OKC Thunder: 3 players who have changed their fates in 2020-21
By Mark Nilon
As a whole, the OKC Thunder have been a pleasant surprise through the first 26 games of the 2020-21 campaign. Though they are a sub-.500 team, boasting a record of 11-15, Oklahoma City has been a competitive opponent for virtually every franchise they’ve gone up against this season.
Be it in their wins against playoff contenders like the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and, most recently, the Milwaukee Bucks or during their “down to the wire” loses to the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and Utah Jazz, this year’s Thunder squad is putting forth their “never say die” attitude that fans have grown to love throughout their 13-year existence.
In large, the team’s success has been highly influenced by star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s production which, should it continue throughout the year, will find itself placed in the history books.
Many OKC Thunder players have aided in early successes of the 2020-21 season
However, this roster is comprised of 16 other players not named SGA and, some of which have managed to turn themselves from being afterthoughts within the rotation to legitimate contributors.
Today, we discuss 3 specific players who have changed their fates with their impressive play through this early portion of the season:
OKC Thunder Player No. 1) Isaiah Roby
Drafted in the late second round of the 2019 NBA Draft after a three-year stint with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, big man Isaiah Roby is carving out a nice role for himself with the OKC Thunder in year two of his career.
A G League regular during his rookie season, the, then, 21-year-old struggled to attain a prominent role with both the OKC Blue and Texas Legends through a combined 17 games of play.
Now, at age 22, Roby is finding himself logging just shy of 20 minutes a game for the overachieving Thunder and, in turn, is producing admirably.
In 20 appearances, the big man is posting averages of 8.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and just shy of a block per game on 54 percent shooting from the field.
More impressive is his production as a starter where, through eight games, he’s put up 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals a night on 52 percent shooting from the field.
Taking on prominent bigs such as Nikola Vucevic, Nikola Jokic, and Christian Wood so far this season and, at least against Vucevic and Wood, managing to outperform his opponents, Roby has impressed the majority of those who have taken the time to watch him ball.
In fact, he’s been so impressive, that Bleacher Report has gone as far as to say they believe he could wind up being a big-time contributor in this league.
Going from a late second-round pick/ development league contributor to being seen in this light is certainly not an everyday occurrence, and should be celebrated by Thunder fans.