OKLAHOMA CITY — Giddy with excitement, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took his old teammate Ousmane Dieng to the cup. Instead of finessing his way to a driving layup like usual, though, he found Aday Mara on the 45 cut. The 7-foot-3 giant soared off the hardwood for the alley-oop connection.
That's a new toy to play with. The Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a 128-126 preseason loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. But despite the results, you can safely categorize this exhibition back-to-back as a success.
Playing their regular rotation sans the center room, the Thunder had the offense rolling from the jump. The outside shots continue to fall. Gilgeous-Alexander didn't need to break a sweat to show the sparse crowd how he's one of the best scorers ever. Jalen Williams
had his joy back. Playing with Mara for the first time, OKC's traditional starters had fun with his galaxy-sized catch radius.
The Thunder erupted for 44 points in the first quarter. Pretty good to get things going in this 2026-27 NBA marathon. The momentum rolled over to the next frame. Mara-Mania completely took over OKC. Several ball-handlers took turns to have their fun with the rolling seven-footer. Each time, he rewarded them with an alley-oop connection.
Spamming the pick-and-roll with Mara, the Thunder scored 38 points in the second quarter. That included a 20-6 run. They entered halftime with an 82-64 lead. They led by as many as 24 points. Similar to how the first night of this preseason back-to-back went, OKC completely ran Milwaukee's Opening Night starters out of the gym. I mean, the talent and effort levels were eons apart. You can see why both franchises are on opposite sides of their respective life cycles.
All that said, the Thunder scripted a carbon-copy second half from what happened on the first night of this back-to-back. With OKC sitting out most of their starters and rolling out their C squad, the Bucks climbed back into this one. At one point, Milwaukee scored a ridiculous 19 consecutive points. Things fell flat for the Thunder. They only had 20 points in the third quarter.
Holding onto a 102-97 lead, the Thunder were playing out another competitive second half after a lopsided first half. Such are the wacky ebbs and flows of preseason basketball. Even with Bennett Strirtz's lights-out shooting, Milwaukee eventually superseded OKC on the scoreboard. Brayden Burries made that happen with a steal-and-free-throw-trip. A lot of their hopes are falling on his shoulders this year.
The final couple of minutes turned into complete chaos. Down to their respective C squads, neither could generate quality halfcourt possessions. Stirtz drilled another outside jumper to give the Thunder a 121-118 lead with 92 seconds to go, but the Bucks immediately responded with an 8-1 run. Nobody could stay in front of Burries as he barreled his way to the rim and went to the free-throw line.
Down four points with seven seconds left, the Thunder tried everything to extend the game's life. But the Bucks kept hitting their free-throw attempts after intentional fouls. Finally, Ousmane Dieng delivered the nail in the coffin. He made two attempts to make it a four-point contest with four seconds left. The Thunder had 24 points in the final frame as they failed to avoid another — albeit irrelevant — meltdown.
The Thunder shot 50% from the field and went 17-of-46 (37%) from 3. They shot 17-of-26 on free throws. They had 34 assists on 46 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points and five assists. Williams had 16 points and six assists. Mara was a monster with 22 points and six rebounds. Stirtz dropped a quiet 20 points and five rebounds. Jared McCain had 11 points and two assists. Alex Caruso scored 12 points in a rare start.
Meanwhile, the Bucks shot 46% from the field and went 14-of-44 (31.8%) from 3. They shot 26-of-35 on free throws. They had 31 assists on 44 baskets. Six Bucks players scored double-digit points.
Myles Turner had 19 points and five rebounds. Ke'lel Ware finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Tyler Herro tallied 13 points and three assists. Jamie Jaquez Jr. totaled 13 points and three assists. Ryan Rollins had 12 points and seven assists. Burries dropped 15 points and five rebounds. Kasparas Jakucionis had 10 points and four rebounds.
