Cason Wallace may not need a dramatic reinvention to matter for the Thunder this season. He may just need to hit enough 3s.
With Lu Dort shipped off to Atlanta in an offseason full of changes, Wallace is lined up for a much larger job in Bricktown. A lot of people expect him to step into Dort’s starting spot alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, giving Mark Daigneault a chance to keep last year’s core look mostly intact. Even if Daigneault goes with Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, or someone else for that fifth starting role, Wallace’s minutes are clearly headed up.
That’s nothing new for him. Since 2023-24, Wallace has been a regular part of Oklahoma City’s rotation, averaging 24.7 minutes per game in his career and topping 26 minutes a night over the last two seasons.
The summer conversation around him has centered on a bigger on-ball leap, and it’s easy to see why. Back in late February, when the Thunder were down all of their ball handlers, Wallace flashed real creation juice. Over four games, the Kentucky product averaged 20 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals per night while shooting 50% from the field, 50% from 3-point range on more than five attempts a game, and 90% from the line.
That stretch was the first real look at Wallace as a primary creator for Oklahoma City, and it tied back to the point guard background he had coming into the league. Wallace even called that run “a fun point in time” during his end-of-season interview in May.
"That was a fun point in time. That was fun, having the ball and just being able to showcase my game and just do what the team needed me to do to win. That's what it's all about at the end of the day is just going out there and trying to win, so I look at those clips and think about that," Wallace said at his end-of-season interview back in May.
Still, the Thunder don’t need Wallace to become a brand-new player to get value out of him. The cleaner path is the one that fits his current game: become a steadier 3-point shooter.
That matters because Oklahoma City’s offense already has plenty of pressure points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams are elite shot creators who force defenses to collapse.
Holmgren is a problem as a play finisher. When those three are on the floor together, someone is going to get those kickout looks.
Wallace is the obvious release valve.
If he punishes defenses for loading up on Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, the Thunder get a much tougher-to-handle attack. If opponents stay attached to Wallace, they risk giving their two best scorers more room to operate. Either way, it’s trouble.
The shot history gives the whole thing a swing factor feel. Wallace hit 42% from deep as a rookie, including 44% on corner 3s and 39% on non-corner attempts.
The last two seasons, though, he dropped to 36% and then 35% from beyond the arc. In the corners, he’s posted marks of 34% and 37% over those same two years.
The postseason offered a sharper reminder of what he can do when the jumper is falling. Wallace knocked down 50% of his 3s against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, making more than five attempts per game. Across the full playoff run, he shot 48% from downtown on over four attempts a night in 15 games.
If that version of Wallace shows up again, Oklahoma City doesn’t need him to become a high-usage creator to unlock a new layer. A reliable Wallace from the perimeter, paired with Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren, gives the Thunder a lineup that is difficult to guard and loaded with defense on the other end.
And that’s why the pressure on Wallace this season is about more than just whether he can dribble into extra playmaking. The bigger test may be simpler than that: can he sharpen the role he already has and do it every night?
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