Catching the ball at the 'State Farm' logo, Bennett Stirtz needed little time to put up a shot attempt. Despite Kobe Johnson on his grill, he drilled an outside jumper. Next possession, he upped the difficulty. He received the ball at the sidelines. After going further back, he pulled up from deep to nail another outside jumper.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell once again in a 113-110 preseason loss to the Atlanta Hawks. That said, they accomplished their mission with the short-handed roster as both prized prospects balled out.
Stirtz finished with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 6-of-9 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws.
It's a shame Stirtz is in Aday Mara's shadow. On most other teams, he'd be the preseason
highlight for fanbases. But because he's behind a giant, the 23-year-old is not getting the love he deserves for absolutely lighting up the scoreboard as one of OKC's hot shooters.
In a larger role due to the lengthy list of absences, Stirtz showed he can handle the workload. He was a flamethrower who torched the nets. I don't think you have to worry about any confidence issues from him. Albeit, that was a given considering he blazed the rare trail of going from a D-II player to an NBA first-round pick in just a four-year span. Now, he's hoping to help a title contender from the jump.
Stirtz did most of his scoring in the second half with 19 points. A dozen of those happened in the fourth quarter as the Thunder tried to get their first organizational win in five months. Once he saw a few outside jumpers go in, he hunted for his shot. Didn't matter how much space he had. He's shown he's comfortable at pulling up. Even if there's an array of guys closing out on him.
"The shot felt good. Think that gave us the best shot to try and win the game and that's what they were giving me," Stirtz said. "The paint just kinda collapsed and people were in there. The 3-point shot was there, so confidence and shot that thing."
I think the Thunder have found their next designated 3-point weapon. Stirtz has shown he'll take any type of outside jumper. Not just the easy catch-and-shoot ones. He's also shown he's willing to stretch out his range if needed. That's proven to be a vital skill in the NBA in recent years. Especially with about everybody in the league being a plus-outside shooter. Now, the playmaking remains a work in progress. He gets a little tunnel vision with the ball in hand. But that's workable.
It's still preseason. That caveat is evergreen. But the Thunder are staring down the possibility of two fresh-faced contributors to their 2026-27 regular season. There was quiet optimism about that all summer, but I think these last three games have made that official. At the very least, Stirtz should be a bucket-getter off the bench who can get hot at the right time.
"Just trying to be there for my teammates. Just trying to win the game, honestly. That's all I'm trying to do," Stirtz said. "I'm a competitive guy. I know the other eight guys out there are, too. Just trying to win it for them."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Bennett Stirtz looks like professional scorer in OKC's preseason loss to Hawks
