Since he became the top decision-maker, Sam Presti has carved out a knack for going with the unconventional. The Oklahoma City Thunder have turned into one of the best developmental teams for nearly two decades. One market inefficiency is taking swings on extraordinary prospects.
The latest swing-and-hopeful-hit? Bennett Stirtz. The Thunder selected him with the No. 16 pick of the 2026 NBA draft. His four-year collegiate journey to reach that point is a storyline ripped straight out of NBA 2K's cheesy MyCareer mode.
Stirtz's collegiate career included three stops — two at the traditional D-I level and one in the unusual, humble D-II beginnings. He spent two years at D-II's Northwest Missouri State. He then made the leap to Drake for one year. And finally, he penciled himself onto the NBA map with his explosive senior year at Iowa.
In a recent episode of Dwyane Wade's 'THE CALL: HOOPERS', Stirtz reflected on his Disney-esque journey from a D-II start to a borderline lottery pick. The 13-minute video chronicled his 2026 NBA draft experience. Over league history, only a handful of players can say they've had similar experiences as former D-II players who turned into first-round picks. Some prominent examples are Walt Frazier and Derrick White.
"I was Division II two years ago, so I wasn’t highly recruited. I was pretty overlooked," Stirtz said in the documentary. "So, something that I will always carry with me is just this chip on my shoulder."
The one guy Stirtz tied his basketball success to was Iowa coach Ben McCollum. Those two were tied to the hip in their four years together. They dominated at Northwest Missouri State, then they did the same at Drake and then they repeated their accomplishments at Iowa. Every step of the way, that coach-player tandem produced winners.
Now, McCollum is excited to see Stirtz at the NBA level. He believes he has the talent and makeup to join a long lineage of successful Thunder role players. Instead of being the main focal point, he gets to enjoy just being a complementary piece who gets spoon-fed easy looks.
"I think he’s ready to play," McCollum said. "So, wherever he gets drafted, he’s ready to go."
Stirtz's game is pretty easy to fall in love with on tape. He was the top go-to scorer on every collegiate team he donned. He's shown he can have a blue-collar workload of carrying an entire offense. The 23-year-old can get to the cup or pull up from deep. You can see why a title contender like OKC would target him as a first-day contributor.
The business-first personality is also another element that likely played in his favor. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault raved about his professionalism. No better recent example of that than him rolling his ankle one night and then gutting through it the next in OKC's preseason-opening back-to-back slate.
After the Thunder said goodbye to a handful of role players this past summer due to financial constraints, they're hoping Stirtz can carry the baton of guys like Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins in terms of being OKC's next designated bucket-getter who comes off the bench. The catch-and-shoot looks that those two benefited from over the year should fall on his hands soon.
“So, making it clear, talking to Coach Daigneault, talking to Sam and seeing what they want from me, and just being myself out there because I’m pretty versatile and I can do whatever they need me to do," Stirtz said. "There are going to be ups and downs and there are going to be controversies, but I’m going to keep my head down and keep working."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Bennett Stirtz hopes to become rare D-II-to-NBA success story on OKC Thunder