Welcome to The Graham Jam Newsletter!

Welcome, Thunder fans!

Thanks for joining me for the first edition of The Graham Jam newsletter with Graham Dudley. I'll be here once a week, every week all season long to bring you the latest news and notes from Oklahoma City Thunder basketball.

You may have already noticed the first Graham Jam last week in your newspaper. Have no fear! This newsletter will be a separate and distinct product from what appears in the print edition every week, and we encourage Thunder fans to read both to get the most complete coverage.

What's the difference? While the print product is obviously constrained by space, an email newsletter is not. That doesn't mean I'll be rambling on and on about irrelevant stats every week, but it does give me an opportunity to explore topics with more depth. So while the print newspaper will contain a handy summary of OKC's performance, the newsletter will include player profiles, fun statistics, in-depth analysis, notable quotes, and more.

And don't worry; if you'd rather not receive this newsletter, simply scroll to the bottom and click "unsubscribe." But we hope you'll stick around with us!

This inaugural newsletter will feature last week's scores, an introduction to the team's exciting new Aussie, and some information about how to attend a Thunder game this year.

Let's get to it!

Last week

Utah 107, Thunder 86 (10/20, AWAY)

Houston 124, Thunder 91 (10/22, AWAY)

Philadelphia 115, Thunder 103 (10/24, HOME)

Get to know: Josh Giddey

While Oklahoma City was hoping for some better Lottery luck before the NBA Draft this summer, the player they nabbed at No. 6 might turn out to be one of the draft's best.

Josh Giddey is a 6-foot-8, 19-year-old guard fresh from Australia's National Basketball League, where he was named Rookie of the Year after one season with the Adelaide 36ers. The Melbourne native averaged more than 10 points, seven assists and seven rebounds per game in Australia last season.

While he was something of an unknown quantity to most fans, Giddey has had a promising start to his NBA career. He grabbed everyone's attention in the preseason opener against Charlotte, where he scored 18 points and grabbed seven boards with three assists. On Sunday, against Philly, he bested that performance with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Giddey's best asset is his court vision and passing. He sees the floor better than most, even as the league's youngest player, and can set his teammates up for success.

His biggest challenge this year will be learning how to play off the ball more often, as he's now sharing a backcourt with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team's unquestioned leader and best player.

One great thing about Giddey is that he's excited to be in Oklahoma City and hasn't been shy about saying so. Giddey has described the Thunder as one of his favorite childhood teams, and his sister Hannah plays up the road at Oral Roberts University.

"Ever since the pre-draft process started," Giddey said after the Thunder picked him, "Oklahoma is where I wanted to be."

After Sunday's loss, Giddey said he felt better about his own offense and the team as a whole. "Tonight, I thought we played hard," Giddey said. "We're a young group, and there's going to be a lot of nights when we're outmatched experience-wise or physically, and we've got to kind of throw the first punch at these older, more experienced teams. I thought tonight we did that."

Giddey has started all three games this season and expect that to continue Tuesday night when OKC hosts the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m.

Attending games

Ever since the infamous Jazz-Thunder game that essentially shut down the world in March 2020, Thunder fans have been watching their team from a distance. In fact, OKC was the only NBA team that didn't allow fans in the arena at any point during last season.

But on Sunday, all that finally ended as fans reentered the Paycom Center — yes, the erstwhile Chesapeake Arena has a new name and a new look — for OKC's home opener against Philadelphia. Now that fans are returning, I thought it might be a good time to go over the team's health and safety policies for anyone who might be interested in attending.

These policies are in place for all October and November games, at which point they will be reviewed:

• All fans are required to provide proof of vaccination (at least one dose) or a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test taken within 72 hours of tipoff.
• Fans are "strongly encouraged" to wear face coverings while in the arena unless eating or drinking.
• Children ages 2 to 11, who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, must wear a mask while in the arena.
• Additional restrictions, such as mandatory masks, may be applied for fans sitting courtside near the players.

Also, the Paycom Center is now entirely cashless and will not use paper tickets, either.

For more information on how the requirements will work, visit okcthunder.com/heatlhprotocol. You can also download the Thunder app to your phone, where you can store your tickets for scanning and upload your vaccine proof / negative test.

And enjoy your return to Thunder basketball!

That's all for me, folks. Grab your local paper later this week for the latest updates.

Until next time, Thunder Up!