Taking a flier on Justin Patton is good business – following his path to the OKC Thunder
G-League tenure:
Given the youngster’s foot injuries he’s been impacted by not getting minutes with his varsity squads. With back to back foot fractures, it equated to Patton working his way back by playing with the G-League.
When in Minnesota Patton returned from injury in his second season to play 38 games for Wolves G-League affiliate the Iowa Wolves. He averaged 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.3 blocks.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | WOL | 38 | 23.2 | 11.1 | .476 | 1.3 | .300 | 9.7 | .500 | 2.3 | .764 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 12.7 |
| 2018-19 | DEL | 11 | 18.5 | 7.3 | .500 | 0.5 | .167 | 6.7 | .527 | 2.2 | .625 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 8.7 |
| Career | 49 | 22.1 | 10.2 | .480 | 1.1 | .286 | 9.1 | .505 | 2.3 | .735 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 11.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/17/2019.
Once he was traded to the 76ers the situation in Philadelphia didn’t require his presence, at least not with Joel Embiid getting the majority of minutes and several other big men positioned ahead of him. Therefore he spent time playing on the 76ers Delaware Blue Coats G-League team. He appeared in 11 games posting 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.
The concerning stat is the regression of Patton’s 3-point shot which coming out of Creighton looked to be NBA ready. Then again, his improvement from the charity stripe is a positive sign.