The 'other' rookie in Oklahoma City is quietly putting together a great season

Cason Wallace isn't the most famous rookie on his team — that honor goes to Chet Holmgren, who might do the impossible and beat out Victor Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year. 

But Wallace is still contributing far more than a typical NBA rookie, and right now he's providing stellar two-way minutes on a legitimately good Thunder team whose ceiling seems to get higher by the day.

Wallace, the 6-foot-4 guard out of Kentucky, was drafted primarily for his defensive chops. He averaged 2.0 steals per game at UKY where he quickly established himself as one of the nation's premier point-of-attack defenders. Wallace formally introduced himself to the college basketball world on Nov. 15, 2022, when he recorded eight steals against Michigan State.

Through a quarter of the NBA season, that defensive prowess has translated to the pros for Wallace, the 10th pick in 2023's NBA Draft. He's averaging 1.0 stock (steal + block) per game for OKC, along with 2.9 deflections per 36 minutes, which is in the 80th percentile of all NBA players, according to CraftedNBA.

Wallace possesses the physical tools and defensive instincts to serve as OKC's "guard stopper" for years to come. He's looked comfortable on defense, especially for a rookie who's being tasked with pretty tough assignments regularly. 

He's also making a league-leading 52.4% of his three-point attempts. The volume of his shots isn't astronomical (2.1 attempts per game) but it's not as if Wallace has merely gotten lucky on just a couple of shot attempts, either. 

His elite numbers from deep are impressive for a few reasons; firstly, even high-level college shooters take some time to acclimate to the NBA's three-point line, which is nearly two feet farther from the hoop than the NCAA's. So, for Wallace to immediately be shooting at an elite clip is pretty rare. Secondly, he wasn't even an elite shooter in college. At UKY, Wallace hit 34.6% of his threes, and while his shot was never a concern — i.e., most scouts expected him to be a fine shooter in the NBA — it was never thought of as an elite skill, either.

Will Wallace shoot over 50% from three-point range for his entire career? Well, unless he's the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen, then probably not. But it's a great sign nonetheless for OKC that Wallace is shooting it so well through 20 games. 

Wallace hasn't just been a three-point specialist, though. He's finishing well at the rim too (69% within four feet) and is getting into the paint pretty regularly. From "floater range" which is four to 14 feet from the hoop, he has been good (53% shooting) even though he doesn't spend a ton of time in that area. 

Below is a nice floater he broke out earlier this month against Dallas. Versatility is a big reason Wallace shot up draft boards — he can do a bit of everything, and he's showing that in Oklahoma City right now.