I get that the Thunder haven't won either preseason outing and both involved epic blown leads, but they've been incredibly encouraging so far. Mara looks like he's an NBA player right now. Same with Stirtz. We know what the rest of the roster brings. Relatively speaking. But those two are huge question marks. If they're hits? Then it's going to be easy to get over the offseason's cost-cutting moves.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B
Catching Ajay Mitchell's swing pass, Gilgeous-Alexander quickly got into his shooting motion. The two-time MVP winner cashed in on another catch-and-shoot look. On the other end, he met with Herro at the apex of his layup attempt. He completely swatted it away. What a two-play sequence.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting, five assists and three rebounds. He shot 3-of-3 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had one block.
Sitting out the frontend of this preseason back-to-back, Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the OKC hardwood. That said, there's nothing to gain in this environment with him. We know what he is at this point. He's one of the best players in the league. And one of the greatest players ever. The era-defining NBA superstar just wanted to do a quick tune-up after an offseason's worth of downtime.
In this no-leverage environment, Gilgeous-Alexander put on his lab coat. He played off-ball more frequently — something that has been talked about ad nauseam this summer. The result? A handful of catch-and-shoot looks. The Thunder have had a pass-happy offense so far. You have to wonder how much of that is a conscious decision compared to just going with the flow.
Regardless, Gilgeous-Alexander's catch-and-shoot numbers are going to be a fun mini-storyline to follow this upcoming year. Let's see if the offseason talk materializes into something real. Elsewhere, he also had his fun with Mara. The 21-year-old adds a new dimension to OKC's offense. You can just throw the ball up and safely assume he's going to catch it somehow.
That'll be a fun wrinkle to add to Gilgeous-Alexander's playmaking chops. Besides that, he was mostly on cruise control. Cool to see him suit up for the first half. Especially for a preseason crowd. The Thunder realistically don't need to see much else from him. Anything forward is just extra credit.
2️⃣-way Shai 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/JIu15fYrKI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Jalen Williams: A
Stretching his arms out in a T-pose, Williams tricked Rollins. A simple pass turned into a steal. The All-NBA talent shouldered his way to the basket for the transition layup. The defense-to-offense sequence had been his specialty over the years, but it's good to see it back after such a frustrating season this past year.
Williams finished with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, six assists and three rebounds. He shot 0-of-3 from 3. He also had two steals.
Other players of the caliber of Williams might take it easy in preseason, but he played with the same speed he usually does. All of his buckets happened at the rim. The 25-year-old sliced through Milwaukee's defense. And even if there was traffic, he muscled his way through for finesse layups.
The Thunder only needed to see one half out of Williams. He turned in a super-efficient scoring night. Not only that, but he completely wrecked the Bucks' halfcourt offense. Anytime they tried to run a set, he'd disrupt things. Everybody knows how awesome he is on offense. But you could make a sound argument that his better side of the floor falls on defense.
Great to see Williams back in action. It's a humongously-important year for him. After a down year, he must bounce back. Or raise questions about his long-term spot. That said, this was a great spot. Albeit an inconsequential one. Just like Gilgeous-Alexander, there's little to learn from this environment for recent All-NBA players.
28 seconds of JDub. Pure hoops. 🤲 pic.twitter.com/VU6vvUYRET
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Ready for takeoff 🛫 pic.twitter.com/10M8d7UbCD
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Aday Mara: A-plus
Getting the ball at the baseline, Mara went to work. With Ware on his back, the 21-year-old showed off his footwork in the post. A fakeout bought him space. Milwaukee's latest prized addition bit on his fake. That allowed OKC's recent lottery pick to hit the spin move and beautifully feather the ball through the net.
Mara finished with 22 points on 10-of-10 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-3 on free throws. He alao had one block.
After an awesome preseason opener, how will Mara follow up? The Thunder were as intrigued by the answer as the fanbase itself. With Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams ruled out, they cleared the deck for him to start. Not only to see how he gels with the main rotation players, but to see how he responds to his first taste of the NBA's grueling back-to-back schedule. Especially since his conditioning was a big summer talking point.
