Impressive debuts for Sam Presti and the Thunder
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009At some point in the not-too-distant future NBA fans should expect to see the ranking of the top teams in the Western Conference to look something like this:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Portalnd Trail Blazers
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
on account of the fine work being done by Sam Presti [GM].
Thunder Notebook: James Harden lives his dream
Westbrook’s dominant play and Harden’s big debut got the most attention. But many at the RDV Sportsplex were raving about 19-year-old Serge Ibaka, who started at center for the Thunder.
Ibaka moved impressively and thrived thanks to his athleticism, connecting on 6-of-8 shots and notching a pair of blocks. The No. 24 pick of the 2009 Draft, he played in Spain’s top league a year ago and averaged 7.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 15.5 minutes of play. That’s a healthy chunk of playing time for a player so young to be granted in Europe.
“He’s learning a new language, learning new rules, learning new teammates,” said assistant Brian Keefe, who is coaching Oklahoma City in the Summer League. “This is invaluable for him to learn how to play with all the guys and gain familiarity with our culture, our organization, how we like things done and how we teach things. I think we’ll see him keep progressive because he really likes to work. He’s got the commitment.”
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For those of you who might not know exactly who Mr. Ibaka happens to be:
Yes, the commentary is not in English … but, these two words are almost universally understood today across the Global Hoops Community: “Kevin Garnett …”
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The following 10 players are as good as any young core in the NBA today:
No. Player Name Pos Hgt Wght Age [as of Dec 31 2009]
1 Russell Westbrook PG 6-3 190 21
2 Shaun Livingston PG 6-7 185 24
3 James Harden OG 6-5 218 20
4 Thabo Sefolosha OG-SF 6-7 215 25
5 Kyle Weaver OG-SF 6-6 201 23
6 Kevin Durant SF 6-10 215 21
7 Jeff Green PF 6-9 235 23
8 D.J. White PF 6-9 251 23
9 Serge Ibaka C 6-10 220 20
10 BJ Mullens C 7-0 275 20
Oklahoma City has a team entered in the Orlando Pro Summer League that kicked off action yesterday.
Box Score [Jul 06 2009]
Here’s the link to the live feed of their game this evening, if you’d like to take a gander for yourself at what some of these young men actually look like.
