Setting a screen for Bennett Stirtz, Aday Mara rolled to the rim. The two first-round picks connected. The seven-footer capped off the textbook pick-and-roll play as he barely needed to jump off the hardwood to get an easy layup. Even with a lopsided scoreboard, those two made this a fun watch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder remain winless in the July extravaganza. They fell in a 104-79 Summer League loss to the Golden State Warriors. That said, Mara and Stirtz looked much more comfortable. That’s all you can ask for at this event.
In a matchup between two former Michigan teammates, Mara one-upped Yaxel Lendeborg — who’s been a Summer League darling. The former blocked the latter on a second-chance look. Even with the Thunder falling behind early, his play left you encouraged. They were in a 27-16 deficit after the first quarter.
The second frame probably saw Mara’s best stretch in Summer League. He backed down Lachlan Olbrich in the post. A couple of power-dribbles later, he went up for the one-handed jam. Later on, he went at Graham Ike in the post. This time, on a turnaround jumper he was fouled on. The Thunder scored 22 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 53-38 deficit.
The second half was much of the same story. The Thunder stayed behind by double-digit points. Will Richard knocked down an outside jumper to make it a 63-43 contest with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. At that point, the Thunder were in a 20-point hole just three minutes into the second half. Any intrigue from this game — in terms of the final result — was lost early on.
Mara and Stirtz ran some pick-and-roll action. Both had double-digit points after the third quarter. With just 18 points in the frame, the Thunder were in a 73-56 hole. As has been the case in all of OKC’s Summer League fourth quarters, the final 10 minutes were pretty skippable. Both sides had the end of the bench play out most of it.
The Thunder put up 23 points in the final frame. They trailed by as many as 26 points. Thanks to the shortened games in Summer League, this one didn’t overstay its welcome at under two hours. Even with a second half filled with choppiness and fouls every other possession.
The Thunder shot 44% from the field and went 8-of-30 (26.7%) from 3. They shot 6-of-12 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 30 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Mara finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Stirtz had 13 points and two assists. Payton Sandfort dropped 11 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Warriors shot 44% from the field and went 15-of-41 (36.6%) from 3. They shot 11-of-13 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 34 baskets. Six Warriors players scored double-digit points.
Lendeborg had 14 points and four assists. Ike finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Nick Boyd and Olbrich each scored 14 points apiece. Lajae Jones and Chance McMillian both scored 10 points apiece off the bench as well.
We’re a little over a week in and it’s pretty obvious the Thunder just aren’t rostering a talented group in this year’s Summer League roster. And the top two billing names are perhaps being asked to do too much and in the wrong roles. That said, this was about as good as it gets for OKC. Mara finally showed out. Stirtz continues to look even more comfortable.
That’s kinda the whole point of Summer League. You want to see incremental improvement throughout the two weeks. Even if there’s not much sustainable to take away from these sets of games, it’s always a plus to see your top picks conjure up a bundle of highlights. Even if the Thunder have had all blowout losses.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Aday Mara: A-minus
Demanding the ball in the post, Mara licked his chops at the one-on-one matchup with Olbrich. He power-dribbled underneath the rim. Elbowing some wiggle room, the 7-foot-3 titan went up for the animated two-handed dunk. Nobody on Golden State had a prayer to stop him.
Mara finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws. He also had one block.
That’s one way to shut up the critics. After Mara had a complete no-show last time — with folks wondering his long-term fit in the NBA — he reminded skeptics why he was in the lottery conversation for months. His best Summer League outing showed that you can’t teach size. Especially when you tower over most of the NBA sans one guy.
Busy in the middle quarters, Mara flipped the switch as a scorer. He wasn’t required to be a scoring machine at Michigan. Rather, he played within the flow of the offense. But in this Summer League matchup against his former college teammate, he asked for the ball deep in the post. A sight most Thunder fans have been begging to see.
You saw why their outcries were vindicated, though. Mara bullied his way to the rim. His size overwhelmed any Golden State defender. When that didn’t happen, the Thunder finally cracked the code at throwing the ball up in the air on his rolls to the rim. He even showed off his jumper with an outside attempt and a turnaround fadeaway jumper.
