Entering the 2021-22 campaign, Thunder forward Darius Bazley was set to play in the most important season of his career. If he wanted to earn a contract extension to stay in Oklahoma City longterm, the 21-year-old forward needed to take a huge stride as an NBA player.
Thunder GM Sam Presti is known for getting value out of young players before they hit restricted free agency. This is why former OKC guard Hamidou Diallo was traded away before a decision on what an extension would look like and how he fit the future of the franchise. Due to this timeline, Bazley needed to prove his worth this season with his standard rookie scale deal set to end following the 2022-23 season.
The biggest concern entering his third season was the offensive efficiency. Through his first two years in the league, Bazley was producing 9.4 points per contest, but converting on just 39.5% of his field goal attempts and shooting 30.9% from beyond the arc.
In Bazley’s defense, his role looked extremely different between those first two seasons. As a rookie, he was a role player off the bench on a playoff team. In year two, he was thrown into the starting lineup as a core piece of a rebuilding team. It was clear that the increased role was a huge adjustment for the young prospect.
“We’re throwing him in deep waters. That’s the best way for him to grow,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault last season.
Although his 2021-22 season got off to a slow start, the former first-round pick has recently shown so much improvement that he’s clearly earned an extension.
In his first 27 games of the season, the 6-foot-9 forward was a starter while averaging 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 27.4 minutes per game. He shot 37.3% from floor and 28.1% from deep.
From there, Daigneault moved Bazley to a bench role, hoping he would gain confidence and get into a better groove in a different situation. Through the next 18 games (including 2 spot starts), he averaged 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per contest, while knocking down 43.8% of his shots from the floor and 28.1% of his shots from beyond the arc.
He looked much more comfortable on both ends of the floor and was starting to hit his stride. As such, Bazley once again became a starter.
Over his last 18 games, Bazley has started in every contest and has looked as good as he ever has at the NBA level. He’s averaged 13.2 points and 6.9 boards in 32.2 minutes per game over this span. More importantly, Bazley has been highly efficient as he’s converted on 44.8% of his field goal attempts and 33.3% of his 3-pointers.
Over the past week, Bazley has emerged even more as a legitimate young building block. Through his past two games, he is averaging 27.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per contest. He’s made 56.8% of his shot attempts, including 43.8% of his shots from deep.
“Just trying to keep it simple,” said Darius Bazley of his recent hot streak.
Not only is Bazley’s offense coming around, but he’s also been one of Oklahoma City’s best defenders. An athletic forward, he’s shown the ability to guard nearly any position. Whether Bazley is playing small ball center and defending a 7-footer or filling a spot on the wing and going up against a smaller guard, he’s been effective across the board.
In fact, Bazley has asked Daigneault to give him tough defensive assignments over the past two seasons. It’s finally paying off.
On both ends of the floor, Bazley has made huge strides. While it was unclear entering this season whether he had a place on this Thunder roster longterm, he’s shown enough improvement to prove that an extension makes a ton of sense.
Bazley acknowledged this week that he’s grown a ton as a player and person in the Thunder system since coming to Oklahoma City.
“I think this organization makes it easy for young guys like myself. They groom guys to be really good professionals,“ said Bazley.
