Isaiah Joe Impresses in Return For OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder needed Isaiah Joe back in the lineup. On Thursday, against the Washington Wizards, everyone saw why.

Oct 5, 2025; North Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) drives up the court against the Charlotte Hornets in the first quarter at North Charleston Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Arthur Ellis-Imagn Images | Arthur Ellis-Imagn Images

Despite a 5-0 start to the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder felt the burden of being short-handed. Entering their sixth contest against the Washington Wizards, they were without All-NBA forward Jalen Williams, Rising Star big man Chet Holmgren, veteran big man Kenrich Williams, prized lottery pick Nikola Topic and rookie big man Thomas Sorber (who is lost for the season due to a torn ACL this offseason).

Though, they did get back their sharpshooter, Isaiah Joe, after he missed the first five games of this season with a knee contusion. His return to the Thunder's rotation couldn't have happened at a better time. Despite Oklahoma City being undefeated, they ranked dead last in 3-point percentage to start the 2025-26 campaign.

A year ago, Joe 41% from beyond the arc and is a career 40% 3-point marksman. He made his presence felt in his season debut.

The Arkansas product came off the bench for the Bricktown Ballers, where in the first half alone he logged 11 minutes, to the tune of 14 points, a rebound and a steal while being a – at the time – team-best +10 before intermission. He got to that lofty point total off the pine, Joe shot 4-for-6 from downtown while the rest of the overall club was just 7-for-24.

That trend continued in the second half as Joe made a massive impact in his season debut for Oklahoma City. His ability to hit movement triples isn't able to be replicated for the Thunder and he did just that in his return.

Able to cash in relocation trey balls off second chance points, catch-and-shoot looks, and dribble handoffs to create unique ways to score.

Though, Joe also got it done inside with a deep paint short mid-range fadeaway en route to tallying 20 points in his season debut.

The Arkansas product coupled those 20 points with six rebounds, one assists and a steal tonight. He was a +13 in this outing, while shooting a jaw-dropping 5-for-9 from beyond the arc while going 7-for-12 from the floor and split his one trip to the charity stripe in his 22 minutes off the bench for Oklahoma City.

This was just the start the Bricktown Ballers needed from their sharpshooter as Joe helped the team shoot 32% from beyond the arc, their second best mark on the 2025-26 campaign. Oklahoma City broke this game open to cruise to a 127-108 win over Washington to improve to 6-0.