Keyontae

Johnson

Johnson played sparingly as a rookie and averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds through nine games with OKC. It’s unlikely that he’ll play a significant role for a healthy Hornets team.

Johnson was one of four Thunder players to be added to the injury report on Thursday afternoon, but he will be available to play. However, he isn’t part of their rotation, so this won’t impact fantasy basketball.

OKC didn’t initially have anyone on their injury report for this game, but all four of these players have been added late. Dort is the only one that is a consistent part of the rotation, and if he doesn’t play, Cason Wallace would slide into the starting unit. Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe and Kenrich Williams all stand to benefit from the other absences. Hopefully this doesn’t spread to other players on the team.

Wallace finished his Summer League experience with a quality performance, posting a full stat line in the four-point defeat. With the Thunder having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey on the roster, the rookie out of Kentucky will spend a lot of time playing off the ball next season. While that won’t do Wallace any favors in single-season fantasy leagues, he’ll be worth a look in deeper dynasty formats. Fellow rookie Keyontae Johnson finished Sunday’s defeat with 11 points (4-of-7 FGs, 2-of-4 FTs), three rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one 3-pointer in 25 minutes.

Oklahoma City opened the summer with multiple players that will play big minutes for them this season. However, the majority of them didn’t play in this game, which allowed Johnson to pick up some of the touches offensively. Johnson may be on a two-way contract, but he has shown this summer that he has the potential to be an everyday rotation player. Cason Wallace struggled in this game, shooting just 2-for-12 from the floor and turning it over five times. It wasn’t a great performance from Wallace, but he’ll have the rest of the summer to improve, and he was spectacular in his first game.

Johnson started his college career at Florida, but his time playing basketball nearly ended early after he collapsed during a game in December 2020. More recently, he was a major contributor for a Kansas State team that made it to the Elite Eight. Johnson was a solid shot-creator throughout his career, but it may not translate well to the NBA. However, he should be able to provide scoring as a catch-and-shoot role player. With how much talent the Thunder have, it’s unclear what kind of role he’ll have in year one, but his shooting could prove valuable.

Given his time at the college level, Johnson’s medical clearance is a big deal. The 6-foot-6 wing began his career at Florida, a period which came to an end after he passed out during a game in December 2020. Doctors would diagnose Johnson with a heart condition, which ended his Florida career. Eventually, he was cleared to resume his career, going on to play the 2022-23 season at Kansas State. Helping to lead the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, Johnson appeared in 36 games this past season, averaging 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.3 3-pointers with 51.6/40.5/71.5 shooting splits. He’s projected to be an early-second round pick with a chance to slide into the first.