Tre Mann is in perfect position for a sophomore season jump

The Oklahoma City Thunder second-year guard, Tre Mann has looked phenomenal in preseason so far, which is not surprising. He showed flashes of elite shot creation and shot-making during his rookie season, but struggled with inconsistency and adjusting to the NBA level, as most rookies do. This season, Mann is in line for a significant leap in his sophomore season.

Tre Mann is in line for a breakout scoring role for the Oklahoma City Thunder in his sophomore season.

Mann was selected 18th overall by the Thunder in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft. He averaged 10 points per contest while playing in 60 games, 26 of which he was in the starting lineup. As the season progressed, he got more and more comfortable as a player.

Throughout his first 43 games, Mann averaged just seven points per game while shooting 36 percent from the floor. However, in his last 17 games of the season, he put up 17 points per game, while shooting 42 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point land.

Mann has looked better in each game he has played, and he has looked sensational so far this preseason. He is averaging 17 points per tilt while shooting 58 percent from the floor and 59 percent from deep in the exhibition slate.

Sure, the three-game sample size is small, but it looks like he has picked up right where he left off last season.

If Mann can consistently shoot the lights out from three, he can be a dangerous scorer off the bench. The Thunder hired shooting coach Chip Engelland from San Antonio this off-season, which will be very helpful for many players on the roster, including Mann.

Mann has also shown he can play off-ball as a shooter, but also be the primary ball handler off the bench. He is crafty with the basketball in his hands and makes step-back triples look effortless. He has always had the tools to be a fantastic shot-creator, using his deep bag of moves to open up space and take shots off the dribble. The problem was that, early on, those shots weren’t falling, but now that they are, Mann is in a prime position to improve into an elite bench scorer this season, taking the jump that many sophomore guards do.

Mann is in a very similar position as Cleveland guard Darius Garland was a few years ago. Garland averaged 12 points per game, shooting 40 percent from the field and 35 percent from distance during his rookie campaign.

Scarily similar to Mann’s rookie season marks. In Garland’s sophomore year, his points per game went up to 17 and he took a significant jump in his efficiency numbers.

Although Mann will not have the starting role that Garland did, it would not be surprising if his numbers continued to look similar to that of Garland’s sophomore season.

There is a real possibility that Tre Mann could find himself in Sixth Man of the Year consideration at some point in his career, maybe even this season. Obviously team success plays a major role in NBA awards, which makes it highly unlikely, but he could average anywhere from 15 to 20 points off the bench this season. Mann is in a very good position to take a huge leap in his play this season.