The OKC Thunder have to be happy with their 12th overall selection from this past June's NBA Draft, Aday Mara.
The big man is everything the club could've wanted and more. Through three games played, he's shut down Victor Wembanyama, been on the receiving end of multiple lobs, and presented a nearly impossible defensive matchup for every scorer who dares to drive into the paint.
Mara's landing with the Thunder wasn't always a foregone conclusion, however.
In fact, the Thunder were also seriously looking at two other former Michigan Wolverines, Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg. If all three were still on the board by the time OKC was on the clock, who knows what the franchise would've done.
As of now, the Thunder must be feeling thankful for the Michigan alumnus they walked away with. Mara is proving to be an excellent NBA player. As for the other two, their teams may not be able to say the same.
Thunder's Aday Mara is outperforming his Michigan classmates early on
While Mara has done nothing but impress, both Johnson and Lendeborg have raised some cause for concern.
Johnson, the ninth-overall pick in the draft, has strung a trio of middling performances together. He is averaging just 6.7 points with nearly as many turnovers as rebounds and has already forced some to second-guess Dallas' selection.
Lendeborg was sniped from the Thunder the pick before by the Golden State Warriors. The rookie has had a larger role than both of his Michigan counterparts, but he has raised eyebrows in a different way.
Though 24 years old and the oldest of the three, he might also be the most immature.
Lendeborg can't seem to help but put his foot in his mouth to start his NBA career. His comments in his debut outing regardin Luka Doncic set the NBA media on fire, as he claimed to have lost respect for Doncic because of his whining, among other things.
He also bragged about how he shut down the superstar guard, while subtly throwing his teammates' defense under the bus.
Aday Mara clearly fits Thunder personality better than the others
Amid Johnson's underwhelming play and Lendeborg's brazen debut, it's clear that Mara's sound skills and quiet temperament fit this Thunder team to perfection.
He has already shown humility when asked about being drafted as the "Wemby Stopper" over the offseason, and he has established himself as the perfect complementary piece to the elite collection of scorers the Thunder already possess.
While the question of whether GM Sam Presti would've gone another direction had one of the other two Wolverines been available is still unknown, the Thunder should be thankful they were forced into the selection they made.
Aday Mara might have been the piece they were missing last year, and OKC looks like the most complete on-court unit in the NBA through their first three games.
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