Thunder Spotlight: Breakout Season Incoming for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl?
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After being selected early in the second-round of the 2021 NBA Draft, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was one of the most underrated players in his class last season.
The 21-year-old produced 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 35.2% from deep. Although he wasn’t a first-round pick, Robinson-Earl ended up being one of Oklahoma City’s most consistent players despite being a rookie. He ended up starting in 36 of the 49 contests he played in and was a primary starter for over two months in the middle part of the 2021-22 campaign.
Through one season, Robinson-Earl ranks top-25 in total minutes and points among his class, while also sitting top-ten in total rebounds.
Entering his second NBA season, the opportunity will be extremely high for Robinson-Earl, with the stage being set for a breakout year. There’s several reasons he’s projected to take a significant leap this season.
For starters, Robinson-Earl now has a ton of experience under his belt at the NBA level. He’s already emerging as a leader on the team, which showed in Summer League a few months back. During his showing with the summer squad, he looked extremely comfortable, clearly being one of the best players on the floor at all times. The 6-foot-9 forward is fundamentally sound and plays wells beyond his years.
The level of comfort and improvement for the second-year forward shouldn’t be surprising given his pedigree. The former five-star recruit out of IMG Academy has experience playing against top-level competition. He was also coached in one of the best systems in college basketball during his two season at Villanova. Simply put, a solid foundation has been laid for a while now.
There was already a good chance Robinson-Earl was going to start this season even with Chet Holmgren in the lineup, but now that he’s out for the year there’s an even higher probability. The Thunder have a ton of frontcourt minutes open, many of which should go to Robinson-Earl. He’s got the size and skillset to play center or power forward, further maximizing the time he’ll be on the court.
The former second rounder truly does everything on the court, impacting winning without needing to have the ball in his hands or be a volume shooter. He’s strong but agile, and always is solid on both ends of the court.
After this season, there’s a real chance Robinson-Earl begins to look like a steal relative to where he was selected in the draft.
What could his numbers look like in the 2022-23 season?
Projection: 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 37.1% from beyond the arc.
Only time will tell, but everything is coming together for Jeremiah Robinson-Earl breaking out this season.
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