Thunder End of The Year Report Card: Moses Brown
Following a productive stint in the G-League, center Moses Brown took his first big steps in his second NBA season.
Brown continued to produce in the big leagues, nabbing board and downing dunks as Oklahoma City's starting center for the latter half of the season.
Here are SI Thunder's grades for the stat-stuffing center:
Nick Crain’s Grade: B
Moses Brown was quite the surprise for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. After being signed to a two-way contract in the offseason, he absolutely dominated in the G League bubble and earned All-NBA G League honors.
Shorty after, he fell into an increased role with the Thunder, earning a full-time contract after a handful of impressive outings including a 20 point, 20 rebound game. This was a promotion that was great for both sides, as Brown would get a huge pay bump, but would still be a highly productive player for his contract from the Thunder’s point of view.
Standing at 7-foot-2, Brown was often the tallest player on any floor he stepped on. Starting 32 games, he averaged 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while also blocking over one shot per contest.
While he’s not the modern floor-spacing big that NBA teams like these days, Moses Brown is still a highly-productive center on a team-friendly deal that will at minimum be a solid backup going forward.
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Derek Parker’s Grade: B-
The fact Moses Brown saw important NBA minutes deserves an A grade.
But comparing Brown to other starting NBA centers diminishes his grade just a tad.
In 43 games, Brown averaged 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes. Per 36, he averaged 14.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per contest.
Despite providing some valuable minutes last season, Brown still has work to do before being proclaimed as OKC’s center of the future. He didn’t attempt a single 3-pointer, but even worse than that can’t stretch the floor in much capacity.
Defensively, he can hold his own, but still has plenty of improving to do in that area.
At just 21-years-old, Brown still has plenty of room for improvement.
