Tag: Eugene Omoruyi

2022-23 Thunder player grades: Eugene Omoruyi

Handing out a final grade for Eugene Omoruyi’s 2022-23 season.

The 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder’s season ended with the play-in tournament loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which means it’s time for reflection.

Being one of the biggest overachievers in the league, the Thunder finished 40-42 after being predicted by many to have high lottery odds.

Now that the season is in the books, let’s go back and evaluate all 19 players who suited up for the Thunder this past season. Grades will be handed out to every player in terms of what their expectations were heading into the season and how they lived up to them.

The 17th player in this installment is Eugene Omoruyi, who went from a two-way player to a standard NBA deal during his time with the Thunder before being waived.

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(Editor’s note: We are starting individual grades for all players from the 2022-23 Oklahoma City Thunder. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)

Former Oregon guard Eugene Omoruyi waived by OKC Thunder

Former Oregon Ducks forward Eugene Omoruyi was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Former Oregon Ducks wing Eugene Omoruyi was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, making the 26-year-old a free agent.

Omoruyi originally signed a two-way deal with the Thunder last summer, which was converted to a standard deal just a few weeks ago. That included a contract for 2023-24, which was non-guaranteed.

Ultimately the Thunder decided to keep Dario Saric over Omoruyi, who played in 23 games for OKC and averaged 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in about 12 minutes per night – while also spending significant time in the G-League.

Omoruyi went undrafted out of Oregon in 2021, catching on first with the Dallas Mavericks where he played four games before getting released in December of that year.

The six-foot-six forward spent his first three years of college at Rutgers before transferring to Oregon, sitting out during the 2019-20 season, and then blossoming into a star in Eugene – averaging 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists for Dana Altman’s team.

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OKC Thunder news: Eugene Omoruyi waived

The Thunder opens up a roster spot with the move.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Sunday they had waived forward Eugene Omoruyi.

The news came following the Thunder’s loss to the Sacramento Kings. The Thunder move on from Omoruyi 16 days after converting the two-way player to a full-time NBA deal.

Omoruyi’s two-way spot was taken by center Olivier Sarr. The other spot belongs to guard Lindy Waters III. Sarr has yet to appear in a Thunder game since being signed.

With the move, the Thunder creates a 15-man roster spot, which they will likely use before the regular season ends in 22 games.

In 23 games with the Thunder, Omoruyi averaged 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds.

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Report: Two-way player Eugene Omoruyi converted to full-time NBA deal

The signing opens up a two-way spot on the Thunder roster.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to shuffle their roster. They have converted two-way player Eugene Omoruyi to a full-time contract, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

With an open roster spot due to the release of Justin Jackson, the Thunder decided to use their spot to reward Omoruyi with a full-time deal. The deal runs through the 2023-24 season.

This opens a two-way spot on the roster. Lindy Waters III has one of the two-way contract spots.

In 21 games with the Thunder, Omoruyi is averaging five points and 2.3 rebounds. The 25-year-old is in the second season of his NBA career after spending last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

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Player grades: Thunder fall to KAT-less and Gobert-less Timberwolves, 112-110

Player grades on the Thunder’s 112-110 loss to the Timberwolves.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder lost another close game with the crowd mercilessly booing the officials due to a few hiccups that’ll likely be addressed in the L2M report.

At this point, the last two minute report is required reading for Thunder fans.

The biggest one involved a late inbound situation with Naz Reid and Eugene Omoruyi, where the latter was called for a loose ball foul with 4.2 seconds left. The call ruined any chance of a chaotic scramble for the ball in a two-point game.

The crowd was certainly aware of this as they rained down boos on the officials. When asked about the call, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said he was just appreciative of the officiating crew discussing the call afterward instead of being stiff about it.

It seems like Daigneault being asked about the officials has become an unwelcome new tradition for the Thunder, as referee talk dominates the discourse by fans following close losses lately.

In the end, the shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves were able to escape with a 112-110 win. The Thunder finishes their season series against the Timberwolves with a 1-3 record.

Despite Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert not available due to injuries, Reid stepped up and feasted on a thin Thunder frontcourt — who were without Kenrich Williams, Darius Bazley, Ousmane Dieng, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Chet Holmgren. Reid finished with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting and nine rebounds.

Austin Rivers also contributed with 20 points and hit the dagger three against the Thunder. After being called for a couple of comedic travels in the fourth quarter, the three energized Rivers as he ran around the arena following the win.

Anthony Edwards finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: SGA has career night at charity stripe in 123-102 loss to Grizzlies

The Thunder’s FedExForum’s struggles continued in a 123-102 loss to the Grizzlies.

It seems the Oklahoma City Thunder have a bugaboo in FedExForum.

With both teams entering Wednesday on three-game winning streaks, the Thunder had a chance to make a statement win against their young colleagues in the Memphis Grizzlies.

