OKC Thunder Media Day: Jerami Grant starts season with eye on the prize
Jerami Grant enters his third season with the OKC Thunder expecting to take another step and become a core contributor on both sides of the ball.
Armed with a new three year $27 million contract Jerami Grant returns to the OKC Thunder for his third season with the team. Many thought re-signing Paul George would preclude the ability of Sam Presti to also retain Grant. The GM and player proved those critics wrong and it was rumored part of George’s decision to return was based on this move.
Grant has experienced growth in each season with the Thunder and it’s anticipated he’ll take another step this season. Last season Grant spent increasingly more time on the floor as a small ball center. With the addition of Nerlens Noel seemingly that role may be diminished.
The question is where precisely Grant will occupy most of his time. It’s presumed he’ll battle Patrick Patterson for minutes either as a starter or the primary reserve. Even if he doesn’t start odds are he’ll spend time in the critical clutch segment of games.
| Season | Age | Tm | G | GS | MP | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 20 | PHI | 65 | 11 | 21.2 | 5.4 | .352 | 0.8 | 2.4 | .314 | .383 | .422 | 3.0 | .591 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 6.3 |
| 2015-16 | 21 | PHI | 77 | 52 | 26.8 | 7.8 | .419 | 0.5 | 1.9 | .240 | .477 | .448 | 4.2 | .658 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 9.7 |
| 2016-17 | 22 | OKC | 78 | 4 | 19.1 | 4.0 | .469 | 0.6 | 1.5 | .377 | .523 | .539 | 1.8 | .619 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| 2017-18 | 23 | OKC | 81 | 1 | 20.3 | 5.6 | .535 | 0.4 | 1.4 | .291 | .613 | .570 | 3.0 | .675 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 8.4 |
| Career | 303 | 68 | 21.9 | 5.7 | .444 | 0.5 | 1.7 | .301 | .507 | .490 | 3.0 | .641 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 7.5 | ||
| 2 seasons | OKC | 159 | 5 | 19.7 | 4.8 | .508 | 0.5 | 1.4 | .335 | .580 | .557 | 2.4 | .654 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 6.9 | |
| 3 seasons | PHI | 144 | 63 | 24.2 | 6.7 | .394 | 0.6 | 2.1 | .276 | .447 | .437 | 3.6 | .631 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 8.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/23/2018.
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In his fifth professional season and third in OKC Grant has progressively demonstrated growth. Ample time spent with former assistant coach Adrian Griffin working on his balance and drives netted results last season. With Griffin gone to Toronto hopefully Grant feels confident he’s mastered this area of his game.
More important for Grant will be rediscovering his range and gaining consistency from the perimeter. If Grant can add this asset to his game the starting spot now and well into the future is his for the taking.
High points from his press conference:
Things we’ll see this season we didn’t see last season?
I think it depends on how we put the offense in. I have been working a lot on my entire game.
Play faster, more up tempo – how do you receive that?
Definitely just excited, I love playing that way, I have for my whole life. Just to get an opportunity to be in a system like this is big for me and big for our team.
How easy was it to re-sign and get it done so quickly?
Like you said it did get done quickly. It was a no brainer though. I love the organization, I love my teammates, the coaching staff. It really wasn’t a hard decision for me.
What made you want to return?
Everything about the team and organization. Just being here for a couple years made it an easy decision. Being around the players and coaching staff – it made it easy for me.
What did you do in the offseason?
When it was over I was working out, I was ready for the season. Just excited about the season coming up.
How do you see it all coming together?
I see it coming together well. I think Sam has done a great job of putting the team together, a contender together and it’s on us and the coaching staff to get it done now.
What’s the biggest challenge you face – what does training camp mean to you?
It means a lot, it’s the beginning you gotta go hard, stay focused. It starts tomorrow just building something that lasts throughout the season.
dark. Next. Jerami Grant preseason preview - posed to take another jump
Grant spoke to the need to build team chemistry which he believes will be even stronger this season with this group. He also touched on speaking with Nerlens and how the OKC style will fit his game.
As of posting the video was unavailable, but TI will add it in once available.