OKC Thunder’s Third Year Forward is Done Playing Summer League

Ousmane Dieng’s summer league session has been cut short.

Feb 2, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng (13) moves past Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington (25) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

One of the Thunder’s most intriguing young players has played his last summer league minutes as of Friday morning. Daniel Dixon, an assistant coach for the Thunder’s summer league squad, said Ousmane Dieng won’t suit up for the Las Vegas stint.

Dieng played in all three contests in Salt Lake City with a mixed bad of results. He averaged 15.7 points on 34.6% shooting, six assists and five rebounds. He shot 40% from 3-point range, taking a high volume of 6.7 attempts. Oklahoma City has four scheduled games in Vegas, but Dieng will not be a part of them. It’ll be up to Thunder rookies Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell to get the job done.

The decision to hold Dieng out is a bit surprising, considering he’s still a developing young player that hasn’t quite dominated summer league competition yet. However, Oklahoma City has two full years and two full summer league session’s of data on him as a player, and the organization likely wants him to hone in on a few certain skills back at the facility. There’s not much he could’ve done to add to his skillset or change his perspective over the next four games in Utah.

Instead, it’ll be a very important month of development with the Thunder’s training staff for Dieng. Ramping up for training camp and the early season slate will be huge in determining his role throughout the season.

Oklahoma City’s forward was expected to shine during the summer session considering he’s heading into his third NBA season. At times he did, but overall, it was still a bit of an inconsistent showing. The main positive was his outside shooting, as he took a lot of 3-pointers and converted at a high clip. If he receives real playing time for the Thunder this season, he likely won’t be asked to create much. His role would be more of a connector on offense and a catch-and-shoot player.

His best game of the summer session came against the hometown Utah Jazz, where he contributed 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists. During that contest, he shot 8-for-18 from the floor and buried four triples on six tries.

The former G League MVP played primarily with the OKC Blue this season, where he averaged 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. He shot 48.2% from the floor.

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