Player grades: Thunder open Summer League with 111-74 loss to Grizzlies

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Posting up near the right elbow, Aday Mara went to work in the post. He only needed a couple of dribbles as he backed up Lawson Lovering. Feeling himself, the 7-foot-3 center showed off his footwork and patience by swishing in the turnaround fadeaway jumper.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a 111-74 Summer League loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. While the result was known for most of the game, fans were at least rewarded with flashes from the top prospects in their debut for their NBA home.

It didn't take long to tell that one of these teams is a title contender and the other is going through a rebuild. Cameron Boozer holds the hope of every Grizzlies fan right now — especially with the recent departures of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. And he quickly showed why he was the No. 3 pick of the 2026 NBA draft.

Meanwhile, the Thunder fell behind quickly. Any competitiveness from this game was erased by the end of the first frame. They were in a 33-22 deficit. Things only got worse from there. It didn't take long for the Grizzlies to balloon their lead beyond 20 points. The second frame played out the same way with duplicate scores.

At the halftime break, the Thunder were in a 66-44 deficit. Pretty bad, but you gotta remember the scoreboard is irrelevant at Summer League. Rational folks should see if rookies can show something. And after a slow first half, OKC finally saw that with its top draft pick.

The second half saw Mara press his score-first button. He made it look easy inside the paint. Nobody could meet him at the summit of his shot attempts. After a couple of dunks, he started feeling himself and stepped outside of his comfort zone. That was enough to salvage sitting through almost two hours of a relative nothing-burger. The Thunder had just eight points in the third quarter and were in an 85-52 hole — but it didn't really matter.

The vibes and scoreboard were on complete opposite sides. You wanted to see Mara show his potential. And he did. Same with Bennett Stirtz by flexing his range. The Thunder scored 22 points in the final frame. They trailed by as many as 41 points.

The Thunder shot 41% from the field and went 6-of-30 (20%) from 3. They shot 6-of-9 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 29 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Mara and Stirtz each had 10 points and four assists apiece. Brooks Barnhizer tallied 13 points and six rebounds. Payton Sandfort finished with 13 points.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 56% from the field and went 17-of-33 (51.5%) from 3. They shot 8-of-14 on free throws. They had 33 assists on 40 baskets. Seven Grizzlies players scored double-digit points.

Boozer debuted with 15 points and four assists. Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 17 points and five rebounds. Taylor Hendricks finished with 15 points and four assists. Cedric Coward had 11 points and eight rebounds. Javon Small had 11 points and nine assists. Jahmai Mashack totaled 12 points and four assists. Carson Cooper had 11 points and five rebounds.

Well, this is what the NBA Summer League is, folks. It's cool entertainment to watch during July, but that's really it. Not a lot to really take away from this low-stakes environment. That said, you gotta be happy with how Mara and Stirtz made things at least watchable in the second half — even with the scoreboard being what it was. Those two are the big pieces in this year's OKC roster. Great way to get things started.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Aday Mara: B

Catching the ball deep in the paint, Mara stayed patient. As he was circled by several Grizzlies players, he utilized a pass-fake to get Cooper to bite. Once he turned his head the opposite way, the 21-year-old jumped off the floor to throw down the animated one-handed jam.

Mara finished with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and 0-of-1 on free throws. He also had two blocks and one steal.

It took a little bit to get going, but Mara finally looked comfortable in the latter part of this exhibition. As expected, his gigantic size helped him make an impact. The Grizzlies had very few answers when he caught the ball inside the paint. He just had to simply jump up to get an easy layup or dunk. Like a kid playing on a Little Tikes indoor hoop. Expect that to be his bread and butter in the NBA.

After Mara caught a couple of alley-oops, he became a little daring. A baseline turnaround jumper and an outside attempt had most folks jump out of their seats at home. That's exactly what you want him to do in this environment. Just try stuff out there and see how it goes.

Elsewhere, Mara's presence had the Grizzlies second-guess on a couple of their drives. His presence alone forces that. He'll need to work on his defensive techniques and be a better rebounder, but nothing he did in Utah should really shock you if you read up on his scouting reports. The novelty around his game will make him a must-watch guy for the rest of the Summer League.

Bennett Stirtz: C-plus

As the shot clock was about to expire, Stirtz depended on muscle memory. Trapped by two Grizzlies players, he decided to take a couple of backpedal dribbles before daringly pulling up from deep. The ball swished through as the 22-year-old showed off his Curry-esque range.

Stirtz finished with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. He shot 2-of-3 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws. He also had three steals.

Unlike Mara, Stirtz had the opposite game script — he started things off with a bang before slowly sizzling out. He showed off his comfort level as a ball-handler. He dribbled his way around to his spots in the mid-range and from the outside. And when he turned into a playmaker, he had no problem orchestrating the pick-and-roll and finding small passing windows.

The creativity jumped off the screen. Sure, the Thunder will likely demote Stirtz to a role-player usage level, but he showed the pazzazz that helped him go from a D-II student to an NBA player in four years. You gotta love that he isn't afraid to take a series of dribbles and man the halfcourt offense. OKC desperately needs those elements added to its team.

This was a pretty good start for Stirtz. On defense, he made some timely reads. The Thunder might've trailed by 40 points, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Their two most important players on this year's Summer League squad showed out in their first game. All you can really ask for.

Brooks Barnhizer: B

Catching Mara's outlet pass to spark up a fast-break situation, Barnhizer missed on his initial layup. He quickly redeemed himself, though. He grabbed his own miss and went up for a second-chance look that turned into an and-one opportunity.

Barnhizer finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 0-of-1 on free throws.

The only returning player from last year's two-way group, Barnhizer showed he's been around the block. The Thunder welcomed his scoring aggressiveness. He'd bulldoze his way to the rim — even if his drives weren't exactly aesthetically pleasing, per se. He had 11 points in the first half as the rest of OKC struggled to show up in the scoring column.

Well, Barnhizer looked a lot more confident in his second Summer League. Love to see that. The mental side is always half the battle. He was willing to empty the tank while the rest of OKC's top players took a minute to get comfortable in their sneakers. That said, the shooting is still a problem. And there were times where his motor betrayed him as the game went by a little too fast for him.

Let's see how the rest of Summer League looks for Barnhizer. The Thunder obviously like his game enough to bring him back a second year. The 24-year-old will have the next two weeks to show the fanbase how he's improved a year after having full access to the NBA.

Payton Sandfort: C-minus

Losing his two-way spot, Sandfort is trying to get it back. Now that he's almost a year removed from his double-shoulder surgeries, he showed off why he averaged nearly nine games at the NBA level — albeit on an incredibly small sample and in inconsequential settings.

Sandfort finished with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting and one rebound. He shot 2-of-9 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws.

You gotta love the shot attempts. Volume matters even more in the modern game. Sandfort made his living by being an outside shooter at both the college level and the pros. Might as well carry that over in your first Summer League stint. He also showed off his range with some deep looks. He barely needed any space to lift off.

It'll be interesting to see how Sandfort does in Summer League. Odds are, he'll start next year in the G League's OKC Blue. But if he continues to outplay Josh Dix — who snatched his two-way spot as the undrafted sharpshooter archetype — then perhaps things can change down the road with roster maneuvers.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder open Summer League with 111-74 loss to Grizzlies

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