OKC Thunder send Aleksej Pokusevski to G-Leauge

The OKC Thunder march on with their second rebuilding season, and one of their top project prospects remains Aleksej Pokusevski. The Oklahoma City Thunder, namely General Manager Sam Presti, thinks Poku can have NBA unicorn level potential. Pokusevski stands seven feet tall, coming in at 190 pounds, and was the 17th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Through 81 career NBA games, Aleksej Pokusevski is averaging six points, four rebounds, nearly two assists, a block, and have a steal per game. The Serbian forward was worth trading up for in the 2020 NBA Draft, as Presti let it be known the organization was targeting him. That is a rarity around Bricktown, as the organization typically keeps its cards close to the vest.

Aleksej Pokusevski is the rare seven-footer that can handle the ball, pass the rock, as he cuts his turnovers down from two per game to just one lost ball a game, get his shot off from all three levels, and can be one of the most uniquely skilled players in the National Basketball Association.

The OKC Thunder have sent Aleksej Pokusevski down to the NBA G-Leauge for at least a week

Following a surprise year in 2020, the OKC Thunder knew they still needed to hit the reset button, tank, and rebuild to get to their goal of being a championship-level team. With their 2020 pick too low to land a blue-chip prospect, the Oklahoma City Thunder decided to take a home run swing on an incredibly unpolished, raw forward from the second division league in Greece. Passing up some more NBA-ready players, or safer picks that are already making an impact in the associate.

Questions following the 2020 NBA Draft included national media members pondering if Aleksej Pokusevski would even play for the OKC Thunder in 2020, or if he would be a draft and stash prospect.

Instead, the OKC Thunder brought him over to the NBA right away, playing in 45 of the 72 games last season, which featured a break in the middle for Pokusevski to attend the NBA G-League Bubble playing for the OKC Blue.

Aleksej Pokusevski’s pre-and-post bubble splits are alarming, in a positive way, showing much better production after his stint with the Blue. This season, the OKC Thunder are attempting to tap into that again.

With more players on the roster, the Oklahoma City Thunder want to invest in, and with Mark Daigneault trying to teach Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann, and other young players to eat their broccoli before their skittles, Pokusevski has seen his minutes per game number dip to 15 minutes per tilt down from 24.

Since New Year’s Eve, Aleksej Pokusevski is posting six points, four rebounds, an assist, and half a steal per game on 33-percent from deep, and 42-percent from the floor. Playing some of his best basketball, it was shocking to some to see the OKC Thunder send Poku to the NBA G-League.

Mark Daigneault has let it be known, this stint will last at least a week, ruling Aleksej Pokusevski out for this road trip. The Oklahoma City Thunder bench boss confirmed this was planned before Christmas, as the organization understood eventually the NBA G-Leauge would get into more of a routine schedule giving Pokusevski more games, opportunities, minutes, and a different role to show what he can do.