Aday Mara has wasted no time turning the Thunder’s preseason into his personal highlight reel.
Through two games, the rookie center has piled up 34 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in 43 combined minutes, and he’s done it without missing a shot. Mara is 15-for-15 to open preseason play, a start that has immediately changed what OKC can do on offense.
The biggest swing has been the lob game. With the 7-foot-3 center on the floor, the Thunder suddenly have a finishing target they didn’t have last season, and the results have been hard to ignore. Teammates kept putting the ball above the rim, and Mara kept cashing in one easy score after another.
That pressure on the defense showed up in the box score too. Three different members of the starting lineup finished with at least five assists, and Oklahoma City’s offense looked comfortable leaning into a style it could not fully access a year ago. On Wednesday, the Thunder scored 82 points in the first half, with Mara’s presence helping make everything feel simpler.
He was also a major factor in the plus-minus department, as OKC was plus-17 in his 25 minutes. Every time he stepped into the action, the rim became the obvious destination. If he gets close enough to the basket, the finish is almost automatic, especially when defenses are slow to cover pick-and-rolls.
That’s what separates Mara from the other Thunder bigs. Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams each bring useful skills, but neither offers the same vertical threat.
Hartenstein works with his mid-range floater, while JWill can stretch the floor with his shooting. Even Chet Holmgren, at 7-foot-1, doesn’t bring the same kind of massive lob target because of his slimmer frame.
Mara does. And the Thunder are already taking advantage of it.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell were all willing to throw the ball where only Mara could get it, and through two preseason games, that connection has looked nearly impossible to stop. The rookie hasn’t had to force much of anything. Most of his production has come from finishes created by teammates who know how to draw the defense in and lift the ball to a giant who can reach it.
That’s why the start has been so striking. Mara hasn’t just been productive - he’s giving Oklahoma City a type of weapon it didn’t have last season, and in preseason, that has already looked like a cheat code.
In Other News...
Aday Mara Might Unlock A New Side Of Shais Game
Aday Mara has already given the Thunder a different kind of look in preseason, and it fits neatly alongside the way Shai Gilgeous-Alexander operates as the focal point of the offense. The rookie big has flashed as a lob threat, which matters in Oklahoma City because it adds another easy-read option for a guard who already bends defenses with his scoring gravity and patience.
If Mara can keep forcing defenders to make choices around the rim, there is a path for Gilgeous-Alexander to pile up more assists without having to change the way he naturally plays. The ripple effect has shown up with other rookies too, including Bennett Stirtz, who has been adjusting to a more off-ball role while benefiting from SGA's style, and that is part of what makes this preseason development worth watching once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Trade Is Suddenly Being Linked To A Much Bigger NBA Fallout
Last seasons Jared McCain trade was easy to file away as one of those moves with immediate roster consequences for Oklahoma City, but it is getting pulled into a much wider NBA conversation now. A podcast host has floated the idea that the deal sent ripples far beyond the Thunder and 76ers, turning a basic transaction into a talking point tied to how power shifts can spread through the league.
For Oklahoma City, the more practical impact was simpler and far more familiar: McCains emergence gave the Thunder room to reshape the backcourt and trust younger help behind their core. The broader fallout is where the story gets interesting, though, because the same chain of events is now being connected to Philadelphias front office direction and, in turn, to LeBron James choice of destination, leaving one of the leagues strangest offseason domino runs still open for debate. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Preseason Just Raised The Stakes For Two Young First-Rounders
Through two preseason games, the Thunder have already found a few early storylines worth watching, and Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz have been right in the middle of them. The two first-round picks have been among the teams most productive scorers so far, a notable development for a roster that already leans heavily on established talent and does not make minutes easy to come by.
Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber are part of the same crowd fighting for the next opening, and the competition only gets tighter from here. Both are expected to get chances this season, but with Oklahoma Citys depth and the coaching staff committed to giving everyone a fair shot, preseason production may carry extra weight as the rotation starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]