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Defining what each OKC Thunder rookie needs to work on in 2018-19

By Noah Schulte

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 7: Hamidou Diallo #22 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 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 7: Hamidou Diallo #22 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 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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OKC Thunder
Hamidou Diallo, OKC Thunder (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Biggest points of emphasis:

  • Basketball IQ
  • Shooting
  • Ball-handling
  • Off-ball defense

Where Diallo will play in 2018-19:

  • Shuttling between G-League and NBA

Hamidou Diallo easily has the highest long-term ceiling of anyone on this list, but he’ll need a ton of work to get there. On the surface, he has the natural tools–huge wingspan, spectacular athleticism, and stellar instincts–to become a high-impact player for the Thunder in time, but he’s way too raw at this stage to count on him to be that guy now. That’s probably why he’ll spend most of his time going between the OKC Blue and the OKC Thunder this year.

If the Thunder use him right in the G-League, he should be able to take the lion share of reps offensively and get enough experience to hopefully improve from being a complete non zero on that end. It’ll probably take a few years before he can become a reliable player, much less an offensive weapon, but the growth should come.

Developing his shot from the perimeter isn’t quite necessary because he’s such an incredible athlete that he doesn’t really need the space afforded by an outside shot to get where he needs to go and he’s a good enough cutter to be able to still wreak havoc even with a bad jumper.

On the other end, however, he absolutely needs to become a far smarter defender and overall player if he’s ever going to make a significant impact.

Too often last year, he got lost off the ball and when he tried to recover, his movements were out of control to the point that his man could easily just blow right by him. That kind of mistake is enough to essentially put super glue on the bench no matter how good of an individual defender you are. If he can start to develop a higher feel for the game in the G-League with thousands upon thousands of new reps, he could have a big impact on the Thunder, but the odds of that happening this year are slim to none.

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