Though Wednesday night's matchup between the Thunder and Cavaliers is being marketed as an all-time historic and can't-miss contest, during the morning hours well ahead of tip-off it appears all Oklahoma City fans can seemingly talk about is Ousmane Dieng's recent outburst with the OKC Blue.
Now in his third year in the association, the forward has once again been found revolving in and out of the G League in 2024-25. While he's oft proven to be quite an impressive talent when with the developmental club, to the excitement of many, Tuesday night's bout against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers served as arguably his best yet.
In 33 minutes played, Dieng went on to drop a career-high 31 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor and 40.0 percent shooting from deep while tacking on 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal en route to the Blue's 130-125 win.
Tonight's top performer is Ousmane Dieng!
— OKC BLUE (@okcblue) January 8, 2025
31 PTS | 8 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL pic.twitter.com/Nkpgv5KBqs
From his impressive display of ball handling and long-range shooting to his eye-catching court vision, his showing against the Vipers has seemingly reminded fans of why the Thunder opted to snatch him up 11 overall back in the 2022 NBA Draft in the first place.
However, though it may be easy to succumb to recency bias, especially when it relates to an innately versatile lottery pick still attached to his rookie scale deal, fans and especially the franchise need to stay level-headed when valuing Dieng, especially with trade season upon us.
Career-best game must not impact how Thunder view Ousmane Dieng
The allure of Ousmane Dieng is undeniable.
Still only 21 years old, the tweener forward has a natural ability to put the ball on the floor and pull off low crossovers and hesitations, which, when properly utilized, allows him to gun toward the basket or create space between him and an opposing defender on offense.
On top of this, with his 6-foot-10 frame and 7-foot wingspan, the youngster projects as a highly versatile defender should he ever end up putting things together.
Of course, despite what his latest G League experience may have some believing, Dieng is still rather far from putting these skills and abilities together at the next... at least as a member of this stacked Thunder squad.
Throughout his time in Oklahoma City, Dieng has regularly found himself playing and, frankly, excelling within the OKC Blue's rotation.
Last year, he dropped sensational per-game averages of 17.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists on 48.3 percent shooting from the floor while guiding the team to a G League Championship and winning Finals MVP honors along the way.
During this year's campaign, it's evident that he's once again putting his best foot forward with the development squad, posting 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.7 assists while even cashing home on 38.1 percent of his seven long-range attempts per game.
Yet, even with this high-end production at the G League level, every time he logs minutes for the varsity team he falls well short of showcasing any semblance of this brand of success.
Now, this is not to say that Dieng is incapable of figuring out how to translate this type of production at the NBA level. His age coupled with an unusual combination of size, length, and athleticism isn't something one sees every day.
However, based on his plethora of opportunities with the team, the Thunder may not be the place for him to put it all together.
So even though Tuesday night's sensational all-around performance was exciting to watch, it should by no means change the way Oklahoma City values Ousmane Dieng on their team.