OKC Thunder wing Abdel Nader’s hard work is paying dividends as a starter

Abdel Nader is one of the hardest working players on the OKC Thunder’s roster.  Finally, he’s getting rewarded and his hard work is paying off both personally and for the team who are reaping the benefits.

The OKC Thunder are running short of wing players. Terrance Ferguson has been out with a hip injury, Hamidou Diallo is out with a hyper extended elbow and Deonte Burton is out due to a brain fade in the locker room. This meant Abdel Nader had to step up and did he ever.

Nader has been in the starting line-up for five games now and the Thunder has a 3-2 record in that time. They won the first three games with Nader starting on the wing. While he is obviously not the first choice, he has been playing extremely well in the starting role.

It was not that long ago I was calling for Nader to be assigned to the G-League to play for the OKC Blue. The reason that I wanted this to happen was for Nader to rediscover his confidence. He is a totally different player when he has self-belief.

Fortunately, at the end of November, Nader had two straight games where he could not miss. He scored 23 points against the Portland Trail Blazers and then followed this up with 19 against the New Orleans Pelicans. The player I believed would win Most Improved was back.

He has played every game since then, including those five starts. Taking a deeper dive into his numbers it is easy to see that he has regained the confidence required to be an effective player in the NBA.

As a reserve, Nader averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in just 14.3 minutes per game. As a starter, Nader’s numbers are better, averaging 10.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 27.4 minutes. A quick look would suggest that more minutes equals better numbers.

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However, looking deeper, Nader was shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from the perimeter and 77.8 from the charity stripe which are all decent numbers. As a starter, Nader has shot the ball even better. His slash line as a starter is 53.1 field goal percentage, 60.0 perimeter percent, and 100.0 percent form the line which is incredible. Yes. you read that right, Nader is shooting at 60 percent from deep as a starter.

What makes this even more impressive is that his usage has gone from 20.6 percent as a reserve to 13.7 percent as a starter. He is being more effective with fewer touches. That is the shot in the arm this team needed.

However, what we as fans must realize is that Nader has not been given the starting role and a pile of magic dust. According to head coach Billy Donovan, Nader is one of the hardest working players in the gym.

Reward for the effort is always good to see, hopefully, when the rest of the wings return, Nader will continue this level of play for the OKC Thunder.