Slipping off of a screen, Ousmane Dieng found a pocket in the dunker spot and softly feathered the ball inside the basket.
It was Dieng’s first of 10 buckets in an eventful night that saw the Oklahoma City Thunder dominate the scarcely-talented Philadelphia 76ers, 100-91.
“It was great experiences and I was really impressed with how guys competed every game,” Thunder summer league coach David Akinyooye said about their three Salt Lake City games
Monday was about Chet Holmgren’s return. Wednesday was about Tre Mann’s 28 points. So it only made sense that it was Dieng’s turn to have a summer night where he shined the brightest for OKC.
After a rough first 1.5 SLC summer league games, Dieng capped off his stay in Utah with a strong final game. The Thunder were without most of their notable players — as Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams and Cason Wallace were all out. This means the deck was cleared for Dieng and Mann to take over this game and dominate against inferior competition.
“I think I’ve been better every game in the last three games,” Dieng said. “… I think I got better yesterday and today.”
Despite the long list of players who were out, the Thunder made easy work of the Sixers, whose most notable player was 2021 first-rounder Jaden Springer.
Springer finished with 17 points, five rebounds and seven turnovers. Undrafted rookie Terquavion Smith also had 15 points and went 5-of-10 from 3 for the Sixers. Greg Brown III had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.
The Thunder got off to a hot start that helped them build a 36-17 advantage following the first quarter. OKC continued to pile on and entered halftime with a 24-point lead. After only losing three points of their lead in the third quarter, the final 10 minutes essentially served as garbage time — until it wasn’t.
Despite leading by as many as 31 points, the Thunder had to earn this win late as Sixers made it interesting in the fourth quarter by cutting OKC’s lead to as little as five points. The Thunder escaped with the win and a 2-1 record in Utah, but the Sixers’ comeback efforts made them sweat it out a bit after being in control for the first three quarters.
Regardless though, if the Thunder would’ve blown a 31-point lead, it really wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things — summer league results are inconsequential and the individual performances of Dieng and Mann were enough to feel good about this game.
The Thunder wrapped up the SLC portion of their summer league schedule. OKC will now play at least five more games in Las Vegas.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Ousmane Dieng: A
After a slow start, Ousmane Dieng capped off his week in Utah with his best performance in the SLC summer league.
In 31 minutes, Dieng finished with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. The 20-year-old did most of his scoring damage inside of the paint, where he went 7-of-8 — including going a perfect 5-of-5 within the restricted area.
“I think it’s really good to play in summer,” Dieng said. “… It was really good for us to get experience.”
Dieng’s game-high nine turnovers were a bit too high, but that comes with the territory of being a primary ball-handler. If he’s going to have a high turnover outing, then these are the best environments to do so as he gets comfortable with more on-ball duties.
Expect Dieng to continue to play most of the Las Vegas summer league games as he likely benefits the most from them among the group of notable Thunder participants.
No-look dime down low 👀
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/n7P2aS181I
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 6, 2023
Tre Mann: A-
If the SLC summer league announced an MVP after the four-day event concluded, it’s fair to predict Tre Mann would be the winner.
Mann finished an impressive week with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting that included going 4-of-10 from 3. He went to the free throw line with ease as he went 5-of-7. He also collected five assists and eight rebounds.
Overall, Mann averaged 23.6 points on 54.7% shooting, 6.3 rebounds and three assists in three SLC summer league games. He also shot 41.6% from 3.
“It was good that I was able to come in here, knock some shots down, play well, gain some confidence,” Mann said. “I feel like this trip was good.”
It’s been about as encouraging of a start in summer league for Mann as one could’ve wished for.
Getting creative and finding space pic.twitter.com/8oq4G1VwfD
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 6, 2023
Tre fighting through the contact 💪 pic.twitter.com/YFEoMZIaLU
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 7, 2023
Making the right pass at the right time 🎯 pic.twitter.com/MDCXcilkAP
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 7, 2023
Zhaire Smith: B
Playing against his former team. Zhaire Smith stepped on the court for the first time this summer league. The 2018 first-rounder finished with 16 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench.
When the Thunder announced their summer league roster, Smith was the most notable outside addition that previously never played for OKC. The Sixers drafted him with the No. 16 pick in 2018 hoping he could develop into a solid role player. Instead, he flamed out of Philly after just 13 games in two seasons from 2018 to 2020.
Smith will likely get more playing time in Las Vegas, especially in the latter games. It’ll be interesting to see if he plays well enough to earn a training camp invite.
Caleb McConnell: B
Caleb McConnell is another player who made his summer league debut for the Thunder. The 24-year-old signed with OKC as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NBA draft. He played five college seasons at Rutgers.
McConnell is a defensive specialist, as he won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice. Those defensive chops were on full display tonight. In 14 minutes off the bench, he collected eight points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
An impressive stat sheet-stuffing game for McConnell. He’ll likely get more playing time in Las Vegas, which could help him earn a training camp invite or even a two-way deal.
“He’s like a junkyard dog,” Akinyooye said about McConnell. “… His energy on the defensive end. I told him, he was going back to the game, ‘You’re setting the tone defensively.'”
High energy on both ends 😤 pic.twitter.com/EQYxTjFtPS
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 6, 2023
Locked in on defense ⚡ pic.twitter.com/RqoV7p7etA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 6, 2023
