Drafted last June in 11th position by the Thunder, Ousmane Dieng is slowly making his mark at OKC. Regularly sent to the G League to complete his development, the young Frenchman dominates his world on the lower level and might therefore quickly return to the first team…
Cock-a-doodle Doo ! Good news, friend Ousmane Dieng, assigned to the Thunder’s G League team, continues to crush the competition in the NBA’s “League 2”. This night once more, for his 11th match with the OKC Blue, the French winger planted a reference match: 22 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists. Something to dream big. Nice aggressiveness towards the circle, good vision and big hustle on the rebound, there is perhaps something to convince coach Mark Daigneault to try once more for an NBA passage.
.@ousmane11_ with another big game:
22 PTS | 50% FG | 16 REB | 5 AST pic.twitter.com/0OfKFLLAD3
— OKC BLUE (@okcblue) December 13, 2022
Well, we’re not going to lie to each other, Ousmane Dieng does not perform as well as some rookies drafted behind him, starting with his teammate who follows him directly in the Draft order: Jalen Williams. But don’t panic: our Frenchie is still very young and a period of adaptation was to be expected. That, Sam Presti and Mark Daigneault know it well, which is why young Ousmane was quickly assigned to the Thunder’s G League team, the Oklahoma City Blue.
Recalled to the first team at the end of November, Dieng had the opportunity to replay five games with the Thunder, and above all to show his progress to the OKC staff, with in particular a big 15 point game and 6/8 shooting in just 18 minutes once morest the Trae Young Hawks. In the G League, Ousmane leads his team in rebounds, with 9.4 balls captured per game, and placed third in scoring (16,6 points) and on the way (4,4 assists). Also the best blocker of the Blues, the tricolor nugget shows here all the versatility he can show on a field. A good omen for the future.
Ousmane Dieng shows up in the G League and that’s what it takes to show Mark Daigneault that he belongs in the NBA and not at the lower level. Will the Thunder coach be tempted?
Source image : OKC Blue