2022-23 Thunder player grades: Olivier Sarr
The 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder’s season ended with the play-in tournament loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which means it’s time for reflection.
Being one of the biggest overachievers in the league, the Thunder finished with a 40-42 record after being predicted by many to have high lottery odds.
Now that the season is in the books, let’s go back and evaluate all 19 players who suited up for the Thunder this past season. Grades will be handed out to every player in terms of what their expectations were heading into the season and how they lived up to them.
The 18th player in this installment is Olivier Sarr, who was a late-season addition to the roster as a two-way player. He made his season debut in March and appeared in nine games for OKC.
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(Editor’s note: We are starting individual grades for all players from the 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)
2022-23 statistics:
4 points
3.4 rebounds
0.4 assists
50% shooting
12.5% 3-point shooting
71.4% free-throw shooting
Advanced stats:
True-shooting percentage: 54.4%
Usage rate: 13.6%
Win shares: 0.2
Rebound percentage: 14.6%
Block percentage: 4.1%
On-court plus-minus: plus-6.1
Significant Percentile Finishes:
P&R roll man: 89.7 percentile
Contract:
2023-24: RFA
Thoughts:
Sarr made his return to the Thunder in February when he was signed onto a two-way deal. This was his second stint with OKC after playing in 22 games for them last season.
Although Sarr was signed on a two-way deal on Feb. 11, he didn’t make his season debut until March 5. In total, he appeared in nine games this season and averaged 12.7 minutes.
Sarr’s best game came in the regular-season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies, where he finished with a season-high 22 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. This was essentially a G League game as both teams elected to sit out their regular rotation players for rest prepping for the playoffs.
At 24 years old, I’m not sure how much more room to grow there is for Sarr. He’ll likely continue to be a bubble NBA roster player. While his 7-foot frame is impressive, he’s not nearly polished enough to be an effective rim-running big.
He was an effective pick-and-roll roll man, but that comes with an extremely small sample size. He tries to space the floor with an outside shot, but it’s still in an experimental phase with no real impact.
With the addition of a third two-way spot, perhaps he can extend his career. His size might keep him in the league, but I don’t think that’s a long-term solution.
Moving Forward:
It’s hard to take much out of Sarr’s second tenure with the Thunder. After being signed on a two-way deal, he spent more time with the G League’s OKC Blue than the NBA.
During his two months with OKC, he rarely saw any playing time and got his first true opportunity to play in a meaningless regular-season finale. It took nearly a month for him to make his season debut after initially signing a two-way deal.
At this point, Sarr is who he is — a borderline NBA player who will be enamored by his size by teams. A third two-way spot could extend his career, but I think he’ll ultimately be a G League/overseas guy in the long run.
Final Grade: D-
