Cason Wallace Can't Force His Game in Advanced Role

The rising star still has to play within his means.

May 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) celebrates after scoring against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half during game two of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The rising Thunder guard can’t force his shots in his newest role. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have multiple young players who will have to step into bigger roles this coming season, and one of those players is Cason Wallace. Wallace is already one of the best defenders on the OKC roster, as he made the All-NBA Defensive Second Team last season and averaged 1.9 steals per game. 

Wallace will now be asked to step into more of a scoring role and is projected to even take over the starting spot that was left by the departure of Lu Dort. While Wallace has shown in the past that he has the ability to score the basketball with more opportunities, it can’t be something that the young guard forces. 

Forcing shots seemed to be Dort’s issue as the years went on. Dort went from shooting 41.2% from three during the 2024-25 season to 34.4% last year. This crippled the guards' performance for OKC and ultimately helped the squad make their decision to trade him away. 

Wallace just made a big leap, as he averaged 48.4% from deep during the playoffs, but this can’t get to his head. While it would be amazing for the young guard to continue this consistency with his shot from deep, it is unlikely to happen; plus, Wallace shouldn’t change the way he finds these open shots. 

Wallace isn’t a guard who creates his own shot; he moves around in the offense and becomes open. Last year in the playoffs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Ajay Mitchell would be the ones bringing the ball up and making plays. Wallace would continue to move with the offense until an extra pass found him wide open for three. With Wallace’s added responsibility this year, he can’t force the way he plays and still needs to let the game come to him. 

He has plenty of help to do so with Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, and even Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. All four of these players will be big scorers for OKC and will allow Wallace to play his game and not try to force any shots to win games. 

The Thunder, of course, want Wallace to be the best version of himself for next season, but to fill that role, Wallace needs to do more of what he does right and not change his game to compensate for a lack of what Oklahoma City has.