The OKC Thunder's development league affiliate, the OKC Blue started their season on Tuesday and pulled out a hard-fought victory over the Texas Legends, winning by a final score of 102-100.
The Blue won the G-League championship last season, beating the Maine Celtics in their three-game series, but are without some of their key players from that series.
Ousmane Dieng, who won Final MVP during the title run, has spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season with the varsity team, while former key contributor, Lindy Waters III finds himself serving as a member of the Golden State Warriors after being traded to the Bay Area this past summer.
Without these proven contributors, the Blue needed someone to step up and take on more of a go-to leadership role within the rotation, and, based on Tuesday's opener, it seems Malevy Leons decided to handle that responsibility.
Malevy Leons was a beast on the boards 😤 He went OFF ending with, 19 PTS, 21 REB, & 15 ORB during the @okcblue home-opening win! pic.twitter.com/QlrB3z2Nat
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 12, 2024
In his first game with the Thunder affiliate, the power forward put up an impressive stat line of 19 points, 21 rebounds (15 of which came on the offensive end), and 2 blocks.
This should be viewed as an exciting showing for Oklahoma City, as they are without essentially their entire center core for the next several weeks due to a string of injuries. This kind of performance could boost Malevy into a role where he gets some meaningful minutes with the Thunder.
His performance also caught the eye of Oklahoma City Blue head coach Kam Woods, as he heaped praise upon the 25-year-old's work ethic following Tuesday's bout, saying:
“He’s incredible. He plays so hard. He’s versatile. His ability to play harder than anybody else was pulling us, keeping us in the game," Woods said.
Asked why he opted to choose the Thunder as the team to sign with after going unselected in the 2024 NBA Draft, Leons praised the club's program and mentioned guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mark Daigneault as influencers on his decision.
“I heard they got a good program up there, and they really care about their players and their development. Felt like I kept wanting to get better since I’ve been there, and have gotten a lot better. is a very smart coach, very kind, and listens as well as possible. a really good player, and a really good person, so nice to get to know him and meet him," Leons said.
It seems as though Oklahoma City has welcomed Malevy Leons with open arms and warm hearts. Now the only question is if he has done enough to get some minutes with the NBA squad while they are without some key players.
At 6-foot-8, 209 pounds, the rookie doesn't necessarily boast the build of a menacing center talent at the professional level which, frankly, is something the Thunder could certainly use more of at the moment.
However, desperate times call for desperate measures and, should they feel his physical presence down in the paint could translate to the next stage of play, at the very least a call up may want to be considered.