The Thunder added another big body to the mix earlier this week when they signed rookie Christoph Tilly to an Exhibit-10 contract, but his arrival doesn’t really change the biggest issue hanging over Oklahoma City’s front line.
Tilly brings size at 7-feet, 240 pounds, and Sam Presti has a long enough track record of finding useful talent in the undrafted free agent pool to make any camp invite worth watching. Even so, there’s no real reason to expect him to solve the rebounding problems that have followed this roster for a while now.
That’s the real story here. Oklahoma City has two 7-footers in Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein handling the main duties at the four and five spots, yet the Thunder have still been stuck in the middle of the pack - or worse - on the glass. Last season, they finished outside the top 10 in rebounds per game at 44.1, and their 9.6 offensive rebounds per night tied them for third-worst in the league.
The issues didn’t stop on the offensive end, either. The Thunder also gave up the third-most offensive rebounds in the league last season, a sign that the second-chance battle has been slipping away on both sides of the floor.
Tilly’s college numbers don’t suggest he’s the answer. Across four years in school, he averaged 4.3 rebounds per game, including just 1.4 offensive boards per contest. For a player listed at that size, there’s simply not much evidence yet that he can turn his frame into a real advantage on the boards.
If the frontcourt has been a weak spot, the backcourt has quietly done its part. In 2025-26, Oklahoma City’s guards ranked second in the NBA with 24.7 rebounds per game and finished third with 5.3 offensive rebounds per game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a big reason why. His length and feel for positioning have helped him become an underrated rebounder, and he’s averaged 6.8 rebounds per 100 possessions for his career.
Until the Thunder’s bigger bodies start consistently winning those battles inside, the rebounding profile is likely to stay the same.
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The question now is how quickly that responsibility turns into something even bigger. Wallace is expected to be a key piece moving forward, and his rise brings the kind of contract conversation that can start shaping a contenders budget before long. For a Thunder team that has built carefully and deepened its core, the next step with Wallace could end up mattering almost as much as what he does on the floor. [Read more 🡒]