The answer to the on-court struggles the OKC Thunder are facing might not be what most think.
Though some may believe the club should be looking to add more offensive firepower with Jalen Williams now sidelined for the foreseeable future, while others view an uptick in defensive aggression as the new area of emphasis after Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso's injuries, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is under the impression that a "tougher" approach to rebounding could be all they need.
During his post-game media session following Wednesday's 120-96 loss to the Mavericks, the reigning two-time MVP went on record saying that the Thunder need to "fight more" on the glass, stressing that it helps their opportunities to rack up second-chance points and "allows us to get out there and play faster."
Over the last several years, the Thunder have been a top-half ranked club in the rebounding department, even wrapping up last season pulling down the 12-most boards with 44.1 per night.
During these early stages of the 2026-27 season, they've managed to bump up their production into the top 10 with 46.0 per night.
This improvement in production shouldn't come as all that great a surprise, for not only do they still have the 7-foot duo of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the fold, but they also managed to add the likes of 7-foot-3 rookie Aday Mara into the mix as well.
Frankly, the latter-mentioned Mara should be seen as the best option of the bunch to help address these needs SGA believes the Thunder have.
Aday Mara must use size to his advantage to help Thunder on the glass
He may be only five games into his NBA career, but Aday Mara has already proven himself to be a truly frightening presence down in the paint.
From swatting shots to literally having opposing players course correct away from the rim due to his sheer presence, the rookie has begun to make his mark on the league in a number of areas so far in the Sooner State.
The one area he now should be looking to up his efforts in is on the glass.
Despite his ridiculous 7-foot-3, 255-pound frame, Mara ranks just seventh on the team in rebounds per game with 4.2. Now, while these numbers may only be coming in a mere 15.8 minutes a night, even when converted to per-100 possessions, he still only finds himself racking up just under one more board than someone like the 6-foot-5 Alex Caruso.
Throughout his entire playing career up to this point, Mara has never found a way to establish himself as a truly dominant board gobbler. In college, he averaged just 4.5 per game and, on the international stage, he pulled down a mere 3.2 during his lone season with Casademont Zaragoza.
Now in the NBA, it may be time for Mara to finally lean into his behemoth build and help further boost the Thunder's rebounding efforts to not only adhere to superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's team-wide plea, but, simultaneously, to ensure himself more playing time throughout his debut season as a result.
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