A member of the Oklahoma City Blue, a G-League team affiliated with the Thunder, French pivot Olivier Sarr signed a ten-day contract with the NBA franchise, like two other players, in order to compensate for absences linked to the coronavirus.
For a few days, at least, there will be a twelfth more French player on the NBA floors. While Sekou Doumbouya failed to convince the Los Angeles Lakers and was recently cut off by the California franchise, Olivier Sarr will have his chance for a minimum of ten days under the colors of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Indeed, the Oklahoma franchise announced that the pivot signed a short-term contract as part of the measures taken by the North American League allowing teams to strengthen their squads in the event of the spread of the coronavirus.
The Frenchman, who had not been selected in the last draft after having played at university level with Wake Forest then the University of Kentucky, took advantage of the absences of Darius Bazley, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aleksej Pokusevski to join the workforce Thunder and, thus, discover the NBA. This promotion, admittedly temporary and limited in time, is a real reward for Olivier Sarr. The native of Niort is 7.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists on average per game during the fourteen games he has played under the colors of the Oklahoma City Blue. With an average playing time of 14.1 minutes, the 22-year-old has a shooting efficiency of 52.2%.
It is now up to him to take this opportunity to demonstrate his qualities in the “big league”, to become the 38th French representative to set foot on the court, alongside two other players also playing in the G-League this season. Indeed, two leaders or full-backs also switch from the secondary league to the main league with ten-day contracts. Rob Edwards and Scotty Hopson will accompany Olivier Sarr to compensate for the too many absences in this sector of play at the Thunder.
