The Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to pull out a victory against the Brooklyn Nets, but Theo Maledon had the best game of his career on Friday. Following Maledon's career-night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shared that he isn't surprised by Maledon's growth thus far, via Brandon Rahbar of the Daily Thunder.
SGA isn’t surprised by Theo Maledon’s big night: “I’m around him all the time. He’s capable of this kind of play day to day.”
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 30, 2021
At the end of the game, the Thunder found themselves losing by 22 despite scoring 125 points as a team. However, it was Maledon who stole the show for Oklahoma City as he contributed 24 points, including a rookie-record six three-pointers.
Per the Thunder: Theo Maledon’s 6-6 from 3 night ties an NBA rookie record.
Theo stocks 📈
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 30, 2021
Maledon was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020 NBA Draft, only to be part of the trade that sent Danny Green to the 76ers. Given that, the Thunder added Maledon to their roster in hopes he could develop into a valuable member of their rotation.
To begin the season, Maledon didn't see much time on the floor as Oklahoma City was figuring out their best lineup configurations. But in recent games, due to an injury to George Hill, the Thunder have inserted Maledon into the starting lineup alongside Gilgeous-Alexander.
Maledon, who was born in France, has proven to be an efficient three-point shooter to begin his career, making 37.7 percent of his tries thus far. Mark Daigneault, the head coach of the Thunder, said that Maledon's shooting display on Friday was a product of Gilgeous-Alexander getting the attention of defenses.
Mark Daigneault on Theo Maledon’s big night: “We’re encouraging him to play with more pop. The 3s were a by product of starting off ball with Shai.”
SGA is getting swarmed by defenses much like a past OKC point guard, and he’s constantly kicking out to open shooters.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) January 30, 2021
It's going to be a while until the Thunder are considered a playoff contender in the Western Conference. At the least, they may have found a steal in Maledon after his stellar performance on Friday against the Nets.
Follow Us
Subscribe