Oklahoma City Thunder’s Isaiah Roby Has Shined With Al Horford Away From Team

Oklahoma City’s starting center, Al Horford, has been away from the team for over a week now due to the birth of his daughter on January 15. In his absence, second-year player Isaiah Roby has done an excellent job filling his void.

Acquired by the Thunder in a trade last season with the Dallas Mavericks, Roby saw the floor very little as a rookie. In fact, the second-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft played only 11 total minutes in his first NBA season. However, with the amount of turnover the Oklahoma City roster saw this offseason, he was given an opportunity to increase his role.

Roby has shown the versatility to play small forward, power forward, and center this season for the Thunder, giving him more of a chance to see the floor in a variety of different lineups. More recently, the team has needed him to play the starting center position in Horford’s absence.

In five starts this season, Roby has produced 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on 52.7 percent from the floor and 70.3 percent from the free throw line. For reference, although they’re very different players, Horford has averaged 11.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists per contest on 41.8 percent from the floor in the nine games he has started for Oklahoma City. While Horford is still clearly a better defender, shooter, and player overall, it’s promising to see Roby make these strides.

To Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault, Roby’s impressive play is not surprising. Earlier this week, he talked about how much work was put in and how much of a jump Roby made during the offseason to put himself in a position to succeed this season. “He had an unbelievable summer,” Daigneault said. “He grinded it out.”

Daigneault would go on to say that Roby is practically a rookie in their eyes, considering the lack of experience he got last season. This is truly his first NBA season playing real minutes, making his performance thus far even more impressive. His teammate and franchise cornerstone Shai Gilgeous Alexander has also been complimentary of Roby’s play. “I think [Isaiah] Roby just gets better every game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s coming together before our eyes.”

Just 22 years old, Isaiah Roby has quietly become one of the most interesting young pieces on the Oklahoma City roster. Whether he plays center long-term or at one of the forward spots, Roby will be yet another building block as the Thunder re-tool towards being a contender down the road.

Although Roby is the highest paid second-round pick out of college in league history, he is still on a very reasonable deal. He is under contract through the 2022-23 season and will make less than $2 million per year.