Otega Oweh Looks To Improve HIs Deep-Range Shooting

The Thunder rookie is still trying to polish his offensive game. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to put a lot of pressure on their younger players this season, with a refreshed roster. This will cause many players to have to step into a new role that they aren’t necessarily used to, including new rookies.

One of these players in particular is OKC’s second-round draft pick and two-way player, Otega Oweh. The Kentucky product might just be a two-way player, but with only 14 players on the Thunder’s roster, he might see valuable playing time this season. 

Oweh will be a valuable addition when he is called up, as in his last season at Kentucky, he averaged 18.6 points and 1.8 steals, but he is looking to be more consistent in a certain area. 

“I feel really good right now,” Oweh said Monday at media day. “For me, I feel like I just got to make open threes, really, and being on a team like this with a lot of great and unselfish guys, I feel like I’m going to be in a lot of positions where I’m going to have to. So everything is reps, and you know, for me, it’s nothing but reps. I’m excited and looking forward to getting on the court. 

Oweh averaged the most three-point attempts of his college career during his senior season, shooting 3.8 shots beyond the arc per game. However, the young guard also had one of the worst three-point shooting percentages of his collegiate career, hitting only 33.3% of his shots. 

While this is something that no doubt can be worked on, Oweh will have to figure it out soon, as he said he’ll be called on to hit open shots. His role will be comparable to Cason Wallace’s, as he’ll be called to play off-ball and flow with the offense. This will make him end up sitting on the arc, and with OKC’s ball movement, could leave him open for big shots from three. 

Oweh will be looking for every chance to prove himself this coming season, and hitting these open shots from deep could be the perfect opportunity to do so. If he can keep up his defensive reputation as well as improving his deep-range accuracy, the Kentucky guard could see himself promoted to a Wallace-type role in the future. Only time will tell how well Oweh adjusts to the NBA, but one thing you can expect is for the guard to try his luck with every open three he has the chance to hit.