Tag: Olivier Sarr

OKC Thunder’s Olivier Sarr suffers ruptured Achilles tendon

OKC Thunder’s Olivier Sarr suffers ruptured Achilles tendon.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Wednesday that two-way player Olivier Sarr suffered a left Achilles tendon rupture in the OKC Blue’s win over the Maine Celtics on Monday to capture the G League championship.

A timeline for Sarr’s return will be provided in the ensuing months.

It’s a tough break for Sarr, who’s been with the Thunder for the last three seasons as a two-way center. He played a pivotal role in the Blue’s title run as a rebounding big.

Considering how serious the injury is, Sarr will spend the next several months rehabbing it and hoping to continue his NBA career. The 25-year-old went undrafted in 2021 out of Kentucky.

In 15 games with the Thunder this season, Sarr averaged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds.

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Recap: OKC Blue collect sixth straight victory in 126-116 win over Memphis Hustle

Recap: OKC Blue collects sixth straight victory in 126-116 win over Memphis Hustle.

The G League’s OKC Blue collected their sixth straight victory in a 126-116 win over the Memphis Hustle on Sunday. The road win completed a mini-two-game sweep over Memphis. The Blue (17-12) also won Friday’s matchup.

After the first quarter, the Blue faced a 34-30 deficit. A 42-point second frame by OKC helped it enter halftime leading 72-62. The Blue added to their lead with a 32-16 scoring advantage in the third quarter.

The Blue entered the final frame with a 104-78 advantage. The Hustle utilized a 38-point fourth quarter to close to as little as 10 points, but the 26-point hole it had to start the final frame was too big to overcome.

The Blue shot 55% from the field and went 14-of-42 (33.3%) from 3. They dished 34 assists on 50 baskets. Eight of the nine Blue players who played scored double-digit points.

Meanwhile, the Hustle shot 46% from the field and went 17-of-34 (50%) from 3. They had 25 assists on 40 baskets. Six Hustle players scored double-digit points.

Some notable individual performances from both sides:

  • Ousmane Dieng: 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 1-of-6 from 3, 11 assists, nine rebounds
  • Olivier Sarr: 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting, 2-of-5 from 3, 13 rebounds, four blocks, three steals
  • Adam Flagler: 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 3-of-10 from 3, two assists, two rebounds
  • Hunter Maldonado: 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals
  • Adonis Arms: 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 5-of-8 from 3, nine rebounds, five assists
  • Loudon Love: 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, six rebounds
  • Timmy Allen: 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting, 3-of-7 from 3, four assists, two rebounds, three steals

The full highlights from the Blue’s 10-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies’ G League affiliate can be watched below:

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Recap: Thunder starters help OKC Blue collect 128-113 win over Birmingham Squadron

Recap: Thunder starters help OKC Blue collect 128-113 win over Birmingham Squadron.

The G League’s OKC Blue featured a heavy-hitting lineup in its 128-113 win over the Birmingham Squadron on Tuesday. The home win improves the Blue’s record to 6-4.

All five Blue starters were players from the Oklahoma City Thunder’s roster. As the Thunder prepare to travel to play the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Dec. 6, Mark Daigneault confirmed they’ll be called back up for that game.

Before that though, the Thunder players enjoyed an easy win against the Squadron for the second consecutive time.

The Blue held a 33-19 lead following the first quarter. By halftime, the OKC lead was 63-40. The Squadron’s 40-point third quarter helped cut the deficit, but they still trailed by 12 points entering the final frame.

The Blue shot 56% from the field and were a hot 15-of-36 (41.7%) from 3. OKC dished 27 assists on its 49 buckets.

The Squadron were limited to 42% shooting from the field and went 17-of-43 (39.5%) from 3.

Some notable individual performances for both sides:

  • Tre Mann: 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 3-of-7 from 3, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals
  • Ousmane Dieng: 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, five rebounds, two assists
  • Lindy Waters III: 26 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 6-of-12 from 3, three rebounds, three assists, five steals
  • Keyontae Johnson: 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3, four rebounds, two assists
  • Olivier Sarr: 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks
  • Hunter Maldonado: 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting, 11 assists
  • Jalen Crutcher: 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, 5-of-11 from 3, nine assists, three rebounds
  • Malcolm Hill: 30 points on 9-of-21 shooting, 5-of-11 from 3, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals

The full highlights from the Blue’s 15-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate can be watched below:

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OKC Thunder 3 goals: What Olivier Sarr has to accomplish in 2023-24 season

Here are 3 goals Olivier Sarr can accomplish this upcoming season.

In this continuing series, Thunder Wire assigns three goals to each of the 21 players, per Spotrac, that make up the Oklahoma City Thunder roster.

The Thunder’s season kicks off on Oct. 25 against the Chicago Bulls. After a surprising 40-42 campaign that ended a win shy of the playoffs, OKC enters this year with playoff aspirations.

Let’s assign three goals for Olivier Sarr. The 24-year-old center is entering his third consecutive season with the Thunder in some capacity. He was a late two-way addition last season and only appeared in nine games.

The Thunder brought Sarr back this offseason with a two-way deal.

OKC Thunder sign Olivier Sarr to two-way deal

Olivier Sarr is back with the Thunder for a third stint.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Monday that they have signed center Olivier Sarr to a two-way deal.

This means Sarr will enter his third season with the Thunder as a two-way player. He previously signed a two-way contract with OKC in February. In nine games, he averaged four points and 3.4 rebounds.

