Can Oklahoma City's Theo Maledon Avoid a Sophomore Slump?
The Oklahoma City Thunder enter the 2021-22 season with the youngest roster in the NBA.
And while the youth brings the promise of growth, it also brings the reality of inconsistent play while the young pieces continue to grow in the NBA.
The “sophomore slump” has become a real thing as teams get film on youngsters across the league and begin to identify and game plan for their tendencies.
One player on the Thunder roster this season who may be a candidate for a slump year is second-year point guard Theo Maledon.
A second-round pick a year ago, Maledon has flashed potential as a talented player who can pull the strings for the Thunder’s second unit. But aggressive playmaking isn’t something that comes naturally to Maledon, and Oklahoma City spent last year pushing him to play aggressive even if it leads to turnovers in an effort to learn and grow.
Maledon’s development plan spilled over to Summer League play, where the point guard was called upon to lead the team.
Playing amongst other second-year players and incoming rookies, Maledon stood out, but not always for his excellent play.
Instead, Maledon shot just 33.3 percent from the field throughout his five games in Las Vegas, including a pair of performances where the Frenchman shot a combined 2-of-18 from the field.
Thankfully for everyone involved, Summer League isn’t the end goal for any young player.
“We're going to learn as much in six days of practice as we would in the summer league,” OKC general manager Sam Presti said during his Media Day press conference last Friday. “Just being around the guys, getting in a routine, building relationships, getting a sense for how things are done.”
So while Maledon will get more out of training camp that he did this summer, there will also be fewer opportunities for him to shine this season.
Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back and healthy, meaning he will get a majority of the minutes running the point. But first-round draft additions Josh Giddey and Tre Mann will also need plenty of time pulling the strings at the head of the Thunder offense to develop.
On top of that, fellow bench contributor Ty Jerome proved he’s more than capable of not only bringing a scoring punch with his 3-point shootings, but he also proved to be able to effectively slice and dice opposing defenses once he joined up with the Thunder from the G League Bubble last year.
But Maledon isn’t going to shy away from the competition this year.
“I think it's a great thing,” Maledon said during his Media Day press conference on Monday. “I think healthy competitions help rise the level overall of the team, so I think it's good. I personally want to see everyone win as much as I want to, so for me it's healthy and good to be out there wanting to compete against those people.
“But at the same time so that when we come and play against other teams, because of the way we're competing, we know what to expect and can handle it better.”
The upcoming season will again provide plenty of opportunities for young players to make mistakes and grow, which is a necessary step in the maturation process of this young Oklahoma City core.
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