The Oklahoma City Thunder lost their second straight Las Vegas Summer League game Sunday, 104-79 to the Golden State Warriors, and the scoreboard was never really in doubt after halftime. Golden State put six players in double figures, led by No. 11 pick Yaxel Lendeborg’s 14 points, four assists and three steals.
The result matters less than what the rookies did inside it. Aday Mara, the No. 12 pick, finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists — the assist number is the one to watch. At 7-foot-3, Mara’s calling card coming out of the draft was his passing out of the post and the short roll, and four assists in a Summer League game where nothing else went right suggests the skill shows up regardless of game context. Bennett Stirtz, taken 16th, added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting after leading the team with 18 in Friday’s opener against the Lakers. Through two Vegas games he has been the most reliable source of offense on the roster.
Oklahoma City is treating July as a laboratory, not a standings race. Thunder assistant Connor Johnson has the bench for the Las Vegas leg after OKC Blue coach Daniel Dixon ran the Salt Lake City games, which means the draft class is now on its second coaching voice and second set of schemes in ten days. For a front office that drafts for traits and develops in-house, that churn is part of the curriculum.
An 0-2 start with a 25-point loss is not what anyone circles on the calendar, but the inputs the Thunder care about — Mara’s passing, Stirtz’s shot diet, defensive habits against faster competition — are all still being collected. The next data point comes later this week as Vegas play continues through July 19.
On the fantasy side, neither rookie is a redraft target: Oklahoma City’s rotation is deep enough that first-year minutes will be scarce. Dynasty is a different conversation. Mara’s assist-and-rebound profile from a 7-foot-3 frame is the kind of stat-stuffing skill set that ages well in category leagues, and Stirtz’s early scoring consistency makes him a reasonable late stash in rookie drafts. Patience is the price of entry on both.
