Last time we checked in on OKC Thunder rookie Darius Bazley he had just poured in 17 points against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Darius Bazley, the 19-year-old rookie taken with the 23rd pick of the 2019 NBA draft has been a sensation since arriving at the OKC Thunder. He may only be averaging 4.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.8 assists, but the way he is playing the game is making others sit up and take notice.
Bazley has only failed to score in four games. The opponents of those games were the Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and the Milwaukee Bucks. These teams should be playoff bound so there is an expectation for rookies to struggle against them. Well, Bazley struggled to score against them; he was still active in almost all other areas of the game.
In fact, Bazley is developing far quicker than most people could have foreseen. For example, he registered double-digit scoring in back to back games for the first time in his career. He had 17 points against the New Orleans Pelicans and then backed it up with 10 points against the stingy Orlando Magic defense.
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His other numbers show that Bazley is influencing the game in so many other areas. So far, he has had only three games where his plus/minus is worse than -6, and these were in his first five games. He also has three games where his plus/minus is plus four or more.
On the season, he is -11 in all games. In the last five games, he is plus 11. This is a tremendous effort for a rookie. However, it does not stop there.
Through the first six games, Bazley averaged 3.8 rebounds. In the last four games, Bazley has 4.25 rebounds. While this is less than half a rebound per game, it is still progress. Bazley has also registered an assist in every game. Again, this does not sound like much but it shows his decision-making is improving.
However, Bazley’s improvement is not all about numbers. Anyone who spends time watching Bazley on the court can see his confidence is growing. He is contesting more shots, especially in transition. As mentioned, his passing game is improving, the assist that he threw which almost shaved Nerlens Noel on its way to Dennis Schroder was not the pass of a rookie (Schroder made the shot too).
Over the next five games, the OKC Thunder will take on some of the best teams in the league. It will be interesting to see how Bazley performs versus top clubs. My money is that he will hold his own which is all you can ask of a rookie against the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers.
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