The Oklahoma City Thunder are constantly cycling in draft prospects over the summer months in preparation for the late June draft. The Organization prefers to keep those under wraps, but sometimes the information leaks out.
Thunderous Intentions was able to break the news of Jordan Walsh's predraft workout with Oklahoma City, where he had one of his best showings.
The predraft is a crazy time for prospects and teams alike, frantically racing from interviews to workouts all in the span of a few weeks, as well as the NBA Draft combine.
The NBA Combine is where Jordan Walsh stole the show. He really made a good impression in the NBA Combine scrimmages, as well as showing his shooting potential during the three-point drills.
Per Source: Arkansas F Jordan Walsh conducted a pre-draft workout with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has been impressive shooting the ball in the pre-draft process. His workout was prior to the DEN trade, OKC would need to get back in that range to get him. He will not last to 50 pic.twitter.com/JP2bQJ91TP
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) June 20, 2023
As the NBA Draft process ramped up, teams continued to view Walsh as a potential impact rookie, someone who could slot into the rotation sooner than later with the intangibles to play in big games.
When Walsh got his chance to audition for Oklahoma City, he did not disappoint, pulling off one of his best displays "It was fun, I enjoyed it!" Walsh told Thunderous Intentions when reflecting on that predraft workout.
"It was about me getting into the rhythm of NBA basketball; it was a good opportunity, obviously, for me to be able to come and showcase myself in front of the coaches and staff." Walsh explained, "Oklahoma City is pretty nice, I am definitely grateful for that."
Like snowflakes, no two workouts are the same. Each team has a different process of running players through trails to see who would best fit their organization.
Walsh explained the main differences between an Oklahoma City workout and the rest of the NBA: "It was definitely a lot longer!" Walsh reflected "It was more technical when it came to testing and stuff like that."
However, the key differences run deeper than just on the court for a Thunder workout: "The people were definitely open, there were a lot of players in there, a lot of the staff was in there, showing love to even the workout guys, it was fun." Walsh remembered.
Ultimately, the Arkansas product ended up being selected 38th overall, winding up in Boston for the red-hot Celtics.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a lot of ties with the Arkansas Razorbacks, given the multiple alumni on the Thunder roster.
"It is a great environment; you always know you have an Arkansas brother somewhere in the NBA with you," Walsh explained when discussing how connected the Razorbacks are.
As of now, Walsh is spending most of his time in the G League playing for the Maine Celtics, "Preparation , to be able to be here, play games, learn my role, and also get better to be able to prepare for the future moment when my number is called, I am glad it was Boston " he said.
Walsh explained the "core value and goals" are the same between the G League and NBA Club, with each team playing "similar" styles and using the same terminology "the play-style, we want it to be the same."
It is common for NBA G League teams to use the same style as their parent clubs to make the transition smooth between the two levels.
Today, Walsh played the OKC Blue on his way to dropping 14 points and nine rebounds he was tasked with defending Ousmane Dieng and Keyontae Johnson, two Thunder rotation hopefuls.