Thunderous Intentions
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NBA Summer League: OKC Thunder Fab Five -ranking top 5 Vegas performers

By Rylan Stiles

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 12: Hamidou Diallo #22 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dunks the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 12, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 12: Hamidou Diallo #22 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dunks the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 12, 2018 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – JULY 6: Dakari Johnson #44 of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots the ball against the Charlotte Hornets during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 6, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – JULY 6: Dakari Johnson #44 of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots the ball against the Charlotte Hornets during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 6, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Dakari Johnson:

The veteran big man has been participating in summer tilts for four straight seasons. Dakari Johnson finally got some run with the varsity club last season. He logged minutes in 31-contests, and started in six of those games.

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This summer, Dakari Johnson absolutely dominated his competition. However, that is not very impressive. Dakari Johnson falls under the aforementioned flickering light category.

In games against the Hornets, Nets and Raptors, his toughest threat down low was…Willy Hernangomez? Who might I add, had an off night during his Summer League opener versus Johnson.

Time to get serious

Dakari Johnson stands as a 7-footer, weighing 255-pounds. He has a ton of experience in the NBA Summer circuit and at 22-years-of-age Johnson was not only the biggest man on the floor, but  one of the oldest. Once the regular season rolls around, Johnson reverts back to just another blew-average at best basketball player.

So, excuse me if his chest pounding in Vegas does not impress. The fact of the matter is Johnson is still too slow and too one dimensional to be a productive NBA player. Not to mention, the Thunder have three guys who will log minutes at his position.

In the summer league, Johnson was a dominate force down low, backing his way to the basket and finishing with ease at the rim. However, given the context of summer league competition, and what we know of his play during NBA games, it is clear this summer league showing was a flash in the pan.

Even with all of that said, Dakari Johnson was still the top performer for the summer Thunder…in terms of on the court production.

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