OKC Thunder: Aleksej Pokusevski delivers on ‘reward’ portion of draft selection

At season start OKC Thunder rookie Aleksej Pokusevski looked a bit star-struck and in need of plenty of time in the weight room. His initial offerings showcased more of the ‘risk’ portion of his high risk-reward 19th selection.

The youngster appeared in 17 games with the varsity team averaging 3.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 blocks, and shot an anemic 17.9 percent from deep.

Yet, even in moments where he air-balled copious 3-point attempts, there was something there — something undeniable about the youngster. As TI noted in the grades of a recent win versus the Mavericks, POKU never lost his swagger.

In fact, he looked more confident in his return from a 12 game stint with the Thunder G-League affiliate OKC Blue. While with the Blue played he played 25.2 minutes per game posting averages of 7.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.1 blocks.

The one area of his game he continued to struggle with was his 3-point shot which was still well below the league average (27 percent) but slowly improving.

OKC Thunder rookie Aleksej Pokusevski’s breakout performance

In his first two games back with the varsity squad it was a mixed bag. In the win versus the Mavericks,  he netted 14 points (4 of 11 shooting), eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

In the loss to the Knicks, he struggled shooting 2 of 11 from the field and 0 of 6 from deep finishing with four points, seven rebounds, and two assists.

As the OKC Thunder prepared to take the court Sunday to play the second game of a back-to-back set they did so with four starters sidelined: Theo Maledon, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, and Al Horford (plus George Hill was still sidelined).

Pokusevski would join the only regular starter Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but two of his G-League teammates (Ty Jerome, Moses Brown) joined him making their debuts as starters.

Perhaps that was an omen for what occurred Sunday.

While in the G-League bubble Aleksej got an opportunity to grow and develop with consistent playing time.  Moreover, he developed chemistry with his G-League teammates, gaining confidence through their support.

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As per usual, the POKU swagger was evident from the tip but his comfort level was on full display. The resulting effect was a drop of the mic ‘I’ve arrived’ performance which witnessed career bests across the board.

Pokusevski earned his first NBA double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds adding four assists, one steal, and one block. To the latter point, the scorekeeper might want to review the film because it sure seemed like he blocked at least another two or there shots.

His shooting splits were equally impressive – – 7 of 13 from the field, 5 of 8 from the perimeter, and 4 of 4 from the line.

Several parts of this performance stood out. While the 3-point shooting was definitely a bonus his playmaking ability gave the “reward” part of that high risk-reward selection more precedence.

Other than Nikola Jokic there aren’t many 7 footers who can fun the offense and yet that’s precisely what POKU can do. Already Thunder Nation can see the developing chemistry between SGA and POKU.

There will be more bad shooting nights, more 3-point air balls, turnovers, and opponents who overpower his slight frame on defense.

But — BUT — there will also be many more performances like the one POKU dropped on the Grizzlies. Pokusevski just turned 19 on boxing day which means that the ceiling for his growth is limitless.

And that can’t help but put a smile on OKC Thunder fans’ faces!