One OKC Thunder Player Selected in The Athletic's '21-and-under' NBA Draft

Three staff writers at The Athletic recently participated in a draft of NBA players under the age of 22, with one Oklahoma City player getting picked.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) drives to the basket / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

In early August, three staff writers at The Athletic participated in a "21-and-under" draft that featured the trio selecting teams of NBA players who are 21-years-old or younger.

In the exercise, one player from the Oklahoma City Thunder's roster was selected, 20-year-old guard Cason Wallace.

A Kentucky product, Wallace was the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and earned All-Rookie honors after averaging 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game during his first year as a professional.

Despite being such a young player, Wallace shot 49.1% from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range on neearly three attempts per game from beyond the arc. With good passing, ball handling and perimeter shooting skills to go along with elite defensive ability, the former Wildcats' standout was the perfect fit for Mark Daigneault's system.

After an impressive rookie year that saw Wallace serve as a key contributor for Oklahoma City, the talented guard seems to be poised for an even bigger workload in 2024-25, especially with Josh Giddey no longer on the roster.

"I’ll take the rookie who played significant minutes on the best regular-season team in the Western Conference," James Edwards wrote for The Athletic. "He’s a good point-of-attack defender who was an efficient scorer on low volume this past season. Wallace feels like a player who will always impact winning. I’ll always go to bat for those types."

Wallace was the first pick in the seventh round of the exercise and the No. 19 selection overall.

Five picks ahead of Wallace, Will Guillory selected Giddey, a former Thunder guard and lottery pick who was teammates with Wallace in 2023-24.

After being benched in the Western Conference Semifinals in place of Isaiah Joe, Sam Presti and OKC's front office traded Giddey to the Bulls in return for two-time All-Defense honoree Alex Caruso.

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