Isaiah Joe is Key to Thunder Winning More

By this point in the season, everyone should know that Isaiah Joe can stroke it from deep, just how important is he to helping the Oklahoma City Thunder win games?

It’s not often an NBA team is simply able to pluck a high-end shooting prospect off of the waiver wire, but that’s exactly what Oklahoma City did earlier this season when they signed Isaiah Joe to a very team-friendly three-year contract.

After spending his freshman and sophomore season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Joe found himself without a job after being waived prior to the start of the season. The Sixers, after shaking up their roster in an attempt to compete for a title this season, experienced their own roster crunch, and decided to keep guys like Jaden Springer, Matisse Thybulle, and Furkan Korkmaz over Joe — a fortuitous decision for the Thunder.

Since then, Joe, a 6-foot-5 shooter out of Arkansas, has thrived with the Thunder, especially when given significant minutes. In his 32 games, Joe has been white-hot from beyond the arc, nailing 44.4% of his 124 3-point attempts.

To put things in perspective, Joe is one of only five players that are shooting above 41% from beyond the 3-point line and attempting 13 of them per 100 possessions. And out of those five, he has been the most efficient 3-point shooter to date. That list includes Buddy Hield, Georges Niang, Bones Hyland, and… Steph Curry.

Joe’s gravity — or the defensive attention he commands — is helping him contribute in other areas besides 3-point shooting, too. Per 36 minutes, the sharpshooter is averaging 2.9 assists to just 1.2 turnovers, numbers that indicate that he is able to swing the ball and kick it to open teammates when he does drive.

And his 2.7 free throw attempts per 36 minutes is the fifth-highest mark for the Thunder this season, and the third-highest when comparing the team’s guards. This is even more impressive considering how often he lets it fly and his 18% usage rate. Joe is just one of three players in the NBA to get to the charity stripe as often as he does while attempting over 10 3-pointers per 100 possessions.

Perhaps, the numbers that best capture Joe’s impact is the Thunder’s two-player lineup data. It shows that no matter who Joe is lined up with, it is resulting in Oklahoma City outscoring their opponent. It doesn’t matter if he’s sharing the floor with Darius Bazley or Josh Giddey. And every one of those lineups are shooting above 38% from beyond the arc, highlighting just how infectious Joe’s floor-spacing ability can be.

Joe's ability to drag defenders out to the perimeter is ripping open seams in opposing defenses, allowing for drive-heavy players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Luguentz Dort to more easily get downhill and finish at the rim, draw a foul, or kick it out to create another advantage. If you've ever wondered how Joe has a offensive rating of 130-plus, this is why.

Given Joe’s overall impact and ability to raise the Thunder’s offensive ceiling, maybe he should be getting more minutes. Joe is averaging just 13.4 minutes on the season, but is averaging just over 19 minutes in his last 15 contests. But when Joe plays more than 23 minutes, the Thunder are 4-0 on the season.

Another fun fact that the Thunder and their head coach, Mark Daigneault, might want to consider is that they are 9-8 when Isaiah Joe hits at least two 3-pointers and just 6-8 when he fails to do so. And when Joe doesn’t play, the Thunder are a disappointing 2-5.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.