The Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to get Tre Mann back on track as the 2021 first-round pick has fallen into a bit of a Sophomore slump to start the 2022-23 NBA campaign. Mann is down to eight points, two rebounds, and an assist per game on just 38 percent shooting from the floor, and a three-point percentage that just now creeps up to 30 percent which is down six percent from his rookie year mark.
In an effort to help the Florida product break this cold streak, the Oklahoma City Thunder organization sent Tre Mann down to the NBA G-League to play for Kameron Woods and the OKC Blue during the Vegas NBA G-League Winter Showcase.
The Oklahoma City Thunder see Sophomore guard Tre Mann play in three games in three nights with a flight from Vegas to Oklahoma City thrown in the mix
The NBA G-League Assignment worked to perfection for the OKC Thunder, as Tre Mann dominated the NBA G-League Showcase.
The OKC Blue played in two games in Vegas on Wednesday and Thursday, and in both games, Mann put up an extraordinary scoring performance which earned him All-Showcase team honors.
In those two games, Tre Mann averaged 37 points per game on 54 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Mann scored 40 points on Thursday, a follow-up effort to a 35-point outing on Wednesday.
Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder called Tre Mann up from the G-League on Friday as the Showcase ended on Thursday, and many, including myself, assumed this was a move that would just allow Mann to sit on the bench and be part of the team on Friday but likely not play in his third straight game.
I was wrong, Mark Daigneault sent Tre Mann into the contest marking Mann’s third straight game in as many nights with a flight to Vegas thrown in the mix.
The OKC Thunder were looking for a spark on the offensive end, and Mann ended up playing 14 minutes, going for nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
This helped the Bricktown boys claw back from once being down 21 points, to eventually growing an eight-point lead of their own before falling in overtime.
Mann hit the game-tying shot in the fourth quarter to make it 80-80 less than a minute into the frame on the heels of an incredible third-quarter run by the Thunder.