NBA G League: Can the Oklahoma City Blue Repeat as Title Winners?

The Oklahoma City Thunder's G League team had a remarkable run in 2023-24, but lost a few of their key pieces from last year's squad.

Oklahoma City Blue forward Ousmane Dieng (13) plays defense against the Stockton Kings / Dan Rogers/Special to the Stockton Record / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder's G League affiliate picked up the organization's first-ever championship victory.

Led by G League Finals MVP Ousmane Dieng, the Oklahoma City Blue took down the Maine Celtics in three games to earn OKC's first G League championship.

Alongside Dieng was Lindy Waters III, Keyontae Johnson and Olivier Sarr, who all earned brief stints in the NBA with the Thunder. This season, however, the Blue will be without all three of the aforementioned players.

After joining the organization in 2021, the Thunder traded Waters on draft day to the Golden State Warriors in return for a second-round pick. Waters averaged 21.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting over 42% from beyond the arc in 12 games with the Blue last season.

A sharpshooting wing with good size and decent defensive ability, Waters will have a chance to earn a spot in the Warriors rotation after the departure of Klay Thompson.

After spending his rookie season with the Blue and playing for Oklahoma City's summer league team in 2024, Johnson earned a contract with the Charlotte Hornets in August.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Johnson averaged 19.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 38 G League games as a rookie. The former Kansas State standout and second round draft pick will have a chance to earn his spot in the Hornets' rotation alongside former OKC guard Tre Mann.

Sarr is still a free agent after suffering a ruptured achillies tendon in the G League Finals. The older brother of Alexandre Sarr, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the former Oklahoma City Blue center averaged 14 points, 13.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 blocks in 18 G League contests last year.

While the three aforementioned players will no longer be on the Blue's roster, the team will add 2024 second round pick Ajay Mitchell, who shined on the Thunder's summer league team. In five summer league games, Mitchell averaged 16 points, two assists, three rebounds and a steal while shooting 53 percent from the floor, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 92 percent at the charity stripe.

Dillon Jones, one of Sam Presti's two first round selections in the 2024 draft, could also see significant time in the G League this season if he is unable to crack Oklahoma City's rotation.

With Mitchell potentially flanked by Jones and Dieng, the OKC Blue could be one of the better G League squads again in 2024-25.

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