Brooks Barnhizer Dominates Boards in OKC Thunder Summer League Debut
In his first live basketball action since January, former Northwestern wing Brooks Barnhizer showed the tenacity and hustle plays that he intends to bring to the defending champions.
The Oklahoma City Thunder rookie earned the start in his Summer League debut, a 92-80 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday evening. In nearly 26 minutes, Barnhizer had nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, 13 rebounds, one block and one steal. At 6-foot-6, Barnhizer led the game in boards after crashing the glass and maintaining strong positioning.
Barnhizer scored his first Summer League points in the second quarter. Off a pass from 2024 first-rounder Nikola Topić, Barnhizer pulled up from beyond the arc to knock down a triple. Last season at Northwestern, the Wildcats' captain made just 26.6% of his shots from deep.
Beautiful pass from Nikola Topic and puts Brooks Barnhizer on the board! pic.twitter.com/OumoiGZ6US
— Shai Gilgreatness-Alexander (@Jhickness9) July 5, 2025
The rookie was seldom challenged on the defensive end early, but faced challenges such as GG Jackson as the game developed. Although he finished with zero assists, Barnhizer took care of the ball and reliably converted on passes to his teammates. Oklahoma City had 23 turnovers, though none of the giveaways came from the No. 44 overall pick.
Barnhizer will likely not play in every Summer League game, but he will have several more opportunities to gain experience against NBA-caliber players. Oklahoma City has two games remaining in Salt Lake City, with matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers (July 7) and Utah Jazz (July 8) coming up.
The Thunder will then head to Las Vegas for the official NBA Summer League, which features all 30 teams. Oklahoma City is set to play the Brooklyn Nets (July 10), Indiana Pacers (July 12), Orlando Magic (July 15) and New Orleans Pelicans (July 16). A fifth opponent will be determined later, based on the team's previous results.
Before a foot injury ended his senior season at Northwestern early, Barnhizer averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.