After spending his entire life in Oklahoma, Lindy Waters III heads out west to start a new chapter.
The 26-year-old was shipped to the Golden State Warriors for the No. 52 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. The Oklahoma City Thunder used the draft asset to eventually move up to the No. 38 selection to draft Ajay Mitchell.
The Warriors have picked up Waters III’s $2.2 million team option for next. He provides Golden State with cheap depth it desperately needs considering how expensive the roster is.
This marks the end of Waters III’s time playing basketball in Oklahoma. He attended Norman North High School before he played four college seasons at Oklahoma State.
After he went undrafted in 2020, Waters III signed with the local Enid Outlaws of a semi-pro league. He then tried out for the G League’s OKC Blue in 2021 and the rest was history.
The sharpshooter worked from the G League squad to a two-way deal. He spent the next three seasons with the Thunder in some capacity. He signed a pair of standard deals with OKC over this tenure.
This past season was a career low for Waters III for playing time. He was buried on the depth chart. The Thunder likely would’ve declined his team option. Instead, they flipped him to a squad where he’ll get rotation minutes for a two-way flyer in Mitchell.
Despite it making basketball sense, there has to be some sense of emotional sting from leaving the Thunder. Waters III grew up a Thunder fan and has played locally his entire life. That now changes.
The 26-year-old took to Instagram to pen his goodbye letter to the Thunder.
It’s a sudden change of lifestyle, but the Thunder and Waters III should be proud of the work they did for each other. An undrafted rookie was a hidden gem for OKC and has turned into an actual NBA player.
Waters III is one of the Thunder’s better success stories in recent years.
