Category: Social

OKC Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein continues to work on 3-point shot in offseason

OKC Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein continues to work on 3-point shot in offseason.

After landing Isaiah Hartenstein, the Oklahoma City Thunder hope the 26-year-old has room to grow. He’s fresh off a career season with the New York Knicks where he stepped up as the starter once Mitchell Robinson went down.

The campaign landed him a massive deal with OKC. He provides them with some serious size and rebounds. After playing without a traditional backup big, the Thunder now employ arguably the best in the league.

A wrinkle to Hartenstein’s game he could add is his outside shot. He’s never truly been asked to be an outside shooter in his career. He’s totaled 87 career three-point attempts. He only took three last year.

But on the Thunder, that could be something he could add to his repertoire. It looks like he’s spent some offseason time sharpening his craft. In a recent video, Hartenstein showed off his corner 3-pointer in an Instagram story.

If the 26-year-old can legitimize his outside shot and translate it to the NBA, that could be a serious weapon for OKC to utilize in its 5-out offense. He’ll provide drivers like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams another kick-out option.

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Jalen Williams questions Lu Dort’s defensive NBA 2K25 rating

Jalen Williams questions Lu Dort’s defensive NBA 2K25 rating.

While his reputation among his peers is strong, Lu Dort continues to be forgotten as among the best defensive players in the league.

The latest example of this involves NBA 2k. This year’s edition is less than a month from release, which means constant promotions will be seen. The NBA 2k account revealed the five highest-rated perimeter defenders and Dort was left out.

Jrue Holiday sits atop at 95, Alex Caruso — Dort’s Oklahoma City Thunder teammate — is at 94, Herb Jones is also a 94, and Jalen Suggs and Derrick White are tied with a 93 rating.

Jalen Williams responded to the social media post and asked where Dort was. Despite being on a title contender last season, the 26-year-old has failed to get national recognition.

That should change soon. As the Thunder enjoy being a title contender, expect Dort to become a household name. This should be soon followed by individual awards like All-Defensive honors.

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OKC Thunder players react to Team USA gold finish in 2024 Olympics

OKC Thunder players react to Team USA gold finish in 2024 Olympics.

For the fifth straight time, Team USA has won the gold medal. The 2024 Olympics concluded with USA’s 98-87 win over France in the men’s basketball tournament.

Stephen Curry led the way with 24 points and shot 8-of-13 from 3. LeBron James and Kevin Durant contributed with 29 combined points between two superstars.

The 11-point win capped off a dominant run by the USA. It went a perfect 6-0 during the Olympics and was the clearcut top squad. A deep roster filled with All-Star players made it the heavy favorite.

A couple of Oklahoma City Thunder players celebrated the USA’s win. Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams shared their reactions on social media. There’s a decent chance the former is invited to join the squad in 2028.

In four years, there’s a decent shot that several Thunder players will be part of the Olympics in LA. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have strong cases to be on the USA’s squad while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort should be invited back to Canada’s roster.

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Thunder’s Nikola Topic flexes basketball knowledge in TikTok video

Thunder’s Nikola Topic flexes basketball knowledge in TikTok video.

Heading into the 2024 NBA draft process, Nikola Topic was tabbed as a high IQ player. This is shown in his playmaking and passing abilities. The 18-year-old has a high ceiling as a lead facilitator.

After he fell to the No. 12 spot due to a torn ACL, the Oklahoma City Thunder must practice patience with Topic as he will miss the 2024-25 season recovering from his knee injury.

But Topic’s basketball knowledge was flexed in the form of a TikTok. He was featured in a video where he was quizzed to name European NBA players.

The 18-year-old showed off his deep library of names as several players he mentioned were either bubble NBA players with short stints or played before his time.

It’s a fun video showing a little of Topic’s personality. It’s evident he’s a basketball savant and that obsessiveness paired with his work ethic gives him a shot to work out for the Thunder.

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Dillon Brooks says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the toughest covers in NBA

Dillon Brooks says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the toughest covers in NBA.

Matching up against the opposition’s best scorers, Dillon Brooks has had his fair share of experiences to judge who some of the best players in the league are.

As Canada prepares for group play in the 2024 Olympics, Brooks broke down the three toughest opponents to defend. The 28-year-old listed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as one of his answers.

The other two players were Luka Doncic and Andrew Nembhard.

This shouldn’t be a shocker. Gilgeous-Alexander has ascended into one of the best players in the league over the last two seasons. He finished runner-up in MVP last season.

As an efficient 30-plus point scorer, Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the basket often with little resistance. This has made the 26-year-old a tough cover on any night.

This is solid praise to hear from Gilgeous-Alexander Canadian teammate. Despite his villain gimmick and offensive tunnel vision, Brooks is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.

Expect both players to duke it out next season as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets square off for playoff seeding. The former is seen as a title contender while the latter can make the playoff jump next year.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander crafts perfect NBA player with these 5 names

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander crafts perfect NBA player with these 5 names.

Building the perfect NBA player has been a fun activity to kill time. It’s traditionally used to create discourse and highlight the best players at each basketball skill.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently participated in a fun exercise as he prepares for the 2024 Olympics. The 26-year-old headlines Canada’s best roster in program history.

