The Oklahoma City Thunder have several attractive young talents.
Their interesting players extend beyond young stars like Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who form the core alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
During this year’s preseason, several young players stepped up to show off what they are capable of.
Ousmane Dieng recently received praise from head coach Mark Denault, while rookie Bab Carrington impressed fans with his performance.
The list of developing players also includes Cason Wallace, who has shown significant improvement and received special recognition from Daigneault.
In a recent game against the Charlotte Hornets, Wallace started and had 10 points and eight assists.
Those eight assists particularly impressed Daigneault as evidence of Wallace’s growth. Despite being classified as a shooting guard, Wallace showed the ability to develop as a ball handler and playmaker.
“During his time as an NBA player, teams have performed at a high level, but he has quietly grown and developed during that time. His floor is very high and he is very impactful,” Daigneault explained.
“It’s easy to overlook how much better he’s gotten, but he’s gotten better in a lot of ways, and that’s one of them. He’s getting more comfortable with the ball in his hands,” Daigneault added.
Wallace’s year-over-year statistics back up Daigneault’s assessment. Last season, his second season, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, all improvements from his rookie season.
The 21-year-old has also shown improvement defensively, averaging 1.8 steals per game last season.
His two-way ability gave him confidence in guarding opposing stars and proved his value beyond his offensive contributions.
If Wallace continues his growth trajectory next season, he should be able to secure a solid rotation role with plenty of playing time.
He averaged 27.6 minutes per game last season, and his expanded skill set will allow him to take on even greater responsibility as the Thunder pursue championship contention.