One thought about every Thunder player who played in Summer League
The Oklahoma City Thunder concludes their 2022 summer league this past week after participating in two different ones in Salt Lake City and the traditional Las Vegas ones.
17 players suited up for the Thunder that ranged from No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren to Kevin Kangu, who was signed while the team was already playing games.
While the results of games don’t matter and not much should be taken seriously in summer league, it’s still a nice group of games to see how players look like playing against somewhat NBA talent.
Let’s give each player one thought about their summer league as the Thunder prepare for training camp to get ready for the 2022-23 regular season.
Chet Holmgren
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
All eyes were on Chet Holmgren throughout summer league and that was magnetized following his debut against the Utah Jazz that saw him drop 23 points and six blocks.
After that though, Holmgren performed how most expected him to look for the rest of summer league. Which isn’t a bad thing! It’s just that his marvelous debut probably set unrealistic expectations for Holmgren the rest of the way in summer league.
With that said, one of the few things that could’ve been transferable from his first game to the remaining games was his aggressiveness to score the ball.
That wasn’t the case as Holmgren took a more passive role scoring the ball the rest of the way — which is a good thing in a vacuum; Holmgren playing within the flow of the offense and not forcing anything is a healthy approach — but when you’re the No. 2 pick in the draft, summer league is the easiest environment where being a bit selfish is acceptable if not encouraged, especially after showing the ability to create your own offense like Holmgren did.
Josh Giddey
Josh Giddey proved throughout the majority of summer league that he was simply too advanced to be playing against pseudo-NBA talent. Which is expected from someone who won Rookie of the Month in every month he played in last season.
The only downers for Giddey is his poor shooting and high amount of turnovers — although both things could be explained as him experimenting more and being more daring in summer league than he would be during the regular season.
While the shot still looks relatively the same as it did last time, Giddey continues to impact other facets of the game with his elite court vision and playmaking abilities — especially in transition as the passer.
Jalen Williams
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Out of all the rookies, Jalen Williams had the best showing considering his performance and expectations.
Heading into the draft, Williams was described as an on-ball offensive creator who can score on his own, and while he showed some of that in summer league, the biggest takeaway for the 21-year-old was his off-ball skills.
Williams’ cutting abilities were in full display during summer league as he was able to be at the right spots at the right time when the ball wasn’t in his hands. Williams’ off-ball skills were never really discussed in the draft process, but it provides a valuable skill to a Thunder offense that is trying to have as many versatile ball-handlers as possible on the floor at all times.
Ousmane Dieng
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Ousmane Dieng certainly played like the multi-year project he’s projected to be in summer league.
On offense, Dieng was essentially a no-show sans his last game before fracturing his wrist. Off the ball, Dieng basically degraded to standing around the perimeter and shooting most of his shots from outside.
The biggest stride Dieng made was his final summer league game, where he was given more on-ball duties with the Thunder sitting out multiple players. To Dieng’s credit, he definitely showed something that game as he was able to drive to the basket and create his own looks more often.
Unfortunately, that was it for Dieng as the team announced he suffered a fractured wrist that would keep him out for the rest of summer league. The good news is that he’s expected to be fully healthy by training camp.
Dieng definitely showed something as a scoring threat his final game but it’s hard to foresee the circumstances it came with will be replicable in the regular season with a fully healthy roster. Which means extensive G League assignments for Dieng as the lead ball-handler could be more beneficial for him than being someone standing around the perimeter in the NBA.
While it’s not a good thing that the No. 11 pick in the draft won’t likely receive consistent playing time on a rebuilding team, this case is a bit unique as I’m not sure just how beneficial it is for Dieng’s development to be regulated to someone who might get a handful of self-creation possessions a game.
Aleksej Pokusevski
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Not really sure what’s there to say about Aleksej Pokusevski that hasn’t been said already. While summer league shouldn’t warrant overreactions, it certainly wasn’t the best showing for Pokusevski.
Much like the last two seasons, Pokusevski struggled when the team was fully healthy but was able to play well when he was one of the main options. While it’s nice Pokusevski had a nice final summer league game, it continues this unsustainable pattern for him.
Learning how to play being a secondary threat is going to be a huge hurdle for Pokusevski. He just won’t receive the offensive freedom in the regular season he’s received before.
