OKC Thunder: Isaiah Roby is looking forward to more sleep this season

Media Day continued on Monday for the OKC Thunder as the players return and tomorrow will start training camp. The next phase will be preseason games as the team plays in four contests beginning on October 4th and wrapping up on the 14th.

On Friday front office executive Sam Presti began the process as he held his annual preseason presser. Much of what he touched on with regards to the franchise’s direction and timeline focused on patience and developing their youth.

With 11 members of this roster aged 23 and under Isaiah Roby is at the upper end of that group age-wise as he turns 24 in February, but still a very young player on the floor. Roby missed all but three games in his rookie season. His NBA career is just 64 games old, not even a full season is under the Nebraska products belt.

OKC Thunder center Isaiah Roby looking forward to more sleep this season

Through two seasons with the OKC Thunder, Isaiah Roby has offered stretches of special. He appeared in 61 games last season 34 as a starter. Roby registered averages of almost nine points, five rebounds, nearly two assists, and a steal per game.

During his first healthy NBA season, not only was the league dealing with a pandemic, fan-less arenas, and a jam-packed schedule with seeming games every other night, but Roby was also a college student!

He explained at Media Day Monday that he would be doing homework during bus rides, plane trips, and in his hotel room. Mentioning some nights he would have to take a school test before he had to go perform in an NBA game hours later.

As any college student knows, sleep is hard to come by. Now imagine being a college student while also playing in the NBA. Roby graduated from the University of Nebraska this Summer and is looking forward to more free time this season to catch up on sleep, which will help his game.

Isaiah Roby understands basketball does not last forever, so he felt it was important to earn a college degree even after signing the largest NBA contract in the history of second-round picks at the time with the Dallas Mavericks. The Cornhusker attended the big Oklahoma Sooners vs Nebraska Cornhuskers football game in Norman, Oklahoma a few weeks ago. His first time at a Sooners game was in Clay Bennett’s, the owner of the OKC Thunder, suite dawning Nebraska gear saying “You could feel the tension” in the room as Roby was rooting for the road team.

Last year, Roby did enough to prove he belongs in the NBA. He even earned a starting position midway through the season, logging 34-starts. He told a story when asked about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that when Roby was put into the lineup as one of the first five last year SGA instilled belief in him. A moment that meant the world to the at the time unproven center.

The OKC Thunder and Mark Daigneault view Roby as a “point-center” with their position-less style. Even the 6’8 big knows position tags are meaningless in Bricktown nowadays.

He enters training camp still battling for a starting job with veteran Derrick Favors.