The Oklahoma City Thunder continued to roll into Vegas Summer League and took on the Sacramento Kings in a game in which second-year guard Tre Mann finally broke out of his slump. The Florida product was off to a dreadful start to NBA Summer League since returning from Health and Safety protocols. In the first two games in Vegas, Mann shot below 15 percent from the floor, and fans were displeased with the showing from the score-first guard.
Though, we all knew he would not be held silent for long as the Oklahoma City Thunder were in a close battle again, this time with the Sacramento Kings. The game went down to the wire, but the OKC Thunder pulled out a six-point win despite the 4th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Keegan Murray, lighting up the Thunder for 29 points on 53 percent shooting from the floor. That was not enough to propel the Kings to a win. The other Sacramento standout was Keon Ellis, the Alabama product who was in the first wave of pre-draft workouts in Oklahoma City and eventually worked out a second time for the Thunder in the pre-draft process. Ellis shot 50 percent from the floor, poured in 14-points, dished out five assists, hauled in four rebounds, and swiped a pair of steals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed a win over the Sacramento Kings behind a bounce-back game from Tre Mann, a breakout game from Ousmane Dieng, and overcome a 29-point effort from Keegan Murray
Tre Mann was stellar as a rookie, especially in the second half of the season. Last year, the OKC Thunder watched him dazzle on the offensive end, scoring 35-points, 30-points, and 29-points over a four-week stretch from February to March.
Against Sacramento, in year two at Summer League, Mann scored 15-points, dished out seven assists, on 54 percent shooting from the floor, and 60 percent shooting from three-point land.
Mann’s struggles did not worry me in Vegas, given that it was the same result the year prior in the Summer League. We have seen what the potential future 6th man looks like in a more under-control NBA environment. A shooting slump throughout a two-week Summer League does not wipe away the potential he flashed last year.
This was also the first great game that Ousmane Dieng played this Summer. Dieng showed what he can do as a ball-handler, and it led to a 12-point, five rebound outburst on 62 percent shooting from the floor.