Thunder End of The Year Report Card: Svi Mykhailiuk
Acquired in the Hamidou Diallo trade from Detroit, forward Svi Mykhailiuk was a welcome addition to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Known traditionally as a 3-point shooter, Mykhailiuk expanded on his game in OKC.
Here are SI Thunder’s grades for Mykhailiuk’s season:
Nick Crain’s Grade: B
Svi Mykhailiuk was acquired by the Thunder mid-season in the Hamidou Diallo trade. Known for being a 3-point shooter, Mykhailiuk showed this season that he’s much more than that.
Standing at 6-foot-8, he has sneaky athleticism that was shown off in quite a few high-flying dunks with the Thunder. He also made strides during his time in OKC defensively, using his length to guard multiple positions. He was even tasked with starting and defending Luka Doncic against the Mavericks.
In 30 games with the Thunder this season, Mykhailiuk averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 23.0 minutes per game. Set to be a restricted free agent this summer, he’s certainly a guy Thunder GM Sam Presti will try to keep around for the right price. Players of his size and shooting ability don’t come around often.
Filling the void of Diallo, who was a Thunder fan favorite, Mykhailiuk showed he has just as much upside at 23 years old and does much more than just shoot.
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Derek Parker’s Grade: B-
In his short time with Oklahoma City, Svi Mykhailiuk expanded on his game.
The 6-foot-8 forward had a reputation for 3-point shooting with former teams, and was already thought to be a better fit than ball-dominant Diallo.
Mykhailiuk averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30 games with the Thunder this season. An improvement on his 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his 36 games with Detroit this season.
Mykhailiuk improved in several areas with OKC; driving, defense, playmaking, etc.
Perhaps most importantly, Mykhailiuk shot 3.2 more shots per game and increased his efficiency by .61 to 43 percent.
Overall, Mykhailiuk’s stint in OKC was mutually beneficial, but with an upcoming restricted free agency, it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be a mainstay with this Thunder squad.
