The public perception of Aday Mara was gradually sinking lower and lower over the months since the OKC Thunder selected him 12 overall back in June's draft.
From rumblings of reluctance from the front office to initially pick him up to his lackluster performance with Oklahoma City during this year's Summer League, the rookie's stock was steadily and consistently plummeting with each passing day.
Fortunately, it appears the fall of his status may have halted following his recent showing with Team Spain during the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
The big man was quite active during Monday's outing against Greece, as he finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and a block while shooting a highly efficient 71.4 percent from the floor.
This served as a major bounce-back from his last outing against Portugal, where he posted 12 points and six rebounds on a horrid 37.5 percent shooting clip.
Now, though Spain ultimately fell to Greece by a final score of 108-106, Mara's energy and physicality were undeniable highlight takeaways from the exhibition. The 21-year-old showed a drive and desire to get active in the pick-and-roll game and fight down low on the boards, all while showing off several instances of eye-catching offensive finesse when around the rim.
After being branded as the "most disappointing rookie" to have played in NBA Summer League, seeing a performance such as this with mere weeks to go before the start of Thunder training camp is certainly encouraging.
Expectations are still exciting for Thunder rookie despite lowered stock
At this point, no one should be anticipating Mara to light up the NBA right out of the gates during his upcoming rookie campaign.
That's no knock on him personally, but rather, the traditional slow roll trajectory for every young newcomer.
Of course, even with this, the popular assumption still seems to be that the 7-footer should find a way to make a quiet yet rather effective impact, with or without a major role, within coach Mark Daigneault's system to kick off his Thunder tenure.
Some of the most drastic-sounding projections for Mara, ones like Bleacher Report's that suggest he won't even be a regular rotation player until the calendar flips to 2027, still are under the impression that the big man is bound to leave his mark on the game in year one, with B/R's Zach Buckley boldly predicting he'll finish ranked within the top three in blocks among his rookie peers.
Thunder star Chet Holmgren, personally, is also already viewing the rookie as someone who could wind up being "very impactful" for the club, particularly when it comes to helping him secure the paint on the defensive end against guys like Victor Wembanyama.
So while Mara may have seen his reputation in the tabloids sink a bit over the past few months, pundits and team personnel still expect he'll find a way to contribute in some positive capacity and help aid in Oklahoma City's pursuits of winning another championship in 2026-27.
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