A Giddey New Year for OKC

The Oklahoma City Thunder were hard to keep track of last week. Who is out? Who are these new players? And who is this guy on the sideline?

Oklahoma City has already used an interim coach once this season – assistant Dave Bliss, in November while Mark Daigneault was out awaiting the birth of his son. But when Daigneault entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols last week, Bliss went with him, leaving him unable to take over.

So in stepped Mike Wilks, a former journeyman player and Thunder scout in his third year as an assistant coach for the team. With his temporary promotion to the front of the bench, Wilks became the first Thunder player – he appeared in four games for Oklahoma City in 2009 – to coach the team.

"I always tell people the best thing about my job is the people I get to work with every single day," Wilks said before his debut on Dec. 28 against the Kings. "I don't feel like I'm heading into this situation by myself, which gives me an extreme amount of comfort and peace of mind. I know our coaching staff, players, everybody has my back."

After Wilks notched his first victory on New Year's Eve versus New York, his team doused him with water in the locker room and presented him the game ball. Wilks was still on the sideline on Sunday against Dallas, as the team awaits Daigneault's exit from protocols.

Wilks isn't the only feel-good story on the team. Before the Dallas game, Josh Giddey left COVID-19 protocols but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered them. It was a big blow to OKC's winning chances, but a rare opportunity for Giddey to run the point and grab some extra playing time.

The result? A triple-double for Giddey, with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in the 95-86 loss. Giddey became the youngest player to ever notch an NBA triple-double, at 19 years and 85 days, surpassing LaMelo Ball's record from last season.

Giddey insisted after the game that he'd have been happier with a scoreless victory than a triple-double effort in a loss. "It's always been that way for me, and always will be," Giddey said. "But yeah, it's a cool milestone."

Giddey later tweeted the word "history" and a heart emoji, followed by "I love my team."

Other Thunder have been taking advantage of the increased playing time, too. Aaron Wiggins, the first-year guard from Maryland on a two-way contract, has emerged as one of the team's best scorers of late. And Ty Jerome put up a career-high 24 points on Dec. 29 against Phoenix.

Despite the cool opportunities and historic moments, there's no doubt that COVID has slowed the Thunder down as they've now lost three of their past four ballgames. As of Monday, OKC sits at 13-23 for the season, which is 2 games back of the 10th seed and 3.5 games ahead of Houston, owners of the Western Conference's worst record.

The Thunder will return on Wednesday, Jan. 5, for a 7 p.m. road contest against Minnesota. They'll then turn around and play the very same Timberwolves team on Friday night, this time in Oklahoma City, before rounding out the weekend with a Sundaynight home tilt against Denver.

Thunder Up!