Although Pokusevski is barely 20 years old, the clock is ticking for him with this upcoming season will likely determine his future with the team. Which makes the decision to not let him play in Las Vegas that much more puzzling as he definitely could’ve benefitted from the extra reps.
Tre Mann
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
After returning from a stint in healthy and safety protocols, Tre Mann struggled to gain rhythm and was the talk of heavy criticism from the fanbase.
While the criticism is warranted, it’s important to remember not to put too much stock on these summer league games — especially in Mann’s case where he was one of the team’s better players following the All-Star break last season and probably took a while to get over from feeling sick.
Mann’s best game was in his final one, where — just like Dieng — benefited greatly with the extra ball-handler possessions.
I’m not too concerned with Mann’s poor summer league outing as he’s already proved on the NBA level that he can acquire buckets. While it’s a little disappointing to see him struggle against inferior competition, I wouldn’t read too much into it.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl looked solid this summer league as he’s shown a full recovery from his fractured foot he suffered in February.
Robinson-Earl is the type of player who could help Holmgren out tremendously on the defensive end as he will be able to absorb louder hits from bigger opponents. Robinson-Earl’s ability to stretch the floor will also help clear space in the paint and avoid clogging the lanes.
If I had to bet money, I think Robinson-Earl gets the fifth starting spot on the team for opening night.
Aaron Wiggins
Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Wiggins continues to play solidly as an off-ball threat whose strengths are on the defensive side of the floor.
Wiggins continues to look like a steal for the No. 55 pick in the draft as he has the tools and smarts to be a solid NBA player.
Jaylin Williams
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Jaylin Williams could definitely benefit from a G League stint as the offense is still a work in progress. Whenever he tried to score on his own, it usually resulted in a loud miss; that’s something that’s going to need to improve.
While the Thunder will rarely ask Williams to score on his own, having trouble finishing in the paint is a death sentence for a forward like him. The bright spot is that the defense looked solid as he directed traffic and put his body on the line multiple times to draw charges. Those skills will help out on the next level for Williams as he polished out his offensive game.
Lindy Waters III
(Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
Lindy Waters III owns one of the two two-way spots on the roster and while he didn’t have any standout games throughout summer league, he was a solid outside shooter.
Waters III developing into an outside threat as a two-way player will increase his odds of sticking with the Thunder long enough to receive a full-time deal, but if he wants to stick in the NBA in the long run, developing other skills will help out big time.
Eugene Omoruyi
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
As a relative unknown when the Thunder signed him onto a two-way contract, Eugene Omoruyi showed some impressive stuff during summer league.
Omoruyi was able to use his large size to finish around the hoop and bully his way for easy looks. While I still don’t fully understand the signing as the 25-year-old is closer to a finished product due to his age, he looked solid in his summer league minutes.
Vit Krejci
Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
The biggest takeaway from Vit Krejci’s summer league was the fact that he was the only player with NBA experience on the Thunder to play in the final game. This might be reading too much into it, but that might not spell well for Krejci’s future with the team as the roster is overfilled with players.
Gabe Brown
Gabe Brown got hot in the final five quarters of summer league with his outside shooting. It’s still to be determined if that’s enough to convince the Thunder to let him participate in summer league but he proved to be an outside threat the final two games.
Jaden Shackelford
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jaden Shackelford had some nice scoring games when given the chance to play. Much like Brown, it’ll be interesting to see if a couple of decent scoring games will be enough to receive a training camp invite.
Robert Baker
Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Not a ton to discuss with Robert Baker. He barely played and when he did, nothing really stood out. Baker might get a shot to join the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue as an undrafted rookie.
Abdul Gaddy
Photo by Martin McGrew/NBAE via Getty Images
Abdul Gaddy didn’t really play much in summer league but he flashed some nice passes when he did. This probably marks the end of his tenure with the Thunder but there’s an outside shot with the Blue.
Kevin Kangu
Kevin Kangu was a late signing as the Thunder were already playing summer league games when he was brought on. Kangu was only given playing time in the last game and didn’t show much to hold onto as hope. Much like the cases with the previous few players, there’s always a shot he gets signed onto the Blue.
