Hamidou Diallo just completed his second season for the OKC Thunder – TI look at his player and contract grades.
Hamidou Diallo had a second season to remember with the OKC Thunder and it was not all good. He improved in almost every aspect of the game as well as reinjuring his elbow and also dealt with the impact of COVID-19 shutting the league down for months.
He averaged 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.8 steals in 19.5 minutes per game. These numbers were all up on his rookie season where he averaged 3.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.4 steals in 10.3 minutes per game.
His shooting was also better this season. In his rookie campaign, he shot the ball from deep at an appalling 16.7 percent on 0.5 attempts per game. In the season just past, he hit 28.1 percent of his 1.2 shots from behind the 3-point line. While this is not great it is definitely an improvement.
The defensive improvement of Hamidou Diallo for the OKC Thunder.
Diallo was more switched on defensively this season. While his defensive rating for his rookie season was 108 and his sophomore season was 109, numbers do not tell the complete story for the wing player.
Hamidou Diallo hustles for the steal and the jam to earn your Heads Up Play of the Day! pic.twitter.com/uEuiWMdlZ7
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 5, 2020
At the start of the season, coach Billy Donovan trusted Diallo to come on to the court and defend the opposition’s best wing player when Terrance Ferguson needed a rest. This is an incredible level of trust in a 21-year old.
He performed the role incredibly well up until he injured his elbow in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The team missed his defensive presence, but also his energy injection off the bench while he was out.