Instead, as has been the case the last few trips to Memphis, the Thunder were never able to gain control. In the end, the Thunder’s record in Memphis fell to 1-4 since the 2020-21 season.

Despite the general feel of the game being a blowout loss, the scoreboard did not reflect this until the fourth quarter. To the Thunder’s credit, they kept it interesting for the first three quarters despite offensive problems.

Three-point shooting and free throws were the main reasons they did so. The Thunder shot 20-of-54 (37%) on two-pointers. From 3, they went 14-of-38 (36.8%). At the free-throw line, the Thunder went 20-of-23 (87%). 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was responsible for most of the trips. He went 17-of-19 from the free-throw line — both career marks.

The Thunder were unable to get anything going with their short-handed roster. They played without Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams and Ousmane Dieng.

Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades from this 21-point loss.

Player grades: Thunder trounce Raptors in team effort performance, 132-113

With the temperature dropping as snow covered the ground, the Thunder were able to keep their fans warm with a hot-scoring offense in a 132-113 win over the Raptors.

Friday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors is a prime example as for why basketball games are played out in real life instead of on paper.

On paper, a matchup between two top-eight defensive rating teams would likely mean a low-scoring, defensive slugfest with the Raptors sneaking out of Oklahoma City with a win.

On paper, the Raptors — who entered the night with the seventh-best net rating — should’ve made easy work against a Thunder squad in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

Instead, what transpired was the complete opposite.

The Thunder — off of an impressive pair of middle quarters where they outscored the Raptors 77-61 — put down an offensive drumming against one of the best defensive teams in the league with a final score of 132-113.

With the temperature dropping as snow covered the ground, the Thunder was able to keep its fans warm with a sizzling scoring attack, shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 15-of-36 (41.7 percent) from three as a team.

With nobody scoring more than 22 points, the Thunder offense was attributed to a well-balanced diet of eight players scoring 10-plus points — which is the first time in franchise history that’s happened in a game. The Thunder dished out 31 team assists on 52 field goals made.

Overall, the Thunder made sure fans who fought the elements got their money’s worth with an impressive and relaxed win against a good Raptors squad.

Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades for all eight players that scored at least 10 points.

Player grades: Injury-riddled Thunder loses home opener to Timberwolves, 116-106

By the start of the fourth quarter, the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey & Jalen Williams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were without Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams on Sunday morning.

By Sunday afternoon, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was also ruled out with a left hip contusion.

During the third quarter, Josh Giddey was also shelved with a right ankle sprain.

Despite the season being just three games young, the Thunder can’t seem to escape the injury bug that’s devastated them in the last couple of years.

As a result, the shorthanded Thunder was not able to avenge their season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 116-106 defeat.

A once-packed Thunder home crowd slowly lost its energy as the night got darker and by the end of the game, the crowd’s color became grayer with empty seats.

The Timberwolves were led by Anthony Edwards — who surpassed the 11 points he scored last time against the Thunder in the first quarter and finished with 30 points total.

After being showered with boos before the game, Rudy Gobert was able to add 15 points and 15 rebounds in the Timberwolves win. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Let’s take a look at player grades for the Thunder in their third consecutive loss to open the 2022-23 regular season.

OKC Thunder player grades: Lu Dort returns from concussion protocol in preseason win over Maccabi Ra’anana

The Thunder played their final home preseason game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to make easy work of the Israel National League’s Maccabi Ra’anana during Sunday’s preseason game, 144-97.

With the Thunder missing several of their best players, this was the perfect opportunity to give other players on the team some valuable game reps as a leading scorer or ball-handler.

This game also marked the return of Lu Dort, who was under concussion protocol for the last week. Dort only played one half as he finished with 23 points in 18 minutes.

For the opposition, Jason Siggers was the best player of the night as he scored a game-high 40 points. Former NBA players Norris Cole and Terrence Jones also played in this game.

Here are player grades for the Thunder’s 47-win over Maccabi Ra’anana

OKC Thunder player grades: Tre Mann, two-way players impress in blowout preseason win over NBL’s 36ers

Tre Mann, Eugene Omoruyi and Lindy Waters III each showed out in their own way against the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers.

The Oklahoma City Thunder made sure to not make the same mistake the Phoenix Suns did by starting out strong against the NBL’s Adelaide 36ers in a 33-point loss, 131-98.

The Thunder led the entire way with a lead as large as 40 points.

This game marked the first time Josh Giddey played his first game against his former NBL team since being drafted by the Thunder sixth overall in the 2021 NBA draft.

But the star of the game was Tre Mann — who continues to impress in the preseason after spending all offseason long gaining muscle. Mann scored 26 points and shot 8-of-10 from deep.

Let’s take a look at player grades in the Thunder’s dominating preseason win over the 36ers.