Elsewhere, Mara had the chance to be at the wheel in OKC’s offense. He helped with his secondary playmaking. He was also a monster on the boards. Something that’s a must for him to improve on. While mostly having positives, the 21-year-old still showed he had things to work on. Such as his ball security. Can’t turn it over at the rate he’s had so far as a center.
That said, you’re very encouraged by what Mara showed. After how bad he was last game, his response would be very telling. At least in terms of what his intangibles are made of. Against Lendeborg — who’s been showered with praise for his scoring output in this environment — he outplayed him in their one-on-one matchup.
OH MY ADAY 😤 pic.twitter.com/apYdQv1i9h
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 12, 2026
Lob incoming ‼️ pic.twitter.com/5FhoQE2roQ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 12, 2026
Bennett Stirtz: B-plus
Swishing in a couple of one-legged jumpers, Stirtz has grown fully comfortable. It took about a week, but we finally reached the part of Summer League where his shot-making talents have translated over to another level of competition. That’s four years in a row now.
Stirtz finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, two assists and one rebound. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws.
We’re now seeing what Stirtz looks like in an ideal setting. He’s let his scoring do the talking for him. In a variety of ways, too. Even though he only made one outside jumper, the volume was encouraging. He did it both in catch-and-shoot ways as well as creating his own stepback looks.
Within the perimeter, Stirtz showed he can finish through traffic with a driving layup. His chemistry continues to improve with Mara. They both fed each other buckets. Finally, the Thunder are highlighting their two-man game. Took longer than anticipated, but their rapport has improved with each rep.
At this point, Stirtz has shown he can reach double-digit points by running mostly elementary stuff. The Thunder have put the ball in his hands more often as we’ve progressed through Summer League. Interested to see what else he can do for the rest of the way. But at the halfway mark, the 22-year-old has given you tangible evidence he can help OKC’s offense function.
B3️⃣nnett 🎯 pic.twitter.com/h7guL8kHhx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 12, 2026
Payton Sandfort: B-minus
Swishing in the fadeaway jumper, Sandfort showed he’s not a one-trick pony. Even when the outside jumper isn’t falling, he showed he can stuff the box score in other ways. The 24-year-old continues to be one of the more consistent players for the Thunder in this Summer League.
Sandfort finished with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He shot 1-of-4 from 3.
The outside jumper betrayed him, but Sandfort showed he can help in other ways. A couple of timely cuts helped him get layups. He also swished in a couple of mid-range jumpers. Scoring points has proven to be a grit-your-teeth task for this year’s Thunder Summer League squad. So it’s nice to see at least one guy who can help in that department.
Consistency has been Sandfort’s friend this Summer League. You can bank on double-digit points. Even if he’s off the bench and with limited touches. Honestly, he’s outplayed all three of OKC’s two-way players. Will be interesting to see if he garners interest elsewhere for one of those prestigious spots.
Brooks Barnhizer: C-minus
Cutting baseline, Barnhizer helped Mara get another assist with a driving layup. That duo’s chemistry has improved with each possession. Just last game, they had a loud miscue as the ball sailed out of bounds. Now, they’ve learned each other’s tendencies a little more.
Barnhizer finished with six points on 3-of-6 shooting, five rebounds and one assist. He also had one steal and one block.
Honestly, kinda difficult to figure out who else to write about. Mara and Stirtz were awesome. But the rest of the Thunder were pretty meh. At least Barnhizer looked better in a downsized role. They’ve kinda put him in a bad spot for most of Summer League as the primary ball-handler. But in this game, he looked a lot more comfortable as an off-ball cutter.
That role suits Barnhizer a lot better. He’s a small-ball forward, not a playmaker. The less, the better for him. You can’t even get too mad at his mistakes when he’s run the offense because that isn’t his strength. He was asked to do a lot more than you could reasonably expect because of the rest of OKC’s Summer League roster.
Look out for Brooks 👀 pic.twitter.com/NKG7ELMxTc
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 12, 2026
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Mara shines in Thunder’s 104-79 Summer League loss to Warriors
About the Author