Gilgeous-Alexander had to pick the best player for five important basketball attributes. He went with Kobe Bryant’s scoring, Andrew Nembhard’s passing, Lu Dort’s defense, Chris Paul’s IQ and LeBron James’ athleticism.

While surprising to most, Oklahoma City Thunder fans shouldn’t be surprised by Gilgeous-Alexander’s selections. He’s known to select his teammates in these types of hypothetical questions as a sign of support.

Dort is his teammate on the Thunder and Nembhard is a fellow Canadian. Paul was Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammate for a sole season upon his arrival to OKC.

Gilgeous-Alexander is also a massive Kobe stan, so his selection for point production isn’t surprising.

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Chet Holmgren supports Bronny James after summer league performance

Chet Holmgren supports Bronny James after solid summer league performance.

Arguably the biggest storyline centered around this year’s summer league event is Bronny James. The 19-year-old was controversially selected with the No. 55 pick of the 2024 NBA draft.

The polarizing draft pick caused people to scream nepotism. Many thought the Los Angeles Lakers selected James because of his father LeBron James.

After a poor freshman campaign at USC, James had a rough start to his summer league stint. He failed to make a 3-pointer in several contests. Recently though, he’s played better.

In the Lakers’ summer league win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 19-year-old had his best outing of the July event. He totaled 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, five rebounds and three assists.

Chet Holmgren went on social media to praise the second-round rookie. He said he looked like a professional basketball player. There have been questions about James’ abilities to be an actual NBA player.

He’s undersized as a guard at 6-foot-1 and had a forgettable college season coming off the bench for a bad Trojans squad. A health scare is also another cause for concern. He suffered a cardiac arrest in July 2023.

Amid national scrutiny, James seems to have a supporter in Holmgren. The 19-year-old will likely receive plenty of time in the spotlight next season with the Lakers.

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Watch: Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein swishes 3-pointers in offseason workout

Watch: Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein swishes 3-pointers in offseason workout.

When the Oklahoma City Thunder added Isaiah Hartenstein, the immediate thought was how the 26-year-old would help the rebounding and size problems.

His rebound rate would’ve easily ranked best in OKC last season. At 7-foot, 250 pounds, he provides the Thunder some serious size at center that they previously didn’t have.

After that though, there are some other secondary benefits with Hartenstein. One might include bringing back an outside shot he abandoned with the New York Knicks.

Hartenstein is a career 27-of-87 (31%) from 3 in his six seasons but only attempted three outside shots last year. He didn’t rule out expanding his game beyond the arc.

“That was something that I felt like I can really bring, expand my game as I was talking about before, just getting back to the shooting aspect,” Hartenstein said. “Because before I was shooting it, so it’s really just getting back to that and being more versatile because that’s kinda what the team needs.”

This is a case where someone must see it first to believe it. Hartenstein had yet to register a season where he attempted one 3-point per game. But the good news is he won’t be asked to do that with the Thunder.

If anything, Hartenstein can return to a similar volume of outside looks he had in previous seasons. It won’t be a high priority but it’s a nice option in case the shot clock is close to expiring or opposing defenses sag off him.

Hartenstein has put in the work from deep in the offseason. He was recently featured in a social media video where he swished in outside attempts.

Attempting outside looks in an open gym compared to an NBA game are two different atmospheres, but it’s productive to see Hartenstein take this endeavor seriously.

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Almost entire Thunder squad show out to support OKC in summer league loss to Heat

Almost entire Thunder squad show out to support OKC in summer league loss to Heat.

During the Oklahoma City Thunder’s summer league contest against the Miami Heat, players from the main roster started to trickle into the seats.

Nearly the entire squad attended the Thunder’s loss to the Heat in Las Vegas. This comes a game after several key members supported OKC in its loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Thunder owner Clay Bennett were also in attendance.

As the Thunder ascend to title contenders, summer league becomes more of an afterthought than the main attraction of the offseason. All of OKC’s top players sat out the offseason event this year.

This explains why the Thunder have had a forgettable SL stint. Even though the entertainment factor has lost its attractiveness, it’s a healthy sign of where OKC stands at its core.

The only notable absences were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. The first two are busy with Canada’s preparation for the 2024 Olympics.

This goes to show how tight-knit the Thunder are. They spent part of the offseason supporting their new teammates Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell.

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Several Thunder players attend OKC’s summer league loss to Raptors

Several Thunder players attend OKC’s summer league loss to Raptors.

After three games in Utah, the Oklahoma City Thunder flew to Las Vegas to join the rest of the league for the more traditional summer league.

They were flat in their first contest with a 94-69 loss to the Toronto Raptors, but several Thunder players were in attendance for the showing.

Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein made their way to their seats to watch their teammates play. The Thunder have a pair of rookies in the contests with Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell.

Jones finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. He shot 2-of-4 from 3.

Mitchell tallied 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 30 minutes. He shot 2-of-5 from 3.

“It was crazy because I didn’t really notice them until the end of the game,” Jones said on his teammates’ presence. “It’s crazy those are technically my teammates and brothers now. It’s still a crazy feeling because of their stature and who they are as players.”

Holmgren and Williams get to enjoy summer league from the sidelines this year. Both participated in the event for the last two years. They’ve graduated from the July exhibitions.

The Thunder have a few more games left in their summer league schedule. Holmgren and Williams used the first contest in Las Vegas to support their new teammates.

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