OKC Thunder: POKU reminds fans of his special potential

With preseason over the OKC Thunder will now spend time watching film, getting in more time in practice, and preparing for the season start. That game will take place next Wednesday, October 20th in Utah versus the Jazz.

But prior to getting amped up for that first regular-season match, fans are still buzzing about the game the Thunder played at the BOK Center in Tulsa last night. Although the match was lost the youngsters pushed the Denver Nuggets (also using mostly reserves) to overtime.

While there was plenty to be excited about one player, in particular, had fans going crazy and blew up social media. Aleksej Pokusevski.

OKC Thunder unicorn Aleksej Pokusevski reminds fans of his special skills

When Sam Presti made a move in the 2020 draft to move up and grab Aleksej Pokusevski not much was known about the young Serbian.

Upon closer inspection and madly searching through films Thunder Nation learned the then 17-year old had been playing in the Euro League. Most talked of his potential. Although he wasn’t projected to be a superstar like Kevin Durant was upon his draft selection there were many who felt he could bring a unique skill set to the NBA because of his penchant for passing. Some even thought the 7′ lanky wing could function as a point guard.

The OKC Thunder weren’t necessarily looking to place him in the role of point guard. Given the team strategy to construct a roster of positionless players, POKU fits the future plans. Although he never had the “deer in headlights” look many rookies can fall prey to there were definitely issues with his size. Sure he was 7′ and didn’t back down from anyone but his lateral slides didn’t allow for defending smaller guards and his lack of muscle meant he got pushed around by other frontcourt players.

POKU got a quick introduction to the pros playing in 17 games with the varsity squad averaging 3.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and shot an anemic 17.9 percent from the perimeter on 3.3 attempts

After a successful stint with the G-League in his rookie season he returned brimming with confidence and it showed in his production. Through his first 15 games back with the varsity team he averaged 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and improved 3-point efficiency (35.9%) on 6.1 attempts.

His production fell off over the final 20 games of which he appeared in 13 matches, often playing with a different lineup every night. When the offseason hit the fan base was super excited to see how he would fare in summer league. Instead, the franchise elected to have the youngster focus on a concentrated tailored program to build strength and other skillsets.

With the team back for training camp fans kept hearing how POKU had added offensive versatility was strong (in spite of looking the same) and was able to defend better. However, once preseason started there were immediate concerns based on his production.

Specifically, his numbers through the first three preseason games were:

Game 1 versus Hornets: Shot 4 of 12 from the field (2 of 7 from deep) for 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers in 22 minutes

Game 2 versus Bucks: Shot 1 of 6 from the field (0 of 4 from deep) for 2 points, no rebounds, and 1 assist in 19 minutes

Game 3 versus Nuggets: Shot 1 of 7 from the field (0 of 3 from deep) for 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and 1 turnover in 20 minutes

Game 4 versus Nuggets: Shot 9 of 16 from the field, 4 of 9 from deep for 22 points, 8 rebounds (3 offensive rebounds), 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers in 38 minutes.

The notable factor in the final game was POKU took four shots in overtime all from the perimeter connecting on 1. That significantly affected his line as he was 8 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from deep prior to overtime.

In this final preseason match, Pokusevski reminded us all of why he’s considered a unicorn. No play demonstrated that better than the above video. He showed his passing flair with the ball behind his back and cut to the basket for the return pass and an easy bucket. His shooting was by far the best of all four preseason games.

Glancing at his entire preseason stats highlights his shooting struggles 15 of 41 for 36.5 percent and 6 of 23 from deep for 26 percent. The good news is he shot so well in the final game highlighting his potential.

His rebounding numbers were solid (albeit no rebounds versus the Bucks wasn’t ideal). He grabbed 17 rebounds in the other three games or an average of 5.6 rebounds. As for his playmaking, there are still some questionable passes but there are also thrilling dimes like the one above. In particular, POKU is brilliant at threading passes through tight seams leading the recipient toward the basket, and with his height, he still sees the floor so well.

In the final preseason game, there was a concerted effort made to whip passes from the top of the arc to an open corner. Typically those passes aren’t as successful and often get picked off but with the height of POKU and Giddey. I’m not sure how many of the OKC Thunder 15 deep balls were a result of that top of the key pass but at least more than half were. Notably, the Thunder had 29 assists in this contest.

The trick moving forward will be for the 19-year old to find consistency both in his shooting and other aspects of his game.  He’s definitely improved in many facets of his overall game.

While he still looks extremely thin Mark Daigneault is correct that Pokusevski is stronger. There were several moments through preseason where bigs tried to barrel through him but he didn’t bounce off like he did last year. Likewise, on some drives to the basket, he was able to finish despite being bodied. Sure, he still needs to keep building strength but he’s definitely improved.

Although many would prefer to have witnessed better production and efficiency from the unicorn in preseason it’s important to remember he’s still only 19 years old. To put that in perspective, there are seven players on the Thunder who were born in 2000 or later with Josh Giddey and Pokusevski being the youngest (19).  That means three of the four rookies drafted this season plus Vit Krejci who is also in his rookie year are all older than POKU.

Moving forward with the team focused on tanking Aleksej will get plenty of action and experience. Theoretically, that should equate to expediting his ascent closer to his ceiling. In the interim OKC Thunder fans can enjoy that journey and more of those scintillating dimes.