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Malevy Leons with Oklahoma City

I think him linking up with OKC is both terrible in some ways and but also great eventually for him.

In the short run, getting picked up by arguably the best team in the NBA is not going to present the same opportunities as there would if he played with a bad team.

But it's great for him in the long run because he's getting so much more exposure versus riding the pine on the bench and playing 3 min a game on a bad team.
 
BUBraves2006 said:
I think him linking up with OKC is both terrible in some ways and but also great eventually for him.

In the short run, getting picked up by arguably the best team in the NBA is not going to present the same opportunities as there would if he played with a bad team.

But it's great for him in the long run because he's getting so much more exposure versus riding the pine on the bench and playing 3 min a game on a bad team.
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I believe you are right. OKC Thunder have a ton of young talent, so it's keeping Malevy at the G-League level. And that does give him the opportunity to play a lot and display his talents. With how well he is producing, he's in no danger of being released any time soon.
Also, he is on a standard G-League contract now, which means he'll get scouted by a lot of NBA scouts and could get signed by any other team in the NBA.
 
in international play- FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers
Netherlands 81 - Bulgaria 70, Malevy 7 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal, 1 block in 22 min
Netherlands is now 2-0 in the qualifiers and their next game is August 13 vs. Austria

Valpo transfer All Wright plays for Mexico in the FIBA Americas 2027
 
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Da Coach said:
Malevy had another excellent game for the Netherlands in World Cup Pre-Qualifiers with 15 points and 8 rebounds in an 83-70 loss to Austria.
Netherlands is 2-1 in their group with one more game to play in the pre-qualifying round. They still have a good chance of advancing.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1955742365504954543
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Bulgaria helps Netherlands' chances of winning Group F by knocking off Austria today, 87-78.
If Netherlands beats Bulgaria on Wednesday, they will win their group and advance.
 
yoda said:
Bulgaria helps Netherlands' chances of winning Group F by knocking off Austria today, 87-78.
If Netherlands beats Bulgaria on Wednesday, they will win their group and advance.
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Good news so far
mid-3rd quarter, Netherlands is up by 8

Game is being streamed live for free
www.fiba.basketball

Netherlands vs Bulgaria - Second Round - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers | FIBA Basketball

Netherlands vs Bulgaria - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball


update- end of 3rd quarter - Netherlands 67 - Bulgaria 55
The three refs are from Spain, Germany & Norway, with the Norwegian ref very highly respected in FIBA competition

update- 77-60 mid 4th qtr, Dutch are hot from outside - Keye van der Vurst with 20 pts, Malevy has 8
Tristan Enaruna with 16 (played for Kansas, Iowa State and Cleveland State, brother of Evansville's Iyen Enaruna)

update- under 5 minutes left, Netherlands leads 84-62.
A win secures 1st place in Group F of FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers for 2027, and they advance.


Final- Netherlands 97 - Bulgaria 70
Netherlands trailed by as much as 7 early on and did not take a lead until nearly halftime, but steadily stretched out their lead to as much as 27.
The game was still a 4-point game with 1:35 left in the 3rd period, but that's when Malevy's team got hot and cruised.
Malevy's stat line 10pts in 23:37 minutes, 2 reb, 1 steal- but he also contributed great defense, several deflections and created jump balls.

Of the 12 teams currently competing to advance to further qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Switzerland, and now Netherlands have qualilfied and move on. Slovakia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Norway have been eliminated.
The next rounds of play begins November 27. Netherlands will face Latvia on Friday November 28, then Poland on Dec. 1, then Austria Feb. 28 & March 1, 2026, Latvia again on July 3, 2026, Poland July 6, 2026, then all games thereafter (in Aug, Nov & Feb/Mar of 2026 & 2027) depend on the results of the November, February/March and July 2025/26 rounds. Locations are yet to be determined.
 
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yoda said:
....Netherlands will face Latvia on Friday November 28, then Poland on Dec. 1....
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one result of marginal interest- today in a friendly international game, future Netherlands opponent Poland faced Finland.
Some of Ville Tahvanainen's former National team mates played for Finland (Valtonen, former Illini Jacob Grandison)
And, for the 2nd time in 4 days, Finland clobbered Poland. Former Drake Bulldog Dominik Olejnikzak had 4pt for Poland.
In another friendly game, Latvia appears to be fairly strong, they beat Italy 83-68.
 
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The Oklahoma City Thunder just played their first preseason exhibition with a lot ofplaying time for younger guys..
OKC won 135-114

Malevy played (vs Charlotte Hornets) 23 minutes, was 3-7, 3-4 from 3-pt, and had the only double-double in the game...
11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block

Box score - LINK
 
Thunder lose as just about everyone had an off game, although to their credit they did battle back
from a 30 point deficit to get within 6 in the final quarter but in a literal foul-fest, the Mavs
went 27-30 from the FT line
Malevy 5 pts, 4 reb, 2 steals in a little over 20 minutes but hampered by foul trouble
 
Solid game again for Malevy tonite
Thunder win 122-116 over the Hornets, Malevy was 4-6, 10 pts, 4 reb
 
Bummer-
Malevy Leons just got waived by the Oklahoma City Thumder and won't be on their opening day roster.
He will again be playing with the OKC Blue G-League team
LINK
 
It's very unusual, but I believe only one player who played a significant part of last years NBA Championship team left. That was Dillon Jones, who played in 54 games, but was traded over the summer. Another player, Adam Flagler, who spent most of the season with the OKC Blue team, but did play about 5 minutes per game in 37 games for the Thunder, left via free agency. Other than that, they return every other player from their championship team. Plus, they have their 1st and 2nd round 2025 draft picks and an undrafted free agent added on their active roster. So unfortunately, Malevy is a victim of the numbers. Hopefully with injuries and other changes, he will get a chance with the Thunder some time this season.
 
Da Coach said:
unfortunately, Malevy is a victim of the numbers. Hopefully with injuries and other changes, he will get a chance with the Thunder some time this season.
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I hope so! He sure looked good last night. He did not get many minutes but they played him the last ten minutes during which time they came back from 15 down to win. He scored seven points while take only one shot, and contributed in a lot of ways.
 
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