Patrick Patterson spoke at the 2018 OKC Thunder Media Day emphasizing his excitement over year two and his revised role.
Last season Patrick Patterson accepted an economical contract in free agency to come play with the OKC Thunder. From the start the move wasn’t quite what the forward or the franchise expected. Patterson underwent offseason knee surgery setting him back immediately. For a player who tends to take time to ease into the season the surgery only served to enhance those issues.
The larger issue was Patterson joined the OKC Thunder believing he would be the starting power forward. Aside from the injury, this idea was derailed with a last minute trade to obtain Carmelo Anthony. Seemingly, Patterson never found his true groove and while his shot improved late in the season he was relegated to the reserve unit.
Entering his second season with the Thunder he’ll once again have the opportunity to join the starters. Although there will be competition from Jerami Grant for this spot in the rotation Patterson’s ability to spread the floor might give him the edge.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | TOR | 81 | 26.6 | 6.6 | .449 | 1.3 | 3.5 | .371 | .536 | .547 | 1.0 | .788 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 8.0 |
| 2015-16 | TOR | 79 | 25.6 | 6.2 | .414 | 1.3 | 3.7 | .362 | .490 | .521 | 0.4 | .853 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 6.9 |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 65 | 24.6 | 5.9 | .401 | 1.4 | 3.9 | .372 | .458 | .523 | 0.9 | .717 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 6.8 |
| 2017-18 | OKC | 82 | 15.5 | 3.2 | .398 | 0.8 | 2.1 | .386 | .421 | .523 | 0.6 | .870 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Career | 559 | 22.7 | 6.4 | .455 | 0.9 | 2.3 | .370 | .502 | .521 | 0.8 | .757 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 7.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/23/2018.
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Asked about how he will deal with the up tempo pace being discussed for this season:
‘Just about trying to get the basketball from one side to the other, get the basketball up court as quickly as possible with my passing ability. Being able to find guys out on the court, not necessarily literally pushing in transition or having to shoot the ball. But just trying to find the right opportunity for a teammate to take advantage of.
Whether it’s off a drive or a quick post up or just passing it that leads an assist or another opportunity for a shot. I can understand coach wants to get more shots earlier in the shot clock or just trying to find better opportunities for us early in the shot clock and that in turn will create more looks throughout the cross of the game and give us an opportunity to put up more points.’
Asked how he feels about playing more at the four:
Patterson says he’s played both positions throughout his life. Patterson notes with the game being faster it’s more important to move your feet and be able to defend. He notes the most important thing is being able to rebound, play defense and switch out on screens. In essence he’s comfortable playing at the four or five.
Thoughts on Paul George‘s return:
Patrick noted he had no idea whether Paul would return, but felt confident based on the camaraderie between George and Westbrook and overall team chemistry.
Do you want to be the starting four this season?
He admits he would like to start, but will do whatever the team feels fits best, noting he wants to provide a positive wherever he plays (starter or reserve). When queried more on him starting given his three point shot efficiency he did speak to being able to do it, but was quick to not Jerami (Grant) did well and he suspects he improved this summer.
This will be Patterson’s ninth season as a pro and as such makes him one of the longer tenured players on the staff. With the loss of Nick Collison there is a hole left in terms of veteran voices.
Patterson is familiar with helping in that regard having worked closely with the youngsters in Toronto and should be able to provide quality mentoring in OKC.