Bennett Stirtz turned in a productive second-half performance on Monday to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder in a narrow road loss against the Atlanta Hawks.
Stirtz produced a team-high 26 points, five assists and four rebounds in the 113-110 loss at State Farm Arena. He went 9-for-16 from the field, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range, in 37 minutes, 31 seconds of work as the starting point guard.
On the first night of a road-home back-to-back set, the Thunder opted to only send their rookies, two-way players and those signed to Exhibit 10 contracts to Atlanta, leaving their veterans and rotational pieces in Oklahoma City for the exhibition contest.
Stirtz recorded 17 points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter alone, all of which
came from beyond the arc. Playing nearly the entire half, Stirtz served as the initiator on offense for stretches, while also creating for himself other times.
"I think all nine of us just seized the opportunity," Stirtz said. "You don't get that opportunity too much, so we kind of took it and ran with it. I'm proud of the guys. We fought until the very end. Obviously, not the result we wanted, but I'm proud of the fight."
Smooth with the stepbacks 🤌 pic.twitter.com/iLKYYIm7hr
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 12, 2026
Stirtz is averaging 20.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 59.1% from 3-point range (13-for-22) in three preseason games, including two starts. He debuted with 15 points and scored 20 points in his next appearance.
The 16th overall pick joined the Thunder after a productive senior year at Iowa, helping the program reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years. As the lead guard, Stirtz was highly touted for his overall impact on games, which put him high on the Thunder's radar entering the draft.
Stirtz will certainly be utilized much differently, with back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others running the show. But he has shown the ability to play on or off the ball, even saying it is easy to run with a player who requires so much attention in Gilgeous-Alexander.
The recently turned 23-year-old is aiming to maximize his time this preseason to smooth the transition to his new system. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault believes those opportunities have been important for Stirtz and the rest of the group.
"He has got great moxie and clearly is used to being with the ball in his hands in pressure situations: Shooting big shots, having to make big plays," Daigneault said. "It has been a feature of his career to this point. A lot of the things he is learning are new for him, but that isn't new for him, so he is clearly comfortable in those situations. He played 37 minutes; there are a lot of possessions in there, a lot of experiences in there that he can learn from and continue to grow from."
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praises Bennett Stirtz's moxie as point guard
