It’s been so long since I’ve been able to make a highlight video of Nerlens Noel that I don’t think I’ve even gotten the chance to talk about his decision to bet on himself and pass up a huge contract in hopes of getting an even huger one after a successful season.
Spoiler alert: his season was not successful, and now he’s playing for peanuts. Bad decision in retrospect for him, but you can’t blame a guy for being confident, even if that guy has a significant injury history that makes it unlikely that he plays for a full season.
So, the Mavericks dodged a bullet, but the Thunder get a still-young springy big on a good contract. Everyone wins! Except for Noel. He also kind of wins though because he gets to play for a surefire playoff team. Right? This is the part where you laugh derisively because the Thunder were supposed to be good and look like poop instead.
The Thunder have finally won a game, and it’s thanks to Noel (and the Suns being horrawful). 20 points is 20 points even if the opposing centers have no idea how to stop you from dunking. It’s not his fault that he got so many nice looks. He also grabbed a ton of rebounds, apparently this is his first ever 20-15 game? Good for him. I want him to succeed, and I’m sure a lot of fans around the league do as well.