Inside The Thunder

Two OKC Thunder Rookies Lead First Year Players in Plus/Minus

Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti has once again found two important pieces in the draft, with both players proving to be solid contributors early in their career.
Randall Sweet|
Two OKC Thunder Rookies Lead First Year Players in Plus/Minus
Two OKC Thunder Rookies Lead First Year Players in Plus/Minus

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Oklahoma City Thunder

When the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft, fans rejoiced.

The versatile 7-footer from Gonzaga was everything that the team had been missing for years and was the coveted prospect that the Thunder needed to fully capitalize on their rebuilding efforts.

After missing all of the 2022-23 season with a foot injury, Holmgren has returned to OKC's lineup and has been even better than many observers thought he would be as a rookie. 

In his first 22 NBA contests, Holmgren is averaging 17 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 52.4% from the field, 38% from 3-point range and 88.1% from the free throw line.

In the next draft, OKC traded up two spots to select Cason Wallace after a solid freshman season at Kentucky. Some fans were much less enthusiastic about Wallace's selection, arguing that the team already has plenty of guards and should've added another big man or forward. 

After his impressive start to the season, however, most fans can agree that Sam Presti made a good choice picking Wallace at No. 10.

Through 22 professional games, Wallace is averaging 7.6 points. 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest while shooting 59.1% from the field, 52.1% from beyond the arc and 80% from the charity stripe. 

In addition to their individual stats, the young Thunder duo is leading all NBA rookies in plus/minus. 

Holmgren's plus/minus currently sits at +115 while Wallace maintains a +104, nearly 20 points higher than the third-place rookie, Mavericks big man Dereck Lively. Dallas selected Lively with the pick given to them by OKC in the trade-up for Wallace. 

While plus/minus isn't the sole indicator of a player's effect on the court, Holmgren and Wallace's numbers indicate that the Thunder play at a high level when one of their top two rookies is on the floor.

With Holmgren in Oklahoma City's starting five and Wallace coming off the bench, both players having such a high plus/minus despite working with different units shows how consistent OKC has been this season.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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