely subject for a tanking investigation, a Thunder-Sixers matchup is laden with draft implications. OKC owns Philadelphia’s top draft selection this summer—if it falls out of the top six. So the Thunder have plenty of wiggle room for the top seed in the West, and all the incentive in the world for the Sixers to win.

The Sixers, meanwhile, are desperate to lose. They’ve already shut down stars Joel Embiid and Paul George for the season with injuries, and they said Tuesday they were sitting Tyrese Maxey and rotation players Kyle Lowry and Andre Drummond. Kelly Oubre, another regular, is listed as doubtful. 

The Sixers are 23–45 this season, currently the sixth-worst record in the NBA. They’re a half-game back of the Nets for the fifth-worst record and a half-game up on the Raptors for the seventh-worst.

As of Wednesday morning, the Sixers have a 46% chance to land a top-six pick and a 9% chance of the No. 1 overall pick, according to Tankathon. But a half-game difference goes a long way. The Nets have a 64% chance at a top-six pick while the Raptors’ odds are just 32%. 

Wednesday isn’t the first time the Thunder have recently rested their franchise player, either. The team sat all five starters against the Trail Blazers on March 14, prompting an NBA investigation over its Player Participation Policy, which fines teams for resting healthy star players. The Sixers were investigated earlier this season over Embiid, and the NBA could begin investigating and fining teams for resting non-star players, in another effort to curb tanking. 

Though the Sixers’ infamous “Process” redefined tanking in modern sports, Sam Presti’s Thunder have executed some egregious tank jobs of their own. The Thunder sat Gilgeous-Alexander for 35 games during the 2020–2021 season to improve their draft odds and rested Al Horford the final few weeks of the season despite him being healthy.

The Sixers have the fifth-easiest schedule remaining in the NBA with 14 games left.