Jalen Williams pointed out one former OKC Thunder star who made him lean forward and take notice with his sensational play.
The process of rebuilding the Oklahoma City Thunder after Russell Westbrook and Paul George’s departure was no easy task for GM Sam Presti.
Even though Presti had brilliantly built a contender with OKC before, it was going to be a very big challenge for him.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was clearly the building block of the future. But for the next few years, the Thunder’s roster featured a revolving door of young and old stars as Presti tried to figure out who should stay.
And during that period, there was one player who caught Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams’ eye, and this player recently made a great account for himself in the NBA Summer League as he looks for a new team.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesJalen Williams heaps praise on Darius Bazley
Jalen Williams was a guest on the Out The Mud podcast recently. When talking about his former teammate Darius Bazley, Williams shared an interesting story.
Williams arrived at the NBA Summer League in his rookie year, only to find Bazley, a three-year NBA star, playing and putting the young stars to the test. He praised Bazley’s immense talent on display.
“Shout out Darius Bazley, I got to Summer League before we got workouts, they were already playing because they didn’t have like, good year, so everybody kind of already back.
“Baz was killing the fives. I was like, ‘There’s no way I play on this team,’ because he’s kind of the left-hand guy, and he had come off a good year.
“He is in the fives. Bro, I was like, I don’t know if I’m really ready because he was wildin’ there, dunking on people, talking s— like, the whole thing.”
Darius Bazley has been unfortunate in recent years
After seeing Bazley’s 2020-21 NBA season, when he averaged 13.7 points per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder as a starter, it’s hard to believe where his career has taken him.
After the Thunder traded Bazley to the Phoenix Suns, his career began declining rapidly. Ill-fated stints with the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz led to him not getting another NBA contract.
This summer, Bazley joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA Summer League to try and fight his way back into the NBA. Unfortunately, Bazley got hurt with the Lakers at the Summer League.
Prior to his serious injury, Bazley looked in excellent form. Hopefully, once he recovers, he can scrap his way back into the NBA.