When Kenrich Williams was in the lineup, Oklahoma City was at its best a season ago. The hybrid forward played small ball center occasionally for the Thunder, and while OKC took a hit on the boards, teams couldn’t quite figure out how to defend a small lineup full of playmakers.
The Thunder still found a way to sneak into the play-in at the end of the season, winning just enough games to squeak by, but things were truly different after Williams was lost for the season with a wrist injury. Oklahoma City announced his season was over on March 2, and the team certainly felt his absence over the last few weeks. Not only is Williams the veteran leader of this young Thunder roster, but he’s a gritty rebounder and a smooth 3-point shooter too. At the time, fans didn’t understand the hole he’d leave in the lineup.
A season ago, Williams averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game — doing anything the Thunder needed him to do on a nightly basis. He shot 51.7% from the floor and 37.3% from 3-point range, stretching flat footed centers all the way out to the line and drawing respect from long distance. Somehow, his worst attribute was shooting free throws, where he shot just 43.6%. It never seemed to be too much of an issue, though, as his share at the charity stripe was extremely limited. Williams took 0.7 free throws per game, compared to 2.5 triples per game.
With Chet Holmgren added to the roster, Williams won’t be forced to play out of position next season. His undersized mismatch at the five-spot will turn into an oversized mismatch on the wing. Williams will be hard to box out for three’s and four’s in the NBA, allowing his hustle to win out in most matchups on the floor.
There’s a reason contenders have offered first round picks for Williams in back-to-back years — he’s the type of player every winning team wants. For the first time since the Thunder began its rebuild, Williams can be that piece in Oklahoma City. Now that the team has expectations of winning basketball games, a player like Kenny Hustle is the perfect Swiss Army Knife to add in anywhere in the rotation.
He’ll take charges and do the dirty work on defense. He’s a tone-setter on both ends of the floor. He's a smart cutter on offense and fits Oklahoma City's mold of moving without the ball. Getting him back in the lineup this fall is an underrated piece in the Thunder's return to prominence.
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