With about a month remaining in the NBA’s regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder find themselves battling for the top seed in the Western Conference. Unlike their competitors, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, the Thunder are defined by their youth; each member of their starting five is no older than 25 years of age.
MVP Candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 25, while his co-stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are 22 and 21 respectively. To close out the first five, Lugentz Dort is 24 and Josh Giddey is 21. Furthermore, Coach Mark Daigneault brings even more youth off the bench, with key reserves like 20-year-old rookie Cason Wallace.
Wallace, drafted out of Kentucky with the tenth overall pick last June, has always been touted for his defensive chops. With impressive length, disruptive hands, and a strong motor, the 6-foot-3 guard wreaks havoc on this end of the floor; he’s already recorded four games with at least four steals. This, in combination with his near-41% shooting from beyond the arc, has allowed him to be a consistent member of Oklahoma City’s rotation all season. He’s averaged over 20 minutes per game through appearances in all 64 of the franchise's games, and has filled in for nine starts. However, none of these performances top his most recent.
In a Sunday matchup against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, Wallace torched the Western Conference foes for a career-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. He drilled four of his six tries from deep while adding four assists and a pair of rebounds to help the Thunder win in blowout fashion.
As a top bench contributor for a Thunder squad vying for Western Conference supremacy, Wallace may have big shoes to fill as the calendars flip to April and beyond. With the ups and downs of Giddey and the uncertainty around veteran forward Gordon Hayward, there’s a good chance Oklahoma City looks to Wallace to play key playoff minutes on the wing. He’d be forced to guard some star players and attempts some big shots.
While this is a tall task to expect from any 20-year-old, Wallace’s impact has already been ahead of schedule—he’s given fans a good reason to believe he can step up and make a postseason impact.
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