To this point in the preseason, Aday Mara has successfully erased any doubts the NBA, or the Oklahoma City Thunder's fanbase, may have had about him exiting his subpar Summer League performance.
Across four games, he's averaged 15.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and three assists while shooting 79.3% from the field, coming away with a couple of impressive blocks and a couple of smooth offensive plays in seemingly every game. He's been dominant against this sort of competition, and he looks ready for a true rotational role from the start of the season.
No matter what the numbers are on a night-to-night basis, that's a win for Oklahoma City.
Even in Mara's outing against the Indiana Pacers, in which he posted just 10 points and wasn't as impactful on the offensive end of the floor, the Thunder got another encouraging development. With virtually the entire rotation in play outside of Chet Holmgren, Mara still saw nearly 19 minutes on the court, and he fully looked the part of a rotational, backup center.
Although it wasn't his most eye-popping performance of the preseason, then, it may very well have been his most encouraging.
Aday Mara looks ready to take on a true rotational role for the Thunder in 2026-27
Mara was always going to flash the attributes that made him a coveted prospect at some point during his rookie season.
At 7'3", he has the range and the mobility to operate as a true shot blocker, and his offensive game on the interior is already relatively well-developed. He's also capable of operating as a creator in the post, seeing the court well and reading potential kick-out passes with ease.
Coming out of Summer League, though, it seemed as though his deficits were outweighing that potential upside. Mara averaged just 23.4 minutes in his final season at Michigan, and there were certainly times where Dusty May had to work the rotations around Mara's limited conditioning. He looked gassed and outmanned, at times, during his stint in Las Vegas, and there were major questions about if he would need to play a limited role as a rookie.
Obviously, things might look different during the regular season—especially when Chet Holmgren is in the fold. But against Indiana (in a matchup that felt distinctly like a regular season game for much of its duration) Mark Daigneault showed a willingness to use Mara extensively against a full opposing big man rotation.
Mara took on virtually all of the backup center minutes behind Hartenstein, and that's a role that will be there over the duration of the campaign even if Holmgren and Hartenstein's minutes are staggered somewhat to limit Mara's exposure.
Mara did play 25 minutes in the game he started against the Milwaukee Bucks, but the rotation against the Pacers was much closer to one we might see during the regular season—a natural development as the Thunder round off their preseason slate. Mara remaining effective, if not dominant, in that type of role is a more encouraging sign than anything else he's put forward this preseason.
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