Thunder Forward Ousmane Dieng Finding Comfort in Summer League

For Ousmane Dieng, the 2K24 Summer League acts as just another checkpoint in his journey. Having just turned 20-years-old, Dieng is younger than a good portion of the most recent draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have quite the talented Summer League squad, too, as they've rolled out a starting lineup of primarily standard contract guys in most of their matchups, with a few exceptions.

So, Dieng isn't the sole focus on the squad. This helps him, though, as it's been obvious that young guys with more talent on their Summer League have been able to thrive more.

For example, Gradey Dick has struggled for the most part because the talent the Toronto Raptors put around him for the summer. Similar to Victor Wembanyama who struggled in his debut game.

For Dieng, playing alongside Chet Holmgren and Jared Butler have allowed him to open up his game, as those two both provide opportunities for himself to make plays by stretching the floor, but they also help set up Dieng.

The 6-foot-10 forward had already been having a successful Las Vegas Summer League after playing one game, but on a quiet level. However, everything changed on Wednesday when he made a statement.

Ousmane Dieng step-back over Jarace Walker.

man… pic.twitter.com/YVCHOYWaee
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) July 13, 2023

Dieng finished the game against the Indiana Pacers with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He added nine rebounds and six assists and was a +5 in box score +/-.

More importantly than the box score was Dieng's evident feel for the game. He seemed comfortable and in control of the speed he was playing at. One obvious flaw in his first NBA season was adjusting to the speed of the game.

Also, Dieng was often times a product of the speed of the game, oftentimes hiding himself in the corner or on the wing. In this matchup, he established himself and played aggressively, forcing himself to be an impact player, which is promising to see from such a young player.

Of course, Summer League is for observations, not conclusions. However, there were encouraging signs when it came to Dieng's overall performance for reasons beyond counting stats.

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