The Oklahoma City Thunder are truly one of the most fascinating teams that will enter the brand-new NBA season.
Beyond from just the fact that they are the reigning and defending champions, the formidable depth of the Thunder would be on full display again. Although they didn’t land any significant transactions this past summer, OKC is in prime to be more formidable and experienced out of the fruitful title hunt they completed back in June.
The likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are strongly positioned to secure big-time years of their own as Oklahoma City’s Big 3. But Zach Lowe is particularly interested in what another promising Thunder player can deliver.
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In his podcast, Lowe was joined by Yahoo! Sports’ Nekias Duncan in discussing who might be the potential candidates for the league’s 2025-26 Sixth Man of the Year. As such, he identified Cason Wallace as an intriguing name to watch for the award.
“I’m really interested to see what we’ll get from Cason Wallace this year,” the NBA analyst said in his The Zach Lowe Show. “He’s one of the top guys I’ve got my eye on, because I think there’s a lot more hidden in there that just doesn’t get to come out on that team.
“Depending on how they approach the regular season — their health, his role, and how he starts — if we get to the end of the season and it’s like, ‘Oh, Cason Wallace averaged 14 points a game off the bench for the Thunder, played his usual annoying-as-hell defense, and is a candidate for this award,’ I wouldn’t be surprised [if he gets it].”
Wallace served as a pivotal cog in OKC’s historic run from the past season. The third-year guard averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 boards, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals across 68 games (43 starts) in 27.6 minutes of play.
Upon these numbers and the reliability he posted from last year, Wallace is set for a bigger role within the Thunder for the forthcoming season. He can strongly claim the award especially if Oklahoma City lands a top regular season finish once again.
From his impactful play on both ends, Wallace got what it takes to possibly be the OKC’s first Sixth Man winner since James Harden last 2011-12.
