OKC Thunder: How 6 top draft prospects compliment Gilgeous-Alexander
By Levi Convirs
James Bouknight:
Oh yes, the hot name on many of Thunder fan’s minds! James Bouknight though is more than just a “flavor of the month”, he’d be a legitimate long-term fit with the OKC Thunder cornerstone. I actually see Bouknight as just a small notch below Jalen Green as a fit for the Thunder.
Don’t think of Bouknight as a “poor man’s Jalen Green”, but possibly a more realistic and “economical” version of Jalen Green for OKC. (Rylan Stiles offers three reasons why Bouknight is the right pick for OKC).
Bouknight can flat out score the basketball, and that’s a trait that you just can’t teach. Like Green, his scoring would be a phenomenal “jelly” to SGA’s “peanut butter” facilitating and versatility.
With SGA’s ability to shoot from deep and knack to break down the defense at will, Bouknight would give the team a pair of guards that are nearly impossible to keep out of the paint.
Like Green, I also believe Bouknight’s supposed lack of assists would be offset by playing with the Thunder guard, even though that seems to be a bit overblown. Watching tape of Bouknight it’s immediately evident that he possesses the ability to find the open man and make the correct pass.
The UConn guard shouldered much of the scoring load at UCONN, but won’t have that burden as long as SGA is suiting up for the Thunder. You’d prefer his 3-point efficiency to be a bit better, but I think there’s room for growth there. In his first season as a Husky, Bouknight shot 34.7 percent before falling to a 29.7 percent clip from the perimeter this past season.
But when you break the numbers down further, he was 25 of 72 from 3-point distance in 2019-20 and 22 of 75 last season. This means he made just three fewer treys this season on three additional attempts.
That’s a minuscule difference from the near 35 percent he shot from deep in the previous campaign, which would’ve most likely eased a lot of the concern around his long-distance shooting ability had he shot an identical percentage this past season.
It’s easy to just focus on Bouknights scoring ability, which is normal considering that’s his best and most transferrable trait to the league. But when you watch him play, he’s got underrated athletic ability to get out and score in transition that should also allow him to be at least an adequate defender in the NBA.
A name you hear associated with Bouknight is Jordan Clarkson, which isn’t a bad comparison. But I also see a lot of Devin Booker in his game, particularly in the way he can get to his spots and score from different parts of the floor.
Even if his ceiling is Clarkson, don’t forget the Jazz guard has never averaged less than 11.9 points per game (his rookie season) over his seven-year NBA career and is coming off scoring 18.4 ppg last season while playing an essential Sixth Man role for the top-ranked Utah Jazz. Put a similar player alongside SGA and you have a solid backcourt for the future.
Likelihood OKC Thunder draft prospect:
Now we’re at the point where the Thunder should control their own destiny. Bouknight should be there at six and available if Sam Presti decides to go for it.
The 6’5 UConn guard is prominently connected to the OKC Thunder, with multiple mock drafts predicting Bouknight will be selected sixth, including the recent ESPN Mock Draft from Jonathan Givony and the Ringer Mock Draft by Kevin O’Connor.