OKC Thunder: Darius Bazley is once again showing flashes

The OKC Thunder have the youngest roster in the NBA, with a ton of future draft assets and fresh off their first true draft class as a rebuilding team which allowed them to select Josh Giddey with the sixth pick, and Tre Mann with the 18th overall pick, along with a pair of important second-round prospects.

Mix that with the fun project of Aleksej Pokusevski, last year’s second-round pick Theo Maledon, the rise to stardom with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the lockdown defender Lu Dort it was easy for Oklahoma City Thunder fans to get impatient with Darius Bazley.

After a step back in year two, being the only player not to obviously progress under Mark Daigneault in his first year on the sidelines, Darius Bazley faced a make-or-break season entering year three.

OKC Thunder forward Darius Bazley is once again showing flashes

The former New Balance Intern got off to a slow start this season, which allowed him to become an easy punching bag for the OKC Thunder fan base as they cling to their new shiny toys and disregard a still young prospect in Bazley.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up the contract option of Darius Bazley, locking his deal in for the 2022-23 NBA Season.

His 2021-22 campaign started slow, in the first six games, the forward posted 10 points, with six rebounds, an assist, steal and block per clash. His shooting splits were the true concern, turning in 36-percent from the floor, and a lowly 17-percent from beyond the arc. He even struggled at the charity stripe knocking down just 68-percent of his freebies.

The Thunder bench boss Mark Daigneault continued to believe in Bazley, starting him in each game he has been healthy for since Daigneault earned the head coach position. That trust is starting to pay off.

Over the last five games, Darius Bazley has produced 13 points, seven rebounds, an assist, and nearly a block per game to the tune of 52-percent from the floor, and 50-percent from three. During the team’s recent four-game winning streak, those percentages have increased to 55-percent from the floor and 60-percent from deep.

The OKC Thunder began using Bazley better in this recent stretch of games, cutting his triple attempts down and allowing the team to use his athletic ability relocating off-ball, cutting through the lane, and being more calculated with his offensive opportunities.

At the cup, Bazley is shooting a career-high 63-percent, while posting 41-percent from the short mid-range distance (4-feet to 14-feet), and nailing 40-percent of his corner triples. Defensively, Bazley is in the 73rd percentile in block percentage, and the 100th percentile in foul percentage (1.1-percent).