Ousmane Dieng Showing Signs of Major Growth in G League
Oklahoma City's former lottery pick is coming into his own with the Blue.
Ousmane Dieng’s season hasn’t quite gone according to plan in the eyes of Thunder fans. He has played eight fewer games than he did during his injury riddled rookie season and hasn’t made the jump that people were expecting. Just because it hasn’t gone according to plan in the eyes of those on the outside, though, doesn’t mean this wasn’t the organization’s plan. The Thunder knew Dieng would be a project player and they were prepared to be extra patient in his development.
The second year forward has spent most of his time with the Oklahoma City Blue this season and is honing in on his all-around ability. He has the freedom to shoot, create, and experiment. Dieng has been developing on his own, it just hasn’t been as evident to the outside because he hasn’t been able to show it with the Thunder.
In 23 games with the Blue, Dieng is averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 stocks. The Blue is a +7.4 when he’s on the court. He has been one of the premier players for the Thunder’s G League affiliate and is gaining valuable experience.
His scoring ability has really started to pop as of late. On Friday night, the 20-year old registered 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 12-of-21 shooting, doing a little bit of everything in the team’s narrow loss. The game directly before, against the Memphis Hustle, he almost notched a triple double with 17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. His most efficient game of the season came on the first night of the back-to-back against the Hustle, where he poured in 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals on 10-of-14 shooting.
Dieng has started to look comfortable in a lead role for the Blue and feels like he’s coming into his own. It’s starting to feel like a light bulb moment again. Thunder fans have already seen the flip switch once for Dieng when he began taking over Summer League games with aggression and high level scoring. Now, it’s beginning to happen in the G League.
Oklahoma City is certainly not ready to give up on Dieng yet. If he figures it out, he’s the perfect fit at the forward position to this roster and gives so much flexibility in the Thunder’s lineup. This summer should be a big period of improvement and chemistry building for Dieng. The positive growth in the G League is certainly a positive sign in the meantime.
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