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The Oklahoma City Thunder haven't been great at shooting (24th in effective field-goal percentage), passing (25th in assist rate), or rebounding (26th in rebounding percentage), but here they are, a game under.500 at the halfway point of the NBA season and right in the mix for a play-in tournament spot.
That's as strong an endorsement as you'll find for Mark Daigneault's Coach of the Year candidacy, Shai Gilgeous-All-NBA Alexander's season, and the Thunder's chances as a perennial contender on the rise.
They were determined to lose, and they succeeded, finishing with the league's fourth-worst record each of the previous two seasons. The Thunder operated as a hospital for troubled contracts, often rested its top players for extended periods of time, and used 65 different starting lineups. Nobody from the five-man unit that began the last four games of the previous season is now in the NBA rotation. Three of them do not even compete in the league.
Daigneault, 37, took over for his mentor, Billy Donovan, in 2020, just after Chris Paul led the Thunder to a stunning fifth-place finish in the Western Conference. The previous summer, they sold Paul George and Russell Westbrook for a slew of draft prospects, and general manager Sam Presti further disassembled the squad, releasing veteran starters Paul, Dennis Schroder, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams.
Conventional wisdom predicted that Gilgeous-Alexander would be the next NBA outcast. He was the best player most fans never got to see since he was stuck in Oklahoma City, where they preferred he not have an effect on winning late in the season. It was enough to make any athlete reevaluate his professional path.
The Thunder may have contemplated trading Gilgeous-Alexander as well. He was owed a $179 million rookie deal, with no guarantee they would be any good by the time it expired in 2027.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a paradigm-shifting force, and he's doing it without the help of his teammates or the spacing provided by his own 3-point shot (35.5% on 2.8 attempts per game). If Isaiah Joe hadn't broken into the starting lineup in December and started hitting 5.5 3-pointers at a 45% clip in his 19 minutes off the bench, the Thunder would still be looking for someone to shoot better than league average at a healthy volume.
Similarly, despite shooting only 32.8% from distance, Josh Giddey, the sixth overall choice last year, has turned into a nightly triple-double threat. Both of OKC's finest players have space for growth.
Consider replacing any of them with Chet Holmgren, the second overall choice in June. He is a 7-footer with the ability to defend the rim, shoot from long range, and create offensively at an exceptional level. In a few Summer League games, he averaged 19 points (on 48/42/94 shooting splits), 12 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks per 36 minutes before sustaining a season-ending Lisfranc fracture in an exhibition.
This team should be a contender by next season, before any of its key players hits his peak. They also hold up to 13 first-round selections over the next five years, largely from the Clippers and Rockets. This allows them to participate in any trade conversation in a market that does not attract free agents.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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