Former OKC Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha will join Russell Westbrook in Houston as the Rockets ink him to a one year contract.
As Thunderous Intentions noted earlier this week the Houston Rockets were holding a mini-camp in Las Vegas which included three former OKC Thunder players.
All three are backcourt players including veteran back up point guard Raymond Felton, the well-traveled shooting guard Corey Brewer and 3 and D specialist shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha.
The Rockets are signing Thabo Sefolosha, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 20, 2019
After just a brief stint playing in Vegas, the Houston Rockets were impressed enough by Sefolosha to ink him to a one-year deal. Sefolosha is the third former Thunder player to join this iteration of the Rockets who feature former OKC superstars James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
No word yet on whether Felton or Brewer will also end up sporting the red jersey in Houston.
The signing of Thabo makes sense given he’s the best talent of the three in question and is adept at playing a role. Prior to the OKC Thunder moving on from Thabo to insert a younger version of him in Andre Roberson he graced the Chesapeake hardwood during the glory era in OKC including the finals run in 2012.
In all the shooting guard spent six seasons with the Thunder between 2008-09 and 2013-14.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | CHI | 71 | 12.2 | 3.6 | .426 | 0.6 | .357 | 3.0 | .439 | .511 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 3.6 |
| 2007-08 | CHI | 69 | 20.8 | 6.1 | .428 | 1.3 | .330 | 4.8 | .453 | .721 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 6.7 |
| 2008-09 | TOT | 66 | 22.0 | 5.4 | .426 | 1.3 | .276 | 4.1 | .474 | .836 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 5.9 |
| 2008-09 | CHI | 43 | 17.1 | 4.2 | .434 | 1.2 | .300 | 3.1 | .485 | .840 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 4.5 |
| 2008-09 | OKC | 23 | 31.2 | 7.6 | .417 | 1.6 | .243 | 6.0 | .464 | .833 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 8.5 |
| 2009-10 | OKC | 82 | 28.6 | 5.4 | .440 | 1.6 | .313 | 3.8 | .494 | .674 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 6.0 |
| 2010-11 | OKC | 79 | 25.9 | 4.2 | .471 | 1.3 | .275 | 2.9 | .558 | .747 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 5.1 |
| 2011-12 | OKC | 42 | 21.8 | 3.7 | .432 | 1.7 | .437 | 2.0 | .429 | .884 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 4.8 |
| 2012-13 | OKC | 81 | 27.5 | 5.8 | .481 | 3.2 | .419 | 2.6 | .558 | .826 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 7.6 |
| 2013-14 | OKC | 61 | 26.0 | 5.6 | .415 | 2.5 | .316 | 3.1 | .495 | .768 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 6.3 |
| 2014-15 | ATL | 52 | 18.8 | 4.8 | .418 | 1.5 | .321 | 3.3 | .462 | .776 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 5.3 |
| 2015-16 | ATL | 75 | 23.4 | 5.0 | .505 | 1.7 | .339 | 3.3 | .589 | .626 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 6.4 |
| 2016-17 | ATL | 62 | 25.7 | 6.4 | .441 | 1.9 | .342 | 4.4 | .484 | .733 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 7.2 |
| 2017-18 | UTA | 38 | 21.2 | 6.3 | .492 | 2.2 | .381 | 4.1 | .551 | .815 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 8.2 |
| 2018-19 | UTA | 50 | 12.2 | 3.0 | .477 | 1.6 | .436 | 1.4 | .521 | .636 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 3.8 |
| Career | 828 | 22.5 | 5.0 | .450 | 1.7 | .352 | 3.3 | .501 | .735 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 5.9 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/21/2019.
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Following his exit from OKC, the defensive specialist spent three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and his last two with the Utah Jazz.
The Swiss-born player also dealt with issues off the court when NYPD officers got into an unprovoked altercation in April 2015 outside 1 OAK nightclub in New York. Several police officers held him, pulled him and were kicking him.
The result was a separated ligament on the inside of his ankle, torn ligaments on the front, side, and outside, and a broken tibia. GQ ran a must-read article by Nathaniel Penn in which Sefolosha details the incident.
Although the shooting guard/small forward isn’t a “true 3 and D” specialist he’s progressed in the latter stages of his career posting an average of 39.0 percent the past three seasons.
A quality, character guy who has no issues playing a role, providing leadership or digging in the trenches to help defensively.
The team at T.I. remembers Sefolosha’s time fondly with the Thunder and pondered Presti looking at re-signing him. Last season he was part of the 30 for 30 series we prepared on potential trade targets. You can click the above bar to read that article.