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OKC Thunder: 3 most underappreciated players heading into 2020-21

By Mark Nilon

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 14: Mike Muscala #33 of the Oklahoma City Thunder puts up a shot against the Denver Nuggets in the second quarter at Pepsi Center on December 14, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 14: Mike Muscala #33 of the Oklahoma City Thunder puts up a shot against the Denver Nuggets in the second quarter at Pepsi Center on December 14, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The OKC Thunder may not be the most talented of teams heading into 2020-21, but there are a few players on the roster that tend to go underappreciated.

Coming into the new league year, no one is expecting the OKC Thunder to win many games.

Quite the contrary, in fact, as many envision that the franchise will find themselves vying for the No. 1 spot atop the board come the 2021 NBA Draft.

As things currently stand, the odds of this happening seem to be well in their favor, as the majority of power rankings have the Thunder at the bottom of their lists.

However, this is not to say the team is void of talent — their placement within the ranks of the league heading into the season is completely determined by their own personal desire to tank.

Sure, the obvious choices of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley pop into mind when someone brings up the topic of talent on OKC’s roster, but there are also quite a few players who go reletively unnoticed from the media and, in some instances, fans.

Today, we at Thunderous Intentions present to you 3 players on the team’s roster that we believe go underappreciated:

Underapreciated member of the OKC Thunder No. 1) George Hill

Kicking off our list is one of the newest members of the OKC Thunder in veteran floor general, George Hill.

Acquired this offseason in the deal that sent Steven Adams to New Orleans, Hill comes to this young and reletively inexperienced Oklahoma City squad with a solid amount of value — both in the form of trade and leadership/ mentorship.

While the most popular belief is that Sam Presti will continue on his trend of trading away veteran talents for future draft assets with Hill, whether it winds up happening this season or not, it doesn’t take away from the fact that he could still serve as a quality veteran mentor to help aid in the development of the franchise’s promising young-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as, frankly, for the rest of their young bucks.

His presence seemingly has already been felt by SGA, as he recently spoke glowingly about the 34-year-old floor general:

"“He’s a great guy. A competitor, and you can tell he has your best interest from the moment you talk to him,” said guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “Guys like that are always easy to play with and listen to, and that’s why he’s a natural leader.”"

As our very own Brad Smyth stated in a recent article, despite the fact that they likely will not win many games this year, establishing a competitive culture could prove to be vital in the development of OKC’s young players.

No matter how long he’s here for, George Hill will certainly help in this department.

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