The OKC Thunder opened up their season on the road against one of the best teams in basketball with a great home environment in Salt Lake City, the projected last-place Oklahoma City Thunder fell 107-86. The quest for 0-82 has ended.
Despite the lopsided scoreboard, as most predicted, the Oklahoma City Thunder still had bright spots in this game. While we will have more takeaways later on Thunderous Intentions, and I will dive into the film tomorrow morning for an article (yes, I will sit through this game for a second and likely third time, I am a sick pup), the main sticking point tonight is the 2021 NBA Rookie class for the Thunder.
The OKC Thunder rookies have stellar debuts in the season opener
Many had pause, concern, over the 2021 NBA Draft class Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti put together. From the poor lottery luck to no fault of the GM, to trading away NBA Draft Twitter darling Alprene Sengun, going against the grain in picking Josh Giddey over Jonathan Kuminga or the projected James Bouknight, and a surprise pick of Tre Mann, OKC Thunder fans left NBA Draft night with more questions than answers.
Presti was okay with that, taking a wait-and-see approach on players he truly believed in rather than picking players not to lose his job based on conventional wisdom. That of course, is the benefit of being entrusted with an organization with little-to-no resistance for good reason.
Josh Giddey dazzled the fanbase with his incredible preseason, earned a starting role right out of the gate, and broke an OKC Thunder record tonight for rebounds grabbed in a debut (10). He knocked down a nice runner in the paint for his first NBA points, but went 2-of-7 tonight from the floor, with three assists. While it will not draw national headlines, it was a solid start for Giddey against a really good Jazz defense.
Tre Mann was the story of the game to me. Many were unsure if he could adjust to the speed of the game quickly enough to garner NBA minutes from day one. After a poor showing in the preseason opener, Mann has made significant improvements each game, crescendoing in a brilliant final preseason contest for the Florida product.
Even with Mann’s strong finish to the exhibition slate, it was still jarring to see him be the first substitution off the bench. However, the Rookie answered the call. While many had pegged him for an early G-League candidate to get his feet wet in professional basketball, Mark Daigneault threw him into the fire and it panned out.
Tre Mann knocked down a step-back three over the defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert for his first NBA bucket and went on to go 4-of-7 from the floor on his way to nine points, an assist, and just one turnover in his debut. He played in nearly 15-minutes, had an impressive steal, and even swatted a shot on the defensive end.
Mann showed an ability to play NBA basketball right out of the gate as a 20-year-old rookie who is a bit undersized for his position as he and Mark Daigneault admit, and if you go back and see the strides he has made from game one of the preseason to game five, it is impressive. Not a lot of players can adjust that quickly.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl looked like a grizzled veteran, running the pick-and-pop with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defending as a small-ball five, or simply making the proper cuts. The Villanova product poured in ten points, grabbed two rebounds on 66-percent shooting from the floor and behind the arc.
Who was your standout rookie from tonight’s game?