The OKC Thunder own the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. This marks their first top ten pick since 2009 when the franchise chose James Harden with the third overall pick. As was such at three in that draft, the Thunder have a ton of pressure on them to nail this draft pick, and a lot of options are being rumored.
The most recent rumor is Uconn Guard James Bouknight. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated, and now Bleacher Report have all recently tied the Thunder to this bonafide bucket getter. This tracks, with rumors of a workout and dinner with Thunder GM Sam Presti, and head coach Mark Daigneault. Bouknight, Presti, and Daigneault have a special connection with the trio attending high school in Massachusetts.
Mark Daigneault and James Bouknight’s connection runs deeper, each taking a stop at Uconn in the early stages of their careers. For Daigneault, being a student manager of the Huskies on his rise to becoming the youngest head man in the NBA, and for Bouknight a couple of seasons of pouring in buckets for Uconn.
Barring something crazy on draft night such as Presti pulling a rabbit out of his hat and trading up, or Jalen Suggs taking a dip in draft stock dropping to sixth, James Bouknight is the way to go.
Despite being 21 years old when his rookie season tip’s off, Bouknight has plenty of upside. The potential top ten pick did not start playing basketball until middle school, playing baseball from an early age before making the switch.
The OKC Thunder lack a secondary go-to scorer as we saw a year ago, Bouknight would certainly give the Thunder a boost offensively.
Sure, there are red flags for some regarding Bouknight’s lack of playmaking, increased turnovers, and shooting percentages. From the box score view, those are all fair criticisms. It is important to note that there are no perfect prospects, especially at six, and James Bouknight checks more boxes than he leaves empty.
The soon to be 21 year old had no teammates alongside him that project to have draftable NBA grades on them, yet he still carried that Huskies offense. While being double-teamed during his 27.8-percentage usage rate. With better spacing, better teammates around him, and not being asked to be a point guard the turnover numbers will naturally come down.
His lack of assists has been a big talking point for OKC Thunder fans, but as he mentioned during his NBA Combine Interview, he feels it is an underrated aspect of his game. While there is a slim to none chance Bouknight ever becomes an NBA point guard, it isn’t as if he can not disrupt the ball as a secondary creator.
Finding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s co-star is the top priority for the OKC Thunder
The OKC Thunder are on the hunt for the running mate next to rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It only took 105 games as a member of the Thunder for SGA to raise his game to the point where everyone is comfortable calling him a number one option on an eventually championship-level team, and he is still getting better.
The hard part now for Sam Presti becoming finding someone to be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s running mate and co-star, who fits the timeline. No, that does not mean age-wise, contrary to popular belief Bouknight nearing 21 years old has no impact on the Thunder’s evaluation of him. It is not about age for this timeline, it is about contract control.
More from Thunder Draft
- OKC Thunder fans should keep tabs on the NBL Blitz showcase
- Alex Sarr steals the show at G-League showcase
- 3 OKC Thunder players who benefit from the 23 Draft class
- Winners and Losers from the 2023 NBA Draft
- OKC Thunder steal one of the best stories of the NBA Draft at pick 50
No one is more controllable than a player you select in the NBA Draft, acquiring them on their rookie deals, so finding the player to pair with SGA coming via the draft would be huge for this rebuild.
Of all the players who could realistically go at six (James Bouknight, Jonathan Kuminga, and Scottie Barnes), Bouknight has the best chance to become a number two scoring option and a star in this league.
The case is simple, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being your lead facilitator and having a pure bucket getter like Bouknight in the backcourt to help him carry the load offensively sounds great on paper. While Kuminga could have a Kawhi Leonard-type ceiling, it is highly unlikely he reaches that, as most players fall short of their ceiling. Scottie Barnes is a big guard that can not shoot from the line or beyond the arc and really only thrives as a playmaker and defender. Did you watch these NBA Playoffs? Does that sound familiar? Is he who you want to pair with SGA, a player that has been public with his desire to play point guard long-term in this league?
James Bouknight plugs one hole immediately for the OKC Thunder
Let’s assume the Thunder selected James Bouknight at six, for a team that trotted out a historically bad offense a year ago, Bouknight becomes at worst the third-best offensive weapon on this team with an argument for second. Falling only behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Kemba Walker who will not be long for OKC, Bouknight adds an immediate lift to the Thunder offense.
Synergy ranks James Bouknight as a very good offensive weapon, his most impressive skill is the fact that he rates out as excellent in isolation situations. The soon-to-be NBA rookie scored on nearly half of his isolation attempts.
James Bouknight also thrives after timeouts, scoring nearly a point per possession out of a timeout (45.6-percent of the time). This is music to Mark Daigneault’s ears, in his first year as the Thunder’s bench boss Daigneault thrived in setting up plays out of a timeout, or any time the Thunder earned a half-court side out.
The only issue was, his best option for most of the season was Svi Mykhailiuk in those situations. Now, it has the potential to be James Bouknight who is incredible in these spots.
Against man defenses, Bouknight scores at a 41.5-percent clip not being phased by defenses hounding him, a good indicator of NBA success is the fact he is not just finding soft spots in college zone defenses. He is creating space for himself, scoring in isolation and against man coverage in the half-court set something he will see a lot of at the next level.
One area of his offensive game that we did not get to see much of in college just due to team personnel, but we should see more of in the NBA, is Bouknight’s bounce. He is a great athlete who can cut into the teeth of the defense and throw down dunks with the best of them. Using him as an off-ball cutter next to SGA would lead to some highlight plays.
James Bouknight’s defense is his most underrated skillset
If you load up some game film of James Bouknight his offensive game will get all the shine. From his leaping ability, his shooting ability, iso scoring, it is all there. However, a vastly underrated skillset with Bouknight is just how good his defense is. How good is it? With the help of Mark Daigneault, James Bouknight could be a two-way star.
Synergy rates James Bouknight as a good defender, only being scored on 36.5-percent of the time, holding his matchup to a 37.5 field goal percentage. He is a surprisingly good rim defender but thrives in one-on-one situations while understanding how to diagnose and defend the pick and roll.
Daigneault, all be it in a one-year sample size, saw each player develop under him defensively this season. Even the already thought to be elite Lu Dort contested 3’s at a higher clip and made strides on that end of the floor. If Mark works any of his magic on Bouknight, upgrading him from a good defender to a very good or excellent defender paired with his offensive production? That would make for a special talent.
A three-level scorer with defensive upside added to a backcourt that already features Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be a great leaping-off point for this OKC Thunder rebuild. Bouknight is the perfect balance of a sure-fire contributor and huge upside swing at pick six.
After a year of losing, with another projected losing season on the horizon, it is important to capitalize on this selection. The pressure is on Sam Presti and company, and we will finally get our answer on July 29th.