3 Thunder players to monitor during 2024 NBA Summer League

Thunder Player No. 2) Dillon Jones

In this year's NBA Draft, the Thunder managed to land two first-round talents in the likes of Nikola Topić at 12 overall and Dillon Jones at 26.

If both of these highly selected prospects were slated to take part in the upcoming Summer League, it would go without question that they would be seen as must-watch players. However, considering Topic is still rehabbing from his partially torn ACL and, in turn, will be sitting out, it's safe to assume that the attention directed at Jones will now be doubled, and rightly so.

Heading into June's draft, Jones was often projected to be an early-to-mid second-round selection, with some having him fall as low as 40 in mocks.

However, as he has a track record of doing so while serving as GM, Sam Presti took a gamble on the upside that the 22-year-old possesses, as he showed incredible versatility during his four-year tenure at Weber State.

With every passing season, Jones upped his production on both ends of the ball and established himself as an all-around difference-maker, wrapping up his senior campaign with averages of 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor.

With his burly 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame, he projects as a strong, hard-nosed wing hybrid at the next level. Though his shooting skills, particularly from long-range, are still in question, his ball-handling, rebounding, and defensive acumen are likely the major draws that Presti honed in on when taking him in the late first.

It'll be interesting to see how his skill set translates when playing with and against legitimate NBA prospects.