Aleksej Pokusevski Continues Breakout Season for Thunder
Fresh off another solid performance, Aleksej Pokusevski is continuing his much improved season with Oklahoma City.
After being lauded by many as one of the worst player’s in the NBA over his first two seasons, Pokusevski has seen an emergence so far in Year 3, averaging 10.0 points on 50 percent shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.9 blocks per game in just 23.4 minutes per game. Most remarkably, he’s shooting 42 percent from three on 3.5 attempts per game.
As Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault would tell you, Pokusevski is nearing the point in the season where we can start to trust that his play of late has been legitimate. Around 20 games is usually a good benchmark for sample size, and so far Pokusevski has 15 games under his belt, with more solid play in preseason as well.
And it certainly hasn’t looked like a fluke.
Poku has played much more within himself this season, shooting with a wider base, limiting his wild, signature crazy plays and taking high percentage shots when open. As a defender, his progress has been unparalleled league wide. After lots of getting lost and moved around for much of the past two seasons, Pokusevski has found himself in the right position more often than not this year, leading to a huge increase in blocks.
The Serbian 7-footer ranks 7th in the entire NBA in blocks per game, and is tied for 8th in total blocks on the season. Most notably, he’s tracking the ball well, and timing his jumps much better.
His advanced play and unique style has earned him 11 starts in 15 games, and while he started 28 games as a rookie, they weren’t exactly as meaningful as they are now.
For now, Pokusevski will continue to build on the firm foundation for a career that he’s laid this year. And if he continues to build, the Oklahoma City rebuild could look even better than expected.
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