OKC Thunder: Cason Wallace Highlights 3-Point Ability in Debut
For the first time in his young career, Cason Wallace took the court in an Oklahoma City uniform on Saturday.
After missing the first few Salt Lake City Summer League contests due to the draft day trade that sent him to OKC, Wallace made his long-awaited OKC debut. And it didn’t take long for him to break out.
When Wallace was drafted, it was his defensive prowess that was the talk of analysts. And his defense was shown in his Summer League debut, but it was his offense that he put on display. Offense wasn’t his forte at Kentucky, but on Saturday he lit up the scoreboard.
Wallace scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting. He also added three assists on the offensive end. The most impressive line for Wallace though came with his 6-of-10 mark from 3-point range , including a half-court buzzer beater to beat the halftime horn.
Coming into the league Wallace wasn’t viewed as a major 3-point threat as he shot 34.6% in his lone season at Kentucky. The skill was there but he showed he could develop into a true threat on the offensive end of the court.
The Thunder have built a defensive juggernaut unit around a talented offensive core. The addition of Wallace, who will likely see a lot of time off the bench, adds a top tier on-ball defender who showed off his offense on Thursday.
OKC has been focused on building the team’s 3-point weapons and if Wallace can continue to build on his Summer League performance and become a consistent 3-point shooter he could see a more increased role in the Thunder’s offensive game plan.
It was a small sample size, but in his Thunder debut Wallace showcased his skill set and the reasons why OKC traded up to select him at No. 10 overall. As he continues to get reps there will likely be growing pains, but he showed the potential to be a solid piece in OKC’s rotation.
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