Isaiah Joe’s Improvement is Key to Oklahoma City’s Spacing

Isaiah Joe was a hidden gem in Oklahoma City a season ago. After being waived by the 76ers, Joe turned into one of the best free agent signings in Thunder history and is inked through the next two seasons. At 23 years old, he has potential to grow into an all-around player and has already shown flashes of his athleticism and ball handling skills. His emergence helped Oklahoma City’s stars breakout in 2022-23. His presence on the floor took a lot of pressure off the ball handlers and opened up the court for the offense in a big way.

On the season, the sharp shooter from Arkansas shot 40.9% from 3-point land and averaged 9.5 points off the bench for the Thunder. Pre All-Star break, he had a serious case for the NBA’s 3-point contest, hovering near 45.2% from long range on almost five attempts per game. Joe’s emergence was a fun storyline in Oklahoma City’s first half success, and gave both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey an outlet on the floor at all times. It made it much easier to stagger the pair’s minutes when Joe was able to open up the floor.

He proved his worth as more than just a shooter, too, excelling in the midrange and finding his spots to step back and fire. He had random bursts of athleticism too, where he would emphatically rise up for a monster dunk out of nowhere.

Post All-Star break though, Joe’s 3-point percentage dipped to 34.8% and his overall field goal percentage fell to 40.7%. Over the last 15 games of the season, he shot 30.3% from long range, including a combined 2-for-8 in Oklahoma City’s two play-in games.

The Thunder felt his struggles, as the floor shrank a bit more and the points from outside decreased. Lost in the fun story of Joe’s breakout was how much the team began to rely on his consistency and efficiency from downtown.

Now, heading into season two in Oklahoma City, Joe has a feel for his teammates and a true picture of what his role will look like. He understands the team is relying on him to be a sniper from distance and where he can improve his game along the way.

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