How Cason Wallace's Advantageous Situation Could Set the Course for his Career

Cason Wallace has accomplished so much at the ripe age of 21.

Before the start of last season, and for a short amount of time into it, the young man couldn't even enjoy an alcoholic beverage (legally). But that doesn't mean anything to him. Regardless of his youth, he hasn't let that impede on his impact on games at the highest stage of professional basketball.

A defensive stalwart with real offenisive production and reliability, Wallace has cemented his play style on this Thunder roster and competes in his role as well as any three-and-D, point-of-attack defender and other hats he wears across the league. He's nowhere near his prime, and while there may be points of growth for him, the 21-year old has started in multiple contests in the NBA Finals and helped his team achieve a Larry O'Brien trophy on the back end of just his second season in the league.

Compared to those from his draft class, Wallace is world's ahead in terms of applied success.

Since his first game in the NBA, Wallace is averaging 7.5 points on 48.2% shooting and 38.9% from three, complementing his defensive production where he's posted 1.3 steals from relentless defense across 150 games. This has been accomplished in 23.8 minutes per contest on average for a team who has captured the first seed in the Western Conference for two years in a row, and now an NBA title.

With mentors on his team like Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and plenty of guys who will always push for his improvement and offer support on this team, including head coach Mark Daigneault and general manager Sam Presti, the direction Wallace is on is of the best in the entire league for a player as young as he is. He is in the ideal situation.

When his contract is up in two seasons, the market for him will be heavy, very heavy. For a player of his caliber, he'll be looking at many options when he is just 23 years of age.

But for now, staying in Oklahoma City is exactly where he wants and where he should be, continuing to grow in a class organization with teammates who push him to improve upon where he has gotten himself today as an integral piece of a championship-winning team.