Grading The Thunder's First-Round Picks' Summer League Starts

With the Oklahoma City Thunder competing in the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas Summer League circuits – the franchise has been given the upper hand with eight games on tap.

Following two dominant performances in the Utah Summer League, winning by a collective 38 points, the Thunder faltered in their last two games, most recently Saturday night versus the Houston Rockets.

While collectively, the Oklahoma City Thunder have shown a plethora of strengths in Summer League, all eyes have been on the development flashed by their three first-round picks.

Halfway through the Summer League, here’s a grade on all three of Oklahoma City’s first-round selections:

Chet Holmgren: A+

Chet Holmgren dominated the SportsCenter reel Wednesday morning following a jaw-dropping 23-point, 6-block effort in his Summer League debut. Since setting the Utah Summer League record in swats, he’s flown a tad under the radar with his outputs. However, he’s helped to unlock play in Bricktown they point-blank have never had.

Across three games, Holmgren has averaged 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game. For reference, Jaren Jackson Jr. was the block leader last season, averaging 2.3 blocks.

At 7-foot-`1, 195 pounds, there were questions headed into the Summer League on how Holmgren would be able to tackle NBA-level centers. Against Kofi Cockburn and Tacko Fall, two centers with close to 100-pound weight advantages – no one was scoring in the paint. That has been the common theme in his three games of action as while not all shots have been rejected – guards have had to settle on floaters instead of slashing to the cup while bigs have been rather inefficient.

Offensively, Holmgren has provided perimeter play shooting 5-of-13 (38.5%) from deep. While teams have found success playing him tightly at the perimeter, his presence up top has opened the lane exponentially for cuts. Jalen Williams would confirm that statement.

Holmgren has proved that a good performance is not dictated by his offensive output as he’s able to contribute on both ends. The stat sheet has missed some big-time plays with Holmgren.

Ousmane Dieng: D

Ousmane Dieng entered this year’s Summer League with long-term development in mind. As a 19-year-old, 6-foot-10 ball-handler, Dieng comes from a rare cloth of prospects that every franchise takes note in. Sam Presti made a big play on draft night, trading three protected-first-round picks to land Dieng at Pick No. 11. Thus far, he’s kept a low profile. But, the Summer League has helped uncover a developmental path.

Across four games, Dieng has averaged 8.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

Dieng’s offensive role has come rather underwhelming. Though, context is needed to explain the circumstance. Dieng has been a key ball-handler for most of his playing career, most recently with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL. He’s someone who makes plays coming off screens and playing on-ball. With Josh Giddey and Tre Mann, among others, controlling the ball, Dieng has been pushed into new grounds as a catch-and-shoot piece. To this point, he’s 4-of-24 (16.7%) on threes.

The best indicator for Dieng’s Summer League is how he gels with the Thunder’s core, but also how he handles on-ball reps. Thus far, he hasn’t been the smoothest offensively, but the defense has been solid. As a playmaker, there’s not enough to base his play on.

With the NBA G League season typically starting in November, it would not be a total shock to see Dieng play with the Oklahoma City Blue into December. The Thunder utilized this strategy for current players Tre Mann and Aleksej Pokusevski last season in the name of more on-ball reps. As a ball-handler himself, the Blue would be a solid match to foster his creation skills.

Jalen Williams: A+

When Jalen Williams was selected at Pick No. 12 last month, many deemed the guard a reach for Oklahoma City. Now, that same crowd would likely be calling JDub a steal for his draft spot.

Across four games, Williams has averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists.

Williams has been nothing short of spectacular for the Thunder. As a player who shot nearly 40% on threes and averaged 4.2 assists last year at Santa Clara, you’d imagine his Summer League highlights would be on-ball possessions. They’ve been slam dunks.

JDub has been at a trampoline park in Summer League, knifing baseline for easy buckets on slams and reverse finishes. The Thunder needed effective cutters to tag alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey, and they found their guy with Williams.

To tag with his off-ball scores, he’s also been the Thunder’s most efficient player, shooting 22-of-39 (56.4%) in all and 4-of-7 (57.1%) on threes. Whatever role the Thunder have needing filling, Williams has come into the game and patched it with flying colors.

Defensively, Williams has exceeded the scouting report card. As a 6-foot-6, 7-foot-2 wingspan guard, he was renowned for deflecting passes. However, he’s gone to new heights, even blocking a Jabari Smith Jr. turnaround on Saturday.

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