Most of the Oklahoma City Thunder roster scattered for the holiday weekend. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was up in Canada representing his home country. But down in Salt Lake City, two rookies gave fans something to watch during NBA Summer League.
Bennett Stirtz and Aday Mara played their first games in a Thunder uniform Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies. And the stat lines they turned in were almost creepy in how similar they looked.
Stirtz, the point guard out of Iowa, put up 10 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mara, the big man from Michigan, answered with 10 points, three rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Both shot 5-of-8 from the field. Stirtz played 24 minutes. Mara got 21.
The main difference? Mara blocked two shots inside the key. Stirtz got his hands on three steals out on the perimeter. But in terms of counting stats, that’s about as close as it gets for two guys who just met in practice a few weeks ago.
Oklahoma City pulled a move on draft night to land Stirtz, trading up to the 16th pick. Sam Presti made sure the Iowa guard didn’t slip away. The Thunder GM talked about what he liked in Stirtz after the pick.
“Bennett is a player that has a great feel for the game, has been successful at multiple levels, and I think, in an NBA context, some of the things he does will be very amplified,” Presti said.
Two different games, one box score
Stirtz is a perimeter guy — he can shoot it, handle it, and he sees passing lanes. Mara is a 7-footer who operates around the rim, blocks shots and finishes inside. On paper, they couldn’t be more different. But Saturday, their stat lines almost matched.
That kind of balance is what OKC is building toward. The Thunder already have a deep roster that just made the Western Conference Finals. Adding two rookies who can produce across the board — even in a Summer League opener — gives the front office something to feel good about.
Mara showed a little defensive pop early, swatting a couple of shots and altering others. Stirtz looked comfortable running the offense and didn’t force much. Neither player had a great shooting night from three — Stirtz went 0-for-2, Mara 0-for-1 — but both found ways to score inside the arc.
Summer League stats don’t mean a ton in the long run. But for a team that didn’t have a first-round pick until this year’s draft, getting production from two rookies on the same night isn’t a bad way to start July.
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