NBA Draft: Thunder Should Take a Look at Omari Moore If He Goes Undrafted

Omari Moore, a tantalizing guard prospect from San Jose State, could go undrafted but he checks a lot of boxes for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Undrafted free agency isn’t usually a subject that gets brought up often during draft season. Most of the media and attention usually coalesces to focus on the top talent — the guys projected to go in the lottery or first round.

But, from the perspective of an NBA front office, undrafted players means another opportunity to add more talent in hopes of developing them into something valuable to their team. While those players rarely pan out, there have been a few success stories throughout history such as Ben Wallace, Fred VanVleet, and to a lesser degree, the Thunder’s own Luguentz Dort.

One prospect that could have a strong chance to join that list is San Jose State’s Omari Moore.

San José State’s Omari Moore showcased his talent in front of NBA executives at last night’s LIFT Pro Day.

Measured at 6’5 ¼” barefoot w/ a 6’9 ¾” wingspan + finished w/ the Combine’s top spot shooting score.

Explosive downhill advantage-creating guard. No longer a sleeper. pic.twitter.com/sT7QDuDMCd

— Jon Chepkevich (@JonChep) May 18, 2023

At 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, Moore brings good size and length to the guard position. He’s also an explosive athlete who possesses a really intriguing finishing package, a quick first step, good vision, and is an improving shooter from beyond the arc.

Moore’s unique blend of size, skills, and tools helped him to average 17.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, one block, and one steal per 40 minutes across his last two seasons at San Jose. And he did it on compelling efficiency: 44.7% shooting from the field, 36.4% from behind the arc, and 72.6% at the free throw line.

What stands out the most about Moore is just how bouncy he is and how much wiggle he has to his game. As a driver, he has great instincts for finding seams in the defense and is equally capable of exploiting them on his way to the rim where he utilizes his advanced touch with his off-hand to find layups and his incredible hops to engineer awesome, crowd-pleasing finishes.

And though he’s no Josh Giddey, Moore is also a pretty good passer, evidenced by the 29.9 percent assist rate and a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio he posted this season. Whether he’s slashing or bending the defense in pick-and-rolls, he is capable of rifling a variety of passes all over the court to punish defenders that overhelp.

San Jose State’s Omari Moore (6-6, 190, Sr.) looked apart vs. an Arkansas team with NBA-level athleticism.

The main standout for me: his passing. Moore’s vision/passing angles on skip passes + some PnR utility is striking on tape. pic.twitter.com/GYzFi0BSdw

— Hunter Cruse (@HunterCruse14) December 4, 2022

On top of the rim pressure and passing chops Moore provides, he’s also more than capable of stepping back to knock down a 3-pointer from time to time. However his jumper does need a little work as he will need to be more consistent to stick as a guard in the NBA.

But, at the end of the day, the tantalizing guard prospect from California might fall out of the draft due to his age as he will turn 23 in September. And if he does, Oklahoma City might want to consider giving him an opportunity to prove himself; after all, he does tick a lot of the Thunder’s boxes.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the 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.