OKC Thunder Forward Ousmane Dieng Included in France’s Preliminary Roster Ahead of Paris Olympics

On Thursday, France announced its preliminary men’s basketball team for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Included on the list of players was Thunder second-year forward Ousmane Dieng.

Les 1⃣9⃣ Bleus retenus par Vincent pour préparer les Jeux 🇫🇷👊#TeamFranceBasket | #PassionnémentBleu pic.twitter.com/w9XPLfo6T6
— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) May 16, 2024

Dieng, the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, hasn’t made a huge impact with the Thunder quite yet but still seems to be part of the team’s future plans. His ceiling is high, and his fit on the roster is undeniable. He played a massive part in the OKC Blue’s run to the G League Finals, and was even named the Finals MVP after a few big time performances.

Other notable NBA players included on the preliminary list were Victor Wembenyama, Rudy Gobert, Bilal Coulibaly, Frank Ntilikina, Nicolas Batum, Killian Hayes, and Evan Fournier. A pair of familiar former Thunder faces were also included in Theo Maledon and Jaylen Hoard.

Dieng has only played in 33 games for the Thunder this season, averaging 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11 minutes per contest. He shot 42.2% from the floor and 30% from 3-point range. Most of his work came with the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. There, he was one of the team’s best players and received valuable reps on both ends of the floor. His progress and promise there is why his ceiling remains so high.

In 26 games with the Blue this season, he averaged 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. He shot 48.2% from the floor and was a +8.8 for the team. In the G League championship game, Dieng totaled 25 points on 9-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-6 from 3-point range. He also added six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

The 6-foot-9 forward could slot into Oklahoma City’s lineup in a multitude of spots down the line, and his development is still important to this team.

This is a big summer for Dieng, and the first step is being included in France’s preliminary roster of players. Of course, it’s not the final step. Dieng still has to make the final roster. It’ll be great experience for the young forward nonetheless and could help is development in a big way.

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