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 with a 40-42 record 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 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 ninth player in this installment is Aleksej Pokusevski, whose breakout season was cut short following a leg fracture that axed three months of the season.
(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.)
2022-23 statisics:
- 8.1 points
- 4.7 rebounds
- 1.9 assists
- 43.4% shooting
- 36.5% 3-point shooting
- 62.9% free-throw shooting
- 1.3 blocks
Advanced stats:
- True-shooting percentage: 52.2%
- 3-point attempt rate: 41.8%
- Win shares: 1
- Usage rate: 18.3%
Significant Percentile Finishes:
- Transition: 28.4 percentile
- P&R roll man: 16.3 percentile
- Spot up: 26.8 percentile
- Putbacks: 27.1 percentile
Contract:
- 2023-24: $5 million
Thoughts:
If Pokusevski’s season could be boiled down to one word, misfortunate is a sound choice.
After two struggling seasons that saw one of the youngest players in the league have a difficult time adjusting to NBA talent, Pokusevski started his third season with a punch. Playing his best stretch of basketball since entering the league, he was a mainstay in OKC’s starting lineup as he started in 25 of his first 31 games.
In that early stretch, he averaged 8.8 points on 44% shooting, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. After shooting 28.5% on 3.8 attempts from 3 in his first two seasons, Pokusevski shot an efficient 37.6% on 3.3 attempts from 3 in this stretch.
All of a sudden, Pokusevski looked like a starting-caliber center who could defend the rim well and stretch the floor with his outside shooting. Pokusevski was no longer a wildcard who had serious dips in his play — instead, he was a steady constant that reined in on his loud miscues.
After two years of rough development, Pokusevski started to enjoy the fruits of his labor. This time around though, he didn’t need an extended stay in the G League for that to happen like he did his first two seasons.
It looked like Pokusevski finally turned the corner and began producing tangible results. Then Dec. 27 happened.
A day after his 21st birthday, Pokusevski suffered a non-displaced tibial fracture two minutes into a game that eventually cost him three months. He’d return in late March, but only briefly appeared in three games.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Pokusevski went from being an important starter for the Thunder who looked like he was finally developing into a real player to someone who broke his leg and got lost in the shuffle on his return. What makes his season even more heartbreaking was that he was playing his way to a contract extension this offseason; now that’s likely not an option and he’ll play out his final rookie season with OKC next year.
There’s a very real possibility we could look back at his leg fracture as the turning point of Pokusevski’s tenure with the Thunder. If he hadn’t suffered the gruesome injury, there’s a chance he continues to hold down his starting spot as the Thunder overachieve. Now, with the Thunder adding Chet Holmgren and the development of others next season, there’s a good shot that Pokusevski gets lost in the rotation once again, spelling doom for his OKC tenure.
Moving Forward:
It was a tough season for Pokusevski as his tibial fracture caused a tough break for him. After playing the best stretch of basketball of his career, he took three months off to rehab his injury.
Even when he returned, Pokusevski was lost in the shuffle. By his return, the Thunder he played for in December looked completely different. The Thunder found a successful formula with Jaylin Williams starting at center, which means there was no real shot for Pokusevski to get his starting spot back.
It was an awkward return as there was simply no room or time to give Pokusevski a chance to get his groove back. The Thunder were in the midst of a play-in tournament race and have already found a steady rotation. This probably explains why he only appeared in three games and averaged eight minutes.
If OKC was not in contention, perhaps Pokusevski could’ve gotten more playing time down the stretch, but even that was unlikely as he suffered a knee contusion that cost him the final four games of the season.
After a rookie extension looked very much like a real possibility in December, Pokusevski will have to adjust his expectations and focus on improving this offseason and hoping he gets a similar opportunity as he did at the beginning of this past season. I just don’t know how realistic that is though — Holmgren will likely demand 30-plus minutes and other wings with higher developmental priorities like Ousmane Dieng could push Pokusevski out of the rotation.
With that said though, if Pokusevski can replicate his first 31 games of the season for an entire season, then I think the Thunder have found a real rotation big man. The 3-point shooting improvement will be critical to sustain as he takes nearly half of his career shots (45.6%) from 3. If he shoots it at a similar clip as he did this past season, then that’ll keep him in the league for a long time.
Pokusevski also endured the lowest usage rating of his career this past season, which I believe directly correlates to his pre-2023 success. Not having to focus on other facets of his game and playing a simplified role on offense helped Pokusevski hone in on his game. The Thunder can hopefully give him that type of stability/role next season to prosper under.
But if next season starts similarly to his first two seasons, then Pokusevski’s future with the Thunder starts to look murky.
If he starts next season in an inconsistent role on a contract year, I fear that the Pokusevski era will near its end. Something that would’ve been difficult to fathom during his first 31 games of this past season. He’ll enter the most important training camp of his career as he’ll need to carve out consistent minutes.
