Brooks Barnhizer Showcases Advanced Levels of Production in Third Summer League Showing

The second-year Thunder guard showcased his ability to take the lead in games on Tuesday night against the Jazz.

Apr 10, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Brooks Barnhizer (23) controls the ball in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Thunder’s second-year guard was one of the lone bright spots on Tuesday night. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder had yet another rough Summer League showing, as they lost to the Utah Jazz 103-69 in the team's final game in Salt Lake City this summer. OKC didn’t have Aday Mara, Bennet Stirtz or Otega Oweh in the lineup for this bout, which allowed other players to have more minutes and the spotlight. 

Because most of these players are quite young, OKC leaned on its most experienced player in Brooks Barnhizer. Barnhizer isn’t categorized as a big scorer for Oklahoma City, as he only averaged 1.7 points per game in the 40 games he appeared in for Oklahoma City in the regular season last year. However, the two-way guard did all he could to try and keep the Thunder in this bout. 

Barnhizer put up 15 points on 42% shooting to be the team’s second-leading scorer, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds to round out a double-double. Barnhizer did his best with this stat line and was even the only Thunder player to end the game with a positive plus-minus, with +1. In the end, it wouldn’t be enough, but Barnhizer should keep his head high because of this performance. 

You can tell early in any game that Barnhizer prides himself on playing the hardest. There never seems to be a play where the young guard is not giving 110%. He is always flying around to try and make plays, and that tends to work out well for him. Barnhizer had a team-high four offensive rebounds, as he made the extra effort to try and give OKC more shots. 

This is exactly the type of play that allowed the young Northwestern product to land a second two-way contract this upcoming season. This means Barnhizer can bring this intensity to the Thunder squad for a maximum of 50 games this season and will be perfecting his craft with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League during the other bouts. 

But before next season rolls around, Barnhizer must focus on getting the Thunder their first Summer League win of the year. Barnhizer has been showcasing the play to do so; he will now just need to get his teammates around him involved and keep up the good productivity. 

Tuesday night was a prime example of the good choice Oklahoma City made to bring Barnhizer back, and if he keeps putting up numbers like that, the Thunder might take advantage of all those 50 games Barnhizer can step onto an NBA court this season.