Isaiah Joe’s Comeback Season Gets More Hype on Media Day

Isaiah Joe‘s comeback season continues to get more hype with the hopes of the Thunder guard being more productive in the coming campaign. After all, he was one of the biggest hitters off the bench for OKC. It cannot be denied that there are bigger expectations for the sharpshooting guard entering the 2025-26 season. But will he ever find a way to thrive better than he did before?

Joe was one of the elite weapons that Oklahoma City flexed off the bench. He’s a deadly shooter who is definitely one of the best in the league at this point in terms of shooting percentage. With a mark of 41.2% from downtown last season, there’s just a lot of promise for him. He had some struggles in the postseason, but that’s all behind now, which means he’s got to improve.

Isaiah Joe’s Comeback Season Gets More Hype on Media Day

With the recent Thunder Media Day in the books, Joe is more inspired entering the season. He is looking to move on from his previous struggles and now hopes to prove his worth. This is the case for many bench players from OKC. Like Jaylin Williams building off a career-high run. Or Branden Carlson stepping up to earn a standard contract. And even Cason Wallace, who was a standout in the previous season, now gunning for a bigger run.

Joe Ready for a Comeback Season

Iso Joe was one of the pivotal players in OKC’s championship campaign. While he averaged 10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists (all career-highs), it was his shooting that became the big story. That’s the best mark for a Thunder player, and is 24th overall in the league last season. He drilled 192 total threes last season—that’s out of 466 attempts in the campaign alone. In fact, he was inconsistent in the final games of the campaign.

The Thunder guard made eight out of 14 threes attempted in a win against the Utah Jazz. But then he would go cold with 2-10 shooting in the final game of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans. While other OKC reserves shone, Joe showed hints of rust in his shooting, which eventually carried into the postseason. He would go on to shoot 23 of 56 attempts all the way to the NBA Finals. Joe tallied only five threes in a seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers, which was definitely a downer.

Yet somehow, Iso Joe is still blooming with confidence.

“For me, it’s just about doing what I need to do,” Joe said at media day. “Those aren’t the decisions I gotta make whenever I go out there. I think it’s very fortunate that we have a lot of guys that can really compete. It only makes us better.”

Finding Inspiration in the Offseason

Like most players, Isaiah Joe found a way to spend the offseason with a lot of different events. He visited the Philippines and had a meet-and-greet with Filipino Thunder fans. He also went on to a parade in Arkansas with fellow alum J-Will in their hometown of Fort Smith. They brought the Larry O’Brien along with them, which is a promising celebration. That’s enough for him to set the mood in his approach to the training camp now more than ever.