11) Ousmane Dieng
The G-League Finals MVP Ousmane Dieng showed promising signs of development throughout the 2023-2024 season. He appeared in 33 games this year for OKC, and while he averaged just 4.0 points per game, he showed flashes of his true potential.
Oklahoma City took Dieng 11th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. Selected out of France, the Thunder took him as a project player, one pick before Jalen Williams.
Dieng’s game was on full display back in December when he scored 18 points, went 6-of-7 from the field, and 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
Like Lindy Waters, Dieng spent the majority of the season playing with the OKC Blue. There he averaged 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists. In addition, as stated earlier he showed up in the G-League Finals.
.@ousmane11_ with the game winner in OT 🥇 pic.twitter.com/CmggrHBfoq
— OKC BLUE (@okcblue) April 3, 2024
Following a great performance from Dieng during the Blue’s first-round matchup against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, head coach Kameron Woods had this to say about the second-year player:
"For him, that is massive, for our team that is massive...What is encouraging is when he came back in the game late all he did was double down on making effort plays. I thought he had the right approach through the ups and downs of the game and it allowed him to make two huge plays."Kameron Woods
Oklahoma City has shifted into more of a win-now mindset, but keep an eye on Ousmane Dieng as a potential young asset thrown into a trade. As for the 2023-2024 season, Dieng showed improvement, which is exactly what the Thunder were hoping to see.