With the 2022-23 regular season a little over two weeks old now, Bleacher Report writer Greg Swartz decided to hand out early grades for every team’s top offseason additions.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the only major additions to their roster that happened over the summer came in the 2022 NBA draft, where they added four rookies to their squad.
The four rookies were No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, No. 11 pick Ousmane Deign, No. 12 pick Jalen Williams and No. 34 pick Jaylin Williams.
Holmgren obviously does not account for this grade as he is out for the entire season, so it really comes down to the three other rookies. In the end, Swartz handed the Thunder a B-minus
“Dieng’s 63 total minutes over five games are the most of the group, although the 19-year-old has totaled just nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks while shooting 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) overall and 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) from three. Dieng was viewed as a pretty raw prospect coming into the draft, so there’s no reason to panic for Thunder fans just yet.
Jalen Williams (the wing, not the big) suffered an orbital bone fracture in his right eye that caused him to miss all but two games this season. He looked terrific in his return, however, chipping in 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block in 27 minutes, helping OKC take down the Dallas Mavericks. At 21, he’s the most pro-ready of the three and should continue to play a big role for the rest of the season.
Jaylin Williams (the big, not the wing) has played in just one contest so far, grabbing six rebounds and scoring four points in less than eight minute”
This seems like a fair grade to hand out for the Thunder considering they’ve played less than 10 games this season.
