Checking in on Ousmane Dieng’s development
By Rylan Stiles
The Oklahoma City Thunder traded three first-round picks for the right to buy back into the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery and cash in on a third lottery pick selecting Ousmane Dieng with the 11th pick in the draft to add to their 2nd selection (Chet Holmgren), and 12th pick (Jalen Williams).
The OKC Thunder continue to surprise the NBA world, sitting with the tenth-best record in the NBA Western Conference at the NBA All-Star break. If the season ended today, the Thunder would be in the NBA postseason via the play-in tournament.
The Thunder are already playing this well, with two of their three lottery picks being non-factors. For Holmgren, it is due to a season-ending injury suffered in August at a Seattle pro-am event. For Dieng, it is due to the expected project nature of his selection and working him into developmental minutes at the NBA G-League level.
While Jalen Williams, and even 34th overall pick Jaylin Williams, have stolen the show as rookies, let’s keep tabs on the development of 19-year-old Ousmane Dieng, the youngest Thunder rookie of the 2022 NBA Draft class.
We are checking in on the development of the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Ousmane Dieng.
As the NBA season gets ready to restart from the All-Star break on Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder have sent Ousmane Dieng down to the NBA G-League. As a result, Dieng will not be on the trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, or the second night of the back-to-back in Pheonix against the Suns.
Instead, Dieng will be in the NBA G-League playing for the Oklahoma City Blue, who travel down to Birmingham to take on the Squadron.
How has Ousmane Dieng progressed at the NBA G-League level, and what is the plan for him at the NBA level for the rest of the season? Let’s dive into it.