With Sarr’s addition, all three two-way slots have been filled. The other two two-way players on the Thunder are second-round rookie Keyontae Johnson and Lindy Waters III.

Sarr went undrafted in the 2021 draft out of Kentucky. The 24-year-old has appeared in 31 games spanning over two seasons with the Thunder since then.

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Stay or go: Predicting what the Thunder will do with their 2023 free agents

The Thunder will need to make a decision on these four players this summer.

The NBA offseason is almost upon us, which means the Oklahoma City Thunder have a handful of minor roster decisions to make.

The young Thunder are coming off an impressive campaign, where they went 40-42 in the regular season and fell a win short of making the playoffs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander blossomed into one of the best players in the league as he earned All-NBA first-team honors for the first time in his career.

The Thunder have four free agents heading into the summer, per Spotrac, with the most notable one being Dario Saric. Overall, it’ll be another quiet summer in OKC as the Thunder look to improve their roster via the draft and internal development.

With that said though, let’s review the four Thunder free agents and predict whether or not they stay or go prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

2022-23 Thunder player grades: Olivier Sarr

Handing out a final grade for Olivier Sarr’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 18th player in this installment is Olivier Sarr, who was a late-season addition to the roster as a two-way player. He made his season debut in March and appeared in nine games for OKC.

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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.)

Player grades: Tre Mann collects triple-double in 115-100 win over Grizzlies

Player grades for the Thunder’s 115-100 win over the Grizzlies on Sunday.

OKLAHOMA CITY — With both teams playing their backups, the Oklahoma City Thunder collected their 40th win of the season in a 115-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

OKC finishes 40-42, a 16-win improvement from last year. That is a much better record than the general consensus suggested before the season.

This game marked the regular-season finale for both teams, which elected to sit their starters due to the Thunder being stuck with the 10th seed and the Grizzlies being stuck with the second seed.

The Thunder relied on their starting lineup this entire game as the only reserves Aaron Wiggins (eight minutes) and Lindy Waters III (12 minutes) played sporadic minutes. OKC’s starters averaged 44 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies only used six players in this game, each playing at least 33 minutes.

The Thunder used a 38-24 third-quarter advantage to flip a two-point halftime deficit into an eight-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, the Thunder used an 18-10 run to open up a game-high 20-point lead over the Grizzlies. OKC utilized the cushion to cruise the rest of the way for the relaxed win.

Overall, the Thunder outscored the Grizzlies, 68-51, in the second half to collect win No. 40.

Starting backcourt Jared Butler and Tre Mann took full advantage of the impromptu opportunity as they combined to score 49 points on 19-of-37 shooting, which included the latter collecting his first career triple-double.

“He’s a better player today than what he was a year ago,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said about Mann. “Now the year hasn’t gone as well relative to his expectations for sure as it did last year but he’s definitely a better player than what he was a year ago.”

Meanwhile, this game brought back flashbacks of last year’s summer league as Kenny Lofton Jr. dominated with a career-high 42 points on 17-of-25 shooting and 14 rebounds. It’s been a nice weekend for the former G Leaguer, who signed a full-time NBA deal on Saturday.

2021 lottery pick Ziaire Williams also had a good showing with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting and nine assists.

Truthfully, not a ton of eyes paid attention to this game as it affected neither the Thunder nor the Grizzlies.

The more important game on the NBA schedule was the New Orleans Pelicans vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game that tipped off at the same time. Thunder fans were likely glued to that game as it determined OKC’s play-in opponent.

The Pelicans lost, which means they will host the 10th-seeded Thunder in their play-in tournament game.

“We’re gonna treat it like another game,” Daigneault said about the Play-In. “We’re gonna put a gameplan out there. Make sure that our guys are really clear on it. We have two days to prepare… I’m excited to see what our best punch looks like in obviously a high-stakes game where there’s a lot of distraction and a lot of noise.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades for the regular-season finale.

Report: Thunder sign Olivier Sarr to two-way deal

The Thunder bring back Olivier Sarr, per @hoopshype

The Oklahoma City Thunder are back to a full 17-man roster.

The Thunder signed Olivier Sarr to the vacated two-way spot on the roster, per HoopsHype NBA insider Michael Scotto.

Following the trade deadline, the end of the Thunder roster has been shuffled. On Friday, Eugene Omoruyi was converted to a full-time roster spot, filling the open roster spot created by Justin Jackson’s release.

The G League’s OKC Blue signed Sarr on Jan. 11. Sarr returns to the Thunder roster after appearing in 22 games for them in the 2021-22 regular season.

In his last Thunder tenure, Sarr averaged seven points and 4.2 rebounds.

The two-way players on the roster are Sarr and Lindy Waters III.

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2021-22 Thunder player grades: Olivier Sarr

Handing out a final grade for Oklahoma City Thunder center Olivier Sarr’s 2021-22 regular season.

(Editor’s note: We are starting individual grades for all players from the 2021-22 Oklahoma City Thunder. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)

With the 2021-22 regular season now officially in the books, the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-58) finished their season with the fourth-best lottery odds. This means it is now time for individual player grades for all 26 players who suited up for the team this season during the 82 games. The grades will be determined by what the season expectations were for each player and how they lived up to them.

The seventeenth player in the installment is Olivier Sarr, whose Thunder stint lasted just 22 games before being waived.