Watching Nerlens Noel on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, it would be hard to believe that the Thunder center had missed seven of the last nine games with a left ankle sprain and corresponding soreness.
Noel returned to the starting lineup against the Magic, playing 30 minutes of game time, logging 14 points and seven rebounds. He was one of six Thunder players in double-digits.
On Wednesday, Noel made seven of his 10 attempts from the field. Six of those were emphatic dunks.
Living above the rim.
✈️ | @NerlensNoel3 pic.twitter.com/idRwdlnP5Y
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 23, 2020
He’s shooting a career-best 67% from the floor this season and has seen his point production rise to 8.1 per game from 4.8 a year ago.
Noel told Maddie Lee of the Oklahoman that as long as his teammates can get it around the rim, he’s going to put it down.
“I just keep telling them,” Noel said recently of his alley-oop chemistry with his point guards, “Throw the ball up. I’m going to go get it.’”
As noted by Joe Mussatto, through 37 games this season, Noel already has 71 dunks. He had 76 dunks in 77 games last year.
Nerlens Noel has 71 dunks in 37 games this season.
He had 76 in 77 games last season.
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) January 23, 2020
The drastic increase can be partially attributed to playing alongside four-time assists leader, Chris Paul.
“You saw what C threw me,” Noel told The Oklahoman Saturday, after another alley-oop-filled performance. “He’s the only one who’s going to throw it that high with that confidence.”
Noel has confidence in his teammates to throw it up, and they’ve got confidence in him to be able to throw it down.
So far this season, it’s proved to be a winning combination in Oklahoma City.