Where Are They Now: OKC Thunder Forward Terrance Ferguson
Many players have come through the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, and while some are remembered fondly, some have also been lost in history.
Whether it be because of a lack of opportunity or simply not having the skills necessary to thrive in the NBA, careers don't go according to plan and both parties move on shortly into their relationship.
However, sometimes these players can leave a mark on their franchise even in a short and underwhelming time. And Terrance Ferguson was one of those players.
The Oklahoma native played three seasons in Oklahoma City, where he would become an important role player for the Russell Westbrook-led Thunder teams.
Ferguson's path to the NBA was an interesting one. After receiving interest from several college teams, including Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas, he would commit to play with Alabama, but later decommitted to play with Arizona. In what could be considered being ahead of his time, the forward decided to decommit from Arizona and skip college, instead signing overseas with the Adelaide 36ers of Australia.
While Ferguson didn't receive much playing on the 36ers, the professional experience he received would prove valuable to NBA scouts. Oklahoma City saw enough promise in the forward to draft him with the No. 21 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Ferguson's rookie year had few noteworthy moments. For the first couple months of the 2017-18 season, he hardly received any minutes. It would take an impressive 24 point showing on a Jan. 3 win over the Lakers for the rookie to begin to receive more playing time.
He finished the season with only an average of 3.1 points per game, but the flashes he showed as a shooter and wing defender gave OKC fans hope.
In the 2018-19 season, Ferguson would have his best season of his short NBA career. He still only averaged 6.9 points per game, but his solid defense and ability to space the floor got him a huge increase in minutes per game, going from 12.5 to 26.1. He also started all 74 games that he played in, becoming a key piece on that year's Thunder team.
Ferguson was also an athletic player whose dunks could show up on the highlight reel, which was not a surprise from the former Ballislife All-American Dunk Contest winner.
In the 2019-20 season, his points per game average would go back down to 3.9, and his shooting percentage took a complete nosedive. His role was decreased amongst the emergence of players like Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Luguentz Dort, barely becoming a factor by the 2020 playoffs.
Game six against Houston would be his last with Oklahoma City, only playing five minutes and going scoreless.
Ferguson remained on the Thunder roster at the start of the 2020-21 season, but never saw a minute with the team. He would be traded on Dec. 8 to the Philadelphia 76ers alongside other players, with the Thunder acquiring Al Horford.
His stint in Philadelphia would be a brief 13 games, and after being dealt at the trade deadline to the New York Knicks, he would be waived and never signed to an NBA team again up to this point.
So where is he now?
After bouncing between Euroleague and G-League teams over the past couple of years, Ferguson has settled with the GTK Gliwice of the Polish Basketball League.
In GTK's 2022-23 season, Ferguson averaged a respectable 8.5 points per game, sharing the floor with another former NBA player in Malachi Richardson.
At the age of 25, Ferguson's opportunity to find his way back in the NBA is dwindling away. It is possible, but unlikely given he wasn't even a top scorer for GTK last season.
Ferguson's short impact on the Thunder is still remembered by many OKC fans, even if it was underwhelming.
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