Sports

Cason Wallace Is An Integral Role Player For The Oklahoma City Thunder

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By
Ben Pfeifer
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Ben Pfeifer Sports Editor

Ben Pfeifer graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Psychology and Journalism. He has worked in basketball scouting covering the NBA and the draft for over a half-decade, working for various outlets. Now, he covers the NBA, the draft and high school basketball.

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Published20 May 2025

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Promising young players define themselves in the playoffs. Most crumble under the pressure of the postseason. However, some players, like the Oklahoma City Thunder’s sophomore guard Cason Wallace, rise to the occasion.

In Oklahoma City’s second-round win over the Denver Nuggets, the Thunder outscored the Nuggets by 23.7 points per 100 possessions during Wallace’s minutes. With Wallace on the floor during the entire playoffs so far, Oklahoma City improves by a staggering 16.3 points per 100 possessions, the highest differential among all its players. 

The noise of on-off stats can’t fully capture a player’s impact, and Wallace wasn’t Oklahoma City’s best or second-best player against Denver. His imprint on the series certainly exceeded his averages of 6.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, though. The 21-year-old guard ignited stretches of greatness, especially on defense, helping the Thunder return to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016. 

Why Wallace Is So Important To The Thunder’s Elite Defense

The Thunder rely on their swarming help defense to double opposing superstars and cover the rest of the floor with a numbers disadvantage. Wallace can function in any help role, weaponizing his elite hands to force turnovers and impose discomfort while pressuring the ball. He logged 1.9 steals per game against Denver, slightly up from his regular season average (1.8).

He’s deadliest defending away from the ball, flipping shaky situations into beneficial spots for his club as few players can. Wallace’s elite range and instincts helped create transition chances when his teammates pressured Jamal Murray, even fooling Nikola Jokic with some of his off-ball stunts and recoveries back to ing lanes.

Oklahoma City doesn’t rely on help defense during all of its possessions. Stalwart point-of-attack stoppers such as Wallace, who can blanket and erase potent creators like few other perimeter defenders, allow the Thunder to scale back their help at times to fool opposing offenses.

Wallace spent a tick under 32 total minutes guarding Murray in the series. Across those minutes, he held Denver’s playoff ace to 28 points (11-of-27 shooting) with four assists and four turnovers, per NBA.com. Lightning quick hands sparked quite a few turnovers, ripping an unexpected Murray, all while clogging his ing lanes.

He split the assignment with Luguentz Dort, who defended Murray for 42 minutes, locking him in his Dorture Chamber and limiting him to 45 points on 38.1 percent shooting. Dort and Wallace balance each other out, offering the Thunder both a bruising wall and a rangy, explosive player to throw at ball-handlers. Even an all-time great in Jokic couldn’t fully overcome all of Oklahoma City’s pitches.

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, Dort will primarily check Anthony Edwards, but defending a player like him takes a village. Wallace logged just six minutes guarding Edwards in the regular season, but his help defense is a critical component of the defensive plan. He’s one of the sport’s great ground-covering defenders, helping the Thunder aggressively stunt and recover on Edwards’s drives.

Complementary Offense

Wallace’s defensive playmaking fuels great transition impact, creating an excellent 1.34 points per possession on 19 playoff transition scoring chances. His ball-handling limitations restrict him less in the open court, where his speed and processing can shine. Even when defenders chased him to the hoop, he finished through and around them.

His transition scoring and creation helped boost an otherwise volatile Thunder offense. Oklahoma City’s half-court offense struggled to find flow and rhythm throughout the second round; compared to the regular season, its half-court offensive rating dropped by 8.6 points per 100 possessions.

The Thunder rely on role players converting their open triples. Playoff defenses sag off of limited shooters and the result has been a team-wide drop in 3-point percentage for Oklahoma City. Wallace, though, made 38.1 percent of his 3-point attempts against the Nuggets, good for the third-most efficient series of any Thunder player. 

The Nuggets loaded up on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Minnesota will likely do the same to some extent. Players like Wallace making open shots and punishing tilted defenses invalidates teams helping off so prominently. Wallace not only made his open shots, but his ing cracked open Denver’s zone defense and capitalized on advantages his teammates created.

At the moment, Wallace adds to Oklahoma City’s devastating collection of complementary players. Its depth accentuates its stars like few other teams in recent NBA history, letting the Thunder excel at a unique brand of basketball.

Wallace has proven himself a valuable playoff contributor before his 22nd birthday. There aren’t many NBA players who can claim that. His early success suggests an extremely bright future, where possible stardom will hinge on some offensive development. But he already looked like a foundational piece for the Thunder. His playoff performance helps confirm that.