Isaiah Joe Slated to be an Integral Piece of 2023-24 OKC Thunder Lineup
Isaiah Joe broke out in the 2022-23 regular season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Typically, breakout seasons are reserved for those who give plenty of warning signs. A young player who oozes talent in his early years. Veterans who find a few seasons injury free.
But Joe, a former Philadelphia 76er in his third season as the age of 23, defied all the conventional breakout rules. Without even doubling his minutes, he managed to near-triple his previous statistics, jumping from 3.6 points per game to 9.5 in a Thunder jersey, shooting drastically better from all over.
His smooth shot and general prowess from beyond the arc — relocating with ease or adjusting range far beyond most player’s capabilities – always projected him to be a strong shooter in the league. But he finally turned that to reality in year three.
Overall last season, he shot 44 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three-point land on 5.4 attempts in just 19 minutes a night. Suffice to say, the Thunder looked a better ball club with him on-court. And despite adding a massive infusion of talent in the offseason the same should hold true next season, too.
Former No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren is set to see his first official action this upcoming season after missing his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury. Cason Wallace, selected No. 10 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, will bolster the team’s backup guard depth with stifling defense and a combination of point and shooting guard chops. And to top it all off, OKC finally added draft-and-stash guard Vasilije Micic, who has been acclaimed in the EuroLeague for some time now.
And each of those players are fine shooters in their own right. Holmgren shot just shy of 40 percent in his lone college season, Wallace had an extended period at Kentucky doing the same and Micic isn’t shy to taking long shots despite it not necessarily being his forte.
Still, none are set to galvanize a roster with perimeter shooting the way Joe can.
While Joe might not necessarily see the same amount of minutes or tangible impact they do, there will absolutely be occasions in which his skillset is needed to win games. And he’ll be called upon like he was last year to flank the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and more in order to help the team to victory.
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