Inside The Thunder

Thunder Players Shine on the International Stage During Sunday Morning FIBA Slate

With the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the group play stage, four players on OKC's roster performed well in each team's second game of the tournament.

Randall Sweet

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Oklahoma City had four players in action early on Sunday morning. 

After Canada, Latvia and Australia all arose victorious from their Friday meetings, the Thunder faithful got to see a few of the franchise's star players in a meaningful situation once again.

Tipping off at 3:30 a.m. CT was Josh Giddey and Australia, who met Dennis Schröder and an experienced squad from Germany. Both teams won their Friday matchup, making the early morning showdown even more intriguing. 

Giddey once again looked aggressive with the ball in his hands, attacking the rim and even garnering six shots from the charity stripe. Last season in OKC, the second-year point guard averaged just 1.9 free throw attempts per game.

Giddey went 7-for-17 in Australia's contest against Germany, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds and one assist. Additionally, the 20-year-old point guard once again showed his skill moving off ball and cutting to the basket.

Trailing by three at the end of the game, Giddey was able to get off a shot that would have sent the matchup to overtime, but couldn't find the bottom of the net. 

Fellow Thunder player Jack White logged nine minutes in the Boomers loss on Sunday, recording two rebounds and one steal. The former Nuggets two-way player did not take a shot against Germany. 

While Team Australia was unable to come out with a victory, Team Canada certainly got the job done, taking down Lebanon 128-73. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an efficient shooting night for the Canadians, going 5-of-8 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free throw line. OKC's star guard finished with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal in 17 minutes of action. 

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a whopping +34 in the plus/minus statistic. Fellow Canadian and Thunder guard Lu Dort did not see the floor against Lebanon.

Finally, recently acquired sharpshooting big-man Davis Bertans did what he does best on Sunday morning. The "Latvian Laser" went 4-for-10 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the free throw line in Latvia's two-point win over Team France. 

In addition to his 15 points, Bertans stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. If Bertans is able to perform similarly for the Thunder this season, then he will be a valuable addition to a team that is in need of more players to space the floor.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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