Oklahoma City Thunder: Evaluating Hamidou Diallo’s rookie season

Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Hamidou Diallo has shown he is an elite athlete, but now he must develop into a consistent role player to prove his worth.

Hamidou Diallo’s NBA career didn’t begin how he imagined.

In 2017 Diallo went to the NBA Draft combine without having ever played a game for the Kentucky Wildcats. He turned some heads during that workout in Chicago, flashing his athleticism with the 2nd best vertical jump in combine history; 44.5 inches. His physical profile shot him up draft boards — into the upper-to-mid 20s — even while being relatively unknown.

Diallo chose to go back to college instead, with the hopes of raising his draft stock and being a lottery pick the next year. He ended up being selected 45th overall and was traded twice before winding up with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After his first season in Oklahoma City, Diallo has proven that he is one of the NBA’s elite athletes. He consistently showed off the athleticism that made him so appealing in the 2017 draft combine. His speed on the court, quick hands, and monster dunks provided a plethora of highlights for the Thunder, culminating in winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest over All-Star weekend.

Now in order to become a quality rotation player in the NBA, Diallo must convert that raw athleticism into refined basketball skill. He showed flashes of that shift in his rookie year, especially on the defensive end of the court, but his offensive game must develop if he hopes to be more than a flashy dunker in his career.

Diallo proved to be a passable defender this past season with a load of potential on that side of the floor. His 21 steals throughout the regular season are indicative of his quick hands and nose for the ball. Diallo exhibited shades of Andre Roberson’s rookie year on defense, utilizing his impressive wingspan at 6’11” to cause havoc.

While his defensive potential seems undeniable, Diallo’s offensive skillset is another story. He uses his athleticism well in transition, which is where most of his offense came from in his rookie year. 62.4 percent of Diallo’s shots in his rookie year came within 3 feet of the rim. 13.9 percent were dunks. His speed and leaping ability proved to be assets when the Thunder got out and running.

It’s the other 37.6 percent of his shots that are worrisome. Diallo hoisted 24 3-point attempts in the 51 games he played last season. He made four of them. That is a total of 16.7 percent. From three to 16 feet, Diallo failed to shoot over 30 percent as well.

It’s hard to judge how a player will develop. Diallo may become a league average 3-point shooter. He may not. However, we can look at the progression of another player who’s rookie stats are very similar to Diallo’s in an attempt to extrapolate how he may evolve.  Here are the rookie season comparisons between Diallo and Andre Roberson:

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/12/2019.

Nearly every statistic between Diallo’s and Roberson’s rookie years is similar. The biggest difference, though: Diallo played his first year as a 20-year-old whereas Roberson was a 22 as a rookie.

Most people are aware of how Roberson’s offensive game and shooting percentages progressed throughout his career; they are notoriously bad. Is Diallo headed towards a similar fate?

It’s never fair to compare one player on the progression of another. For the Thunder, the biggest hope is that Diallo’s early and moldable years as a player will be spent with NBA coaches and his development will be treated as a full-time job. With time, effort, and numerous repetitions, the team will hope to mold him into a defensive aggressor with a respectable offensive game.

As the 45th pick in the draft, Diallo’s rookie season came as a surprise to many fans. For him, though, it’s only the first page in what will hopefully be a long and prosperous career.