The OKC Blue got their season underway this weekend with a massive two-game set against the Salt Lake City Stars. A trend with this year’s NBA G-Leauge scheduling. The OKC Thunder are taking full advantage of their farm system and this weekend showed why.
Before the first game for the OKC Blue, the Oklahoma City Thunder sent down Vit Krejci, Isaiah Roby, and Tre Mann. They also assigned each of their two-way players Paul Watson Jr, and Aaron Wiggins to their G-Leauge affiliate making the Blue one of the most star-studded teams in the league.
OKC Thunder two-way wings Wiggins, Watson Jr prove big in OKC Blue sweep of Stars
The OKC Blue got off to a dominant start on Friday, November 5th at the Paycom Center in downtown Oklahoma City, beating the Salt Lake City Stars 118-63 (not a typo!) to kick off their season 1-0 under head man Grant Gibbs.
In the season opener, Gibbs elected to start Tre Mann, Vit Krejci, Scotty Hopson, Paul Watson Jr, and DJ Wilson. The Two-Way stand-out poured in 14 points, including four triples, two rebounds, and an assist.
His fellow two-way player, rookie, and 55th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Aaron Wiggins was fantastic off the pine despite battling a wrist injury. He posted eight points, missing just one shot all night, six rebounds, and five dimes.
Perhaps the most interesting player on the OKC Blue roster is rookie guard Vit Krejci who Sam Presti traded for during the 2020 draft fresh off an ACL injury just a few weeks before Draft Night. After a year of rehab, Krejci is an unknown but piques the interest of many. In this game, he turned in ten points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Being a bigger guard who can rebound and is a mobile scorer fits the OKC Thunder mold to a tee.
Game two of this set was on Sunday morning before the OKC Thunder battle with the Spurs in the same venue that night.
Oklahoma City won both tilts, taking down the Stars again, 114-81. Isaiah Roby was a standout for the Blue, earning the start in the middle to the tune of 19 points, five assists, and 12 rebounds.
This time, Aaron Wiggins continued his hot start with double-digit points off the bench (15), going 6-8 from the floor, hauling in five rebounds and two assists along with a steal on the defensive end.
Tre Mann only logged nine minutes in this contest due to a face injury that OKC Thunder bench boss, Mark Daigneault, suggests is not serious at all. He was available for the Thunder clash with the Spurs though his services were not needed.
In-game two, Paul Watson Jr, Melvin Frazier Jr, and Rob Edwards all blitzed in three triples apiece to spark the Blue offense.
In two-games Jazz second-year big man Udoka Azubuike posted eight points and 11.5 rebounds per game. The Stars also boasted D-Wade’s son, Zaire, who at 19 years of age earned 24-minutes per tilt turning in five points.
The OKC Blue will hit the floor again Thursday, November 18th on ESPN+ against the Clippers with tip-off set for 9 p.m. Central.