Welcome back to The Graham Jam newsletter! Thank you for checking in with us every Monday morning for the latest Oklahoma City Thunder news and notes.
It has been an exciting past week in Thunder basketball. What started with an improbable win in Los Angeles turned into a four-game streak for OKC, with subsequent victories over San Antonio, New Orleans and Sacramento. But Sunday's game against Brooklyn figured to be the team's toughest challenge yet, and the Thunder couldn't overcome 33 points from Kevin Durant in a 120-96 loss.
OKC returns to action immediately, with a Monday-night showdown against Miami at the Paycom Center.
In this week's newsletter, we'll get to know another Thunder rookie and check out the team's new look it debuted on Friday night.
Last week
Thunder 108, New Orleans 100 (11/10, AWAY)
Thunder 105, Sacramento 103 (11/12, HOME)
Brooklyn 120, Thunder 96 (11/14, HOME)
Get to know: Tre Mann
Few Oklahomans had a busier Sunday than Tre Mann, who played in not one but two professional basketball games in a matter of hours.
Mann started the day on assignment with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder's G League affiliate that we discussed in last week's newsletter. At the Paycom Center, which the Blue share with the Thunder this season, the minor-league club took on the Santa Cruz Warriors in a game that tipped at noon.
Mann, the Blue's starting 2-guard, logged a double-double with 12 rebounds and 18 points, the team's highest total. He played just over 30 minutes and went 3-for-9 from distance in the Blue's 85-71 victory.
Fast forward a few hours, and Mann was "recalled" by the Thunder — meaning, officially added to their active roster — for the nightcap against the Brooklyn Nets. Unfortunately, that game got out of hand in the final minutes. But it did give OKC the opportunity to give Mann more playing time, about 5-and-a-half minutes off the bench with one long-distance shot, one make and three points to show for it.
After the game, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the team is pushing Mann and its other young players.
"He's a guy, it's early in his career, and we want to throw some body shots at him a little bit," Daigneault said. "You don't get stronger by lifting 10-pound weights. You get stronger by testing yourself and stress-testing. We're not shying away from that, developmentally — we want it to be competitive. It's supposed to be hard. If you want something, you have to earn it, and when you have a high bar, you really have to earn it."
Daigneault said he'd be doing his young players "a disservice" if he didn't make them earn their keep. "And that's what we're doing with Tre ... and he's clearing those hurdles right now. He's been impressive, including how he went in tonight. He probably wasn't expecting to go in in that moment, but he was ready to go. He competed, and his foot was on the gas. It was kind of a continuation of the way he played last game, and this morning's game, and that's how he's going to continue to get better."
As Daigneault mentioned, Mann had an impressive night Friday against Sacramento. He logged nearly 19 minutes and scored 12 points, pacing the Thunder's bench unit.
Overall, in between assignments to the Blue, Mann has played in eight NBA games. He's averaging six points and 1.6 rebounds in just over 12 minutes per game so far. The rookie is shooting about 47% from the field and 36% from 3 in a small sample.
Mann was drafted No. 18 overall this summer from the University of Florida, his hometown team. He is 6-foot-3, and was noted for his excellent shot in college that earned him 16 points per game as a sophomore last year. Mann declared for the NBA Draft after Southeastern Conference coaches named him an all-conference first-teamer, rewarding him for a 3-point percentage north of 40 during the campaign.
Though the Thunder seem more than set at the starting guard positions — with any luck, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey will hold down the roles for years to come — Mann has played like a more-than-serviceable rotation piece so far. The G League's extra seasoning will be beneficial for the first-year player, but Mann's ceiling could be as a dependable sixth man and knockdown shooter.
That's more than most can offer with the 18th overall pick, and Thunder fans should be excited to watch this young man grow.
Uni watch
Check out the aforementioned Mann above: He's rocking the brand-new "City Edition" jersey Oklahoma City debuted Friday night against Sacramento, complete with a new silvery court.
It's certainly not Oklahoma City's first alternate look over the years. Who could forget the team's 2019 homage to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, or last year when the team wore only "Oklahoma" across its chest? Indeed, ever since Nike took over the league's uniforms in 2017, NBA teams haven't shied away from experimentation and variation. Most teams are wearing four-plus looks over the course of the year.
For Oklahoma City, that means its blue "Thunder" jersey, its white "Oklahoma City" look, and the loud, orange "OKC"-emblazoned "Statement Edition" uniform the team wore on Sunday against Brooklyn's understated black threads.
Reactions to the City Edition look? They've been decidedly mixed. The team released a video two weeks ago as Thunder players saw the jersey for the first time; predictably, the players gave it high marks.
"This is hard," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "This might be my favorite Thunder jersey so far. For sure."
Others are not so convinced. CBS Sports, for whatever it's worth, ranked the Thunder's new look in its "very ugly" category alongside only the Boston Celtics. "I don't know what they were doing here," Shanna McCarriston opined, "but it did not work."
Frankly, I'm not sure how it's possible to get that worked up about the new jerseys. I have seen them compared to "wife-beater" undershirts, and I think that's pretty apt. They are plain, mellow, inoffensive.
"I like how clean they are," was Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's spot-on summation. "They're clean."
And it doesn't stop with the jerseys, or even the new court. The Thunder will be wearing the new unis every Friday night this season, an effort they've dubbed "City Nights," and are encouraging fans to wear white, silver or gray to Friday games this season.
"Wherever you're watching the game, we need you to suit up for the city!" they exhort the fans on their website.
The jerseys aren't my favorite, but I enjoy the wide variety of looks now on display at NBA games. It's another way the league is following the example of international soccer over other American sports, most of which still have a rigid and traditional home-away dichotomy for uniforms.
Getting the fans involved will be a fun practice all season long. So if you're heading to a Friday game this year — like the Nov. 26 tussle with Washington — remember to rep OKC with your cleanest look.
That's all from me this week, folks. Until next time, Thunder Up!
This week
11/15: Thunder vs. Miami, 7 p.m., Bally Sports Oklahoma
11/17: Thunder vs. Houston, 7 p.m., BSOK
11/19: Thunder @ Milwaukee, 7 p.m., BSOK
11/20: Thunder @ Boston, 6:30 p.m., BSOK