The OKC Thunder have been, and still are, one of the best teams in the NBA, so it's a bit ironic that they have been trounced in all three Summer League games played so far.
Though the team's wins and losses in July are inconsequential, fans have gotten an early look at notable prospects and other roster hopefuls.
One of the long shots to make the roster is someone whose name hasn't surfaced since his days in March Madness, and he may have just reintroduced himself in an emphatic way.
In the third game of the summer, guard Steven Ashworth scored 14 points on a blistering 4-for-5 shooting from the field. Every attempt was from behind the three-point line. He produced at such a rate in just 15 minutes on the floor, but it was his first extended look as a member of the team.
While it is still improbable that he'll crack the active roster, it's reasonable to believe that the performance has earned him more minutes in the coming days.
Thunder offering Steven Ashworth a two-way makes perfect sense
Ashworth isn't your conventional prospect. At just just 6-feet tall, the 26-year-old isn't necessarily oozing with upside from a build and youth standpoint. However, players with high ceilings aren't what OKC is looking for as it fills out its roster.
After all, they just spent two first-round picks on players over 20.
In short, the Thunder are directly in their championship window, and they aren't interested in spending their time bringing immature teenagers up to speed.
Ashworth has no shortage of experience. He spent five years in college before playing all last season in the G-League.
His near-veteran presence is his calling card, but, simply put, he can play as well.
In his last season with Creighton, he averaged 16.4 points and 6.8 assists. The season prior, he rounded out a big three consisting of him, Baylor Scheierman, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, the latter of whom has carved out respectable roles in the NBA.
Together, the trio led their school to a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Offering Ashworth a two-way contract makes even more sense when considering the Thunder's recent injury history. Two of their three ball handlers, Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams, missed large chunks of the 2025-26 season, and the Thunder lost in the Western Conference Finals largely because of this.
Ashworth shouldn't be expected to be the next Mitchell off the bench, but he could serve as a plug-and-play guy in a pinch if the Thunder needed an emergency point guard.
Last year, OKC's two-way contracts hardly made an impact during the season. Ashworth could change that at the end of the summer if coach Mark Daigneault is willing to give him the opportunity.
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