Thunder Summer League Journal: Theo Maledon Part 1

The Thunder outmatched the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, beating top overall pick Cade Cunningham 76-72 Sunday night.

Oklahoma City’s most experienced Summer Leaguer, Theo Maledon, controlled the pace of the game with his methodical offensive approach.

Box Score

Maledon got off to a shaky start, but quickly found his rhythm, pacing the offense with efficient shooting and getting young guys going. He finished with a double-double.

Maledon’s most important stat of the night was his 11 assists to just two turnovers. He passed the ball effortlessly all game long, quietly getting Oklahoma City’s new rookies in on the action.

After a poor start shooting the ball, OKC’s second year finished with 15 points, hitting six of his seven free throw attempts.

He also grabbed five rebounds.

Play of the Game

Not the flashiest of players, Maledon makes his name with poised precision both passing and shooting the ball, with little emotion following plays.

But on Sunday night, Maledon’s flashy passing was on full display.

There were a number of passes that could’ve earned his Play of the Game, but a certain behind the back pass to rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl while drawing a double-team comes to mind.

Maledon making plays 🌩

Theo Maledon puts up 15 PTS, 5 REB and 11 AST in the @okcthunder's first win of the MGM Resorts #NBASummer League! pic.twitter.com/KRHFxptFHp
— NBA (@NBA) August 9, 2021

Room For Improvement

Despite leading the Thunder with 15 points, Maledon needs to be more aggressive offensively. He wasn’t a passive scorer as a rookie, but he wasn’t always aggressive either.

His passing, defense and general basketball feel were off the charts, but he lacked selfish aggression on the offensive end of the court, something most second-year players had no problem with for other squads.

Of course his role of getting the young guys going was more than likely talked about beforehand, but seeing Maledon pushing the pace and trying to get his could be a point of emphasis at some point on Oklahoma City’s slate.

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