First, it was Jaylin Williams, the third-year center who was out all of Oklahoma City’s preseason with a hamstring problem. Then a star offseason signing Isaiah Hartenstein suffered a broken left hand and will be out at least the first month of the season. That left the Thunder thin along the front line.
To fill that gap, Oklahoma City will sign Alex Reese — the former Alabama big man who was in the Thunder training camp — to a non-guaranteed contract to start the season, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Following Isaiah Hartenstein’s injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder are signing C/F Alex Reese to a non-guaranteed standard deal, agent Billy Davis told ESPN. Reese left basketball in 2021 after 4 years at Alabama, was a bartender for a year, then played overseas and now has an NBA deal. pic.twitter.com/8lNDRzCBcR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2024
Reese, a 6’9″ four/five who played at Alabama for four years and went undrafted, was with Portland in the NBA Summer League last July, averaging 7.6 points per game on 32.4% shooting. He saw 26 minutes of action this past July. pre-season.
Reese’s contract won’t be guaranteed until January 7th, he could be let go before then once Willliams and Hartenstein get your health. Reese is getting his chance, and with the lack of players behind Chet Holmgren, he will likely get some run early in the season. He’s a great story, we’ll see what he can do with the opportunity.
