OKC Thunder Prospect Showing Strong Promise in Recent Stretch

Hidden under the fact that Oklahoma City might have one of the greatest NBA teams ever assembled, is the fact that there are still many good prospects on the roster that could develop into nice players someday. And of course, the team aspect should take all the storylines — rightfully so. The Thunder have as good a chance as anyone to break the Warriors record for the best regular season in NBA history, and every game seems to be better than the last.

It wasn’t long ago that Oklahoma City was rebuilding, though, and every young prospect got a very long runway of playing time with the team. Now, the Thunder strategically uses its G League affiliate to give prospects court time. Many still get spurts of playing time here and there with the Thunder specifically, but it’s not really like it used to be.

One player who could fall under the category of a hidden prospect, as well as someone who could’ve benefitted from extended run, is Ousmane Dieng — Oklahoma City’s former lottery pick who just started his fourth season in the NBA. He seemed to be on the roster bubble entering the season, and four seasons is a long time for patience in terms of development, but Oklahoma City knew they’d be playing the long game with Dieng.

And the project isn’t complete yet — he’s still not a sure thing yet, and his playing time certainly isn’t consistent. But over the last five games, he has shown serious promise — and probably his most efficient stretch with the Thunder yet. He has put up big numbers before, mainly when Oklahoma City was resting players or plagued with injuries, but these numbers are different. It’s all efficiency based, and he’s contributing to winning.

He’s coming off of back-to-back double digit games, scoring 14 points and 11 points, respectively. He’s recorded 26 minutes on Sunday night, and another 12 minutes on Wednesday. All in all, over the last five games, Dieng has averaged 9.0 points and has recorded double digit minutes in four of the five contests. The most impressive part has been his efficiency, though. Overall, he has converted on 16-of-25 shot attempts — good for 64% from the floor, and 11-of-15 — 73.3% — from 3-point range.

Obviously those numbers are ridiculous, and it’s wishful thinking to assume they’re sustainable. But it’s certainly the best stretch of extended run we’ve seen from Dieng, and he’s contributing to the best team in basketball.

He looks like he finally has confidence in his long range shot, and his step-back jumper looks as smooth as ever. Similar to Summer League, Dieng is letting it fly whether he’s in late during a blowout or he’s thrown into the action a bit earlier. In either scenario, he’s building trust with the coaching staff and knocking on the door for a little bit more playing time.

He will ultimately control how much he plays, and if his minutes start to trend upwards. Oklahoma City has been looking for improvement and consistency, and if Dieng can continue to build on this, more opportunities will come.