Thunder shooter expresses interest competing in NBA 3-point Contest
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, amid a three-point shooting tear last month, threw his hat into the ring for this year’s 3-Point Contest and doubled down on his admission after Monday’s win. He’s combined on a whopping 23-of-41 three-point attempts over the past five games, including when Joe tied his career-high eight threes in a 127-101 win against the Brooklyn Nets.
He finished with 18 points, including 5-of-8 from deep in Monday’s 125-96 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. After the win, a reporter asked Joe if he was still interested in competing in next month’s 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend in San Francisco.
“Of course,” Joe said. “[I’m] waiting for the phone call.”
In January, he was asked if his elite three-point shooting had any correlation with garnering attention for this year’s event.
“I’m just trying to win games,” Joe replied. “That’s not my job to keep an eye on that [but] if they put me in there, I’d be grateful for the opportunity.”
Thunder’s Isaiah Joe is averaging 9.7 points on 43.1% shooting, including 39.9% from deep, but those numbers spiked in January amid a hot streak and have carried over to February. Isaiah averaged 12.8 points on 51.9% shooting, including 48.8% from deep, while connecting on 3.3 threes per game last month.
Mark Daigneault on Ousmane Dieng’s growth with Thunder
Sitting atop the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to accentuate their depth pieces amidst injuries to starters Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, and backup guard Alex Caruso. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault received a tremendous lift in Ousmane Dieng’s 21-point performance in Monday’s win. Still, it didn’t come as a surprise for Daigneault.
Dieng, who’s split the 2024-25 campaign with the Blue, Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate, and the Thunder, had played 27 games in the NBA this season before he recorded a season-high 21 points in a 125-96 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. After the win, Daigneault addressed Dieng’s growth.
"It really less about today for me with Ous. He had an injury. He came back. He was a little rusty. He went to the Blue in his third year. This is the third year he’s touched the Blue program," Daigneault said. "[He] didn’t say a word about it. He just put his head down. Got to work. Got himself back in rhythm, in game form, and up to his baseline. And then, has built on that, and his minutes since then. I thought tonight was a byproduct of that body of work.
"He’s capable of nights like this."
The Thunder continue their four-game homestand against the Suns on Wednesday.
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