Stopping Victor Wembanyama's alley-oop venture, Aday Mara grabbed his own on the other end as he caught Ajay Mitchell's pass. The third-quarter two-play sequence was one of the best in a night filled with them. The 21-year-old helped from the jump as he made his NBA debut.
The Oklahoma City Thunder
absolutely bullied the San Antonio Spurs in a 116-104 win on Opening Night. They led throughout most of the contest and by as many as 26 points.Mara finished with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, two rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had one block.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault continued to rave about Mara. It was one thing to put up double-double numbers against fake NBA competition, but to be this impactful in your
first real game shows his progress is legitimate and not just smoke and mirrors.
"He was awesome. He had great poise, great impact. I mean, he probably had one of the best stretches of the game," Daigneault said about Mara. "That was a critical thing there when he blocked the shot. He went down, finished on the other end. He didn't seem overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the game."
You don't have to use much of your imagination to see how Mara can help the Thunder in this matchup. In a rare moment, Wembanyama was eclipsed. Both in height and weight. After OKC added him with the No. 12 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, the 7-foot-3 behemoth has helped out from the jump. There's real-life tape now that he can help in spurts against San Antonio.
This was a fantastic way for Mara to start his NBA career. Since he joined the Thunder for training camp and preseason, he's played at a different pace. The three months between the Summer League and Media Day were greatly used to improve his conditioning and add to his strengths.
It's been a minute since the Thunder have had a Day 1 contributor from an NBA rookie, but it looks like Mara is finally going to join that list. His unique build gives him a high floor to work from. When you're that big, you give yourself such a humongous margin for error to carve out an NBA career.
Especially if the soon-to-be best player in the NBA is truly 7-foot-4 Wembanyama.
"I'm not really surprised. With how he's performed in preseason, I think he's proven to be a very impactful player," Daigneault said. "His minutes weren't high tonight, but his impact was clearly somebody you trust. Put him in that game. Only going to trust him more after seeing how he performed in such a high-level game."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: It took Aday Mara 1 NBA game to show OKC Thunder he can be 'very impactful player'
