Grading the 2021-22 Oklahoma City Thunder veterans

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a great veteran leader…in 27-year-old Kenrich Williams

Kenny Hustle is the best nickname in the NBA because it is the most accurate nickname in the NBA. No matter the score, record, or scenario, Kenrich Williams is giving all-out effort on each possession on both ends of the floor. That becomes infectious for a young team. It has led to some wins that on paper, the Thunder should not have earned.

Kenrich Williams has seen ups and downs in his NBA career, the TCU produce went undrafted out of college before catching on with the Pelicans for two seasons as New Orleans then shipped him out as a throw-in player to the Steven Adams trade to make the money work. Williams had partial guarantees in his deal that would have made him easy to cut for Presti following the trade, as he did to the other members of that deal. New Orleans sent Oklahoma City four players and only two logged minutes for the Thunder.

Darius Miller, the other survivor of that Pelicans trade, logged just 12 games with Oklahoma City. Williams has played in 115 contests for the boys in blue.

Most undrafted players do not get two years in the league, much less two mediocre at best years, and survive a trade to a new team. Williams not only made the club out of the gate but has made himself incredibly valuable.

Williams left New Orleans shooting 30-percent over his two seasons with the Pelicans, and in as many years in Bricktown, his three-point percentage has leaped up to 39-percent including a 44-percent outburst in 2020-21. Pair that with his hustle and defense that features a steal per game over his tenure with the Thunder, and you have one of the best bench options in the NBA.

Without question, Williams was sought after by playoff-caliber teams at the NBA Trade deadline each of the last two seasons. Sam Presti elected to hold onto Williams despite him peaking in value as the 27-year-old enters the final year of his contract owed 2-million dollars.

Will the heart and hustle power forward survive another offseason and deadline period in OKC or will a playoff team swoop him out? A reason the Thunder have held onto him to this point is his leadership. Then first-year head coach Mark Daigneault credited Kenrich Williams with how well the Oklahoma City Thunder handled the strict COVID-19 protocols during the 2020-21 season.

Grade: B, the shooting took a little bit of a dip, which is expected as arenas fill up and the basketball feels more normal.