Former Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo posted a graphic to Instagram on Sunday with a message thanking the team and the fans for his time in OKC.
Diallo was traded to the Detroit Pistons this weekend. The news broke on Friday and the trade was finalized on Saturday.
In the message, Diallo thanked Oklahoma City for “making a 19-year-old kid’s dream come true.” He thanked general manager Sam Presti and head coach Mark Daigneault, who was also his coach in the G League and Summer League.
His message for the other Thunder players: “My teammates, you are my brothers, thank you for pushing me everyday, go finish what we started.”
Diallo also thanked the fans.
“The great fans of Oklahoma, you guys will always have a special place in my heart.”
View this post on Instagram
Thunder teammates including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley quickly replied to the Instagram post.
“Real tears … my brother,” Gilgeous-Alexander commented, adding crying emojis and a heart.
“Love you bro,” Bazley said. “Detroit’s gotta killer coming they way!”
Diallo, who played two and a half seasons in Oklahoma City, was the longest-tenured player on the Thunder.
He blossomed in his third year, emerging as one of the better Sixth Men in the league and helping to stabilize the rotation when he was on the court. In his 32 games with the Thunder this season, his 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists were career-highs, as were his 48.1% field goal percentage and 29.3% 3-point shooting.
He will now join the Pistons, where he has a chance to be a starter over Wayne Ellington at shooting guard.
In return, the Thunder acquired Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round pick via the Houston Rockets.
This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!
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