BOSTON — The Oklahoma City Thunder are in town Saturday night.
The Boston Celtics welcome the Thunder to TD Garden for the first and only time this season — unless the two were to meet in the NBA Finals — and although the Thunder aren’t on many people’s radar, there’s plenty of talent on the young squad.
Oklahoma City missed the postseason last year, but surprisingly clinched a Western Conference playoff berth during the 2019-20 season. While many of the players from that squad are gone — namely Chris Paul and current Celtics guard Dennis Schröder — there still are several players to keep an eye on.
Here are three Thunder players you should know now and for the future:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Point Guard
Gilgeous-Alexander undoubtedly is the Thunder’s best player. He’s just 23 years old and is in the middle of his fourth NBA season and has been a force to be reckoned with in each one. The guard enters Saturday’s bout boasting an impressive stat line consisting of 20.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game to go along with just over a steal each night. He averaged 19 points per game even with Paul and Schröder on the squad and should be a fun All-Star caliber player in the league for years to come.
Luguentz Dort – Small Forward/Shooting Guard
Dort just is 22 years old and after going undrafted, has made a name for himself in the NBA in a big way. He burst onto the scene with OKC thanks to impressive defensive play, but has rounded out his game over the last two seasons and has become a dependable offensive playmaker for the Thunder. Dort enters Saturday averaging the second-most points per game on the Thunder at 16.6 and should continue to rise.
Josh Giddey – Shooting Guard
Oklahoma City drafted Giddey out of Australia with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and he has impressed so far in his rookie season. You may know him from TikTok, but he actually is an impressive player and has stuffed the stat sheet so far with 9.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Giddey is just 19 years old and his shooting percentages aren’t great so far, but as he adjusts those numbers should rise.
Overall, the Thunder are a young and inexperienced team with just two players 30 or older, but certainly have a bright future and it starts with this trio.