Let's just say we've reached a fever pitch in Mara's hype. He was absolutely fantastic. Like a kid driving everywhere during their first week of owning a license, the Thunder spammed the heck out of pick-and-rolls with him. Several teammates can thank his endless catch radius for easy assists. Gilgeous-Alexander set the trend. Once OKC realized how much of a cheat code his rim-running was, that's all they ran for a section of the game.
And then on defense, Mara was a brick wall. The Bucks tried it a couple of times. But to little avail. Any concerns about the Gatorade symbol popping up underneath his sneakers were barely remembered throughout his one-man show against a beefy frontcourt of Ware and Turner.
I mean, I don't want to get hyperbolic, but Mara has been an absolute home-run addition. At least through two preseason games. The Thunder have tested his limits both with his endurance and with how often they feature him on offense. He's aced both nights with flying colors. It's amazing just how NBA-ready he looks from the jump. His sluggish Summer League days feel like forever ago.
When the Thunder added Mara, they added a player archetype they've never had before. Not with Kevin Durant. Not with Russell Westbrook. But Gilgeous-Alexander and friends get the perk of a gigantic basketball player. It took one half for them to play with their latest toy and how fun it is to have a seven-plus-footer who needs very little elbow room to go up for a Little-Tikes-esque layup or putback.
Mack truck coming through 💥 pic.twitter.com/hC0UNLIk30
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Bunnies 🐰 pic.twitter.com/NHOQsCp4jd
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Punish the rim 😤
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
📺 Catch the game on Thunder+ available through the NBA app pic.twitter.com/A2OjsMCkp1
22 ➡️ 15 pic.twitter.com/g5zbKIIigr
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Don't hurt 'em, Aday 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/mkVguk0lrc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2026
Bennett Stirtz: A-plus
Sizing up Cormac Ryan, Stirtz's behind-the-back dribble move was enough to create space. Feeling spicy, he went with the stepback outside jumper. Swish. Sitting out the first half, the 23-year-old made up for lost time with a flamethrowing second half that resembled prime Klay Thompson.
Stirtz finished with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, five rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 4-of-6 on free throws. He also had one steal.
If you tuned out the second half because the Thunder starters sat out, that's your loss. Do yourself a favor and watch Stirtz's minutes. He was on another plane of unconsciousness. Once he saw a few outside jumpers go in, he hunted his shot. By the end of the game, he was OKC's top-scoring option. Similar to his collegiate years.
Obviously, Stirtz scored all of his points in the second half. I know Mara will grab all of the headlines, but he's also been a huge plus from the jump. Tip your cap to Sam Presti and the rest of the OKC front office. For the first time in a couple of draft cycles, it feels like they've found some day-one contributors. Something this team desperately needs following their recast of characters.
Funny to think that just a day ago, folks were worried about Stirtz's health. He rolled his ankle pretty nastily. No problem. The Thunder are learning firsthand how blue-collar his workstyle is. Knowing he needs to take advantage of this playing time right now to get more when these games start to actually matter, he's battling through ailments. That says a lot about his character in itself.
Jared McCain: C
Capping off a couple of pass-heavy possessions, McCain knocked down a pair of outside jumpers. The Thunder easily put up over 40 points in the first quarter. Considering most of their top rotation players logged minutes, maybe this team is slowly leaning a little more toward offense. At least, in the creativity department.
McCain finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, two assists and one rebound. He shot 3-of-6 from 3.
On a back-to-back with different rotations, McCain had a fluctuating role. On the first night, he was a starter and one of the top options. On the second night, he came off the bench and was a role player. The Thunder leveraged Gilgeous-Alexander's gravity by zipping the ball towards him. He needed little time to put up an attempt. You have to love that from one of your designated gunners.
It's been said countless times since the Thunder made their cost-cutting moves, but McCain could be in line for a huge role. Someone needs to make up for some of the bench scoring they lost over the summer. The 22-year-old is about to have all of the runway in the world to be that guy.
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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Aday Mara looks NBA-ready in Thunder's 128-126 preseason loss to Bucks
