Aday Mara may be what the Thunder need to stop Wemby
Aday Mara may be what the Thunder need to stop WembyYahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew breaks down the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as the Michigan center is heading to Oklahoma City.3:44Now PlayingPaused
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Aday Mara may be what the Thunder need to stop Wemby
Yahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew breaks down the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as the Michigan center is heading to Oklahoma City.
Video Transcript
I've been saying it all night, I think Adey Mara is the guy for OKC, potentially a, a guy you can put at, at Victor Wembanyama, not to slow him down or to stop him, but size for size, there's not many centers- Yeah in today's NBA draft, but he's one of them.
AdvertisementAdvertisementYeah.
Totally agree.
You've been big on Adey Mara.
Will this be his opportunity to head to OKC?
Adam Silver is at the podium, and look at that, Tom.
There it is.
On the money.
Let's go.
The 7'3"- That's big big, big man.
Talk about having great hands, pick and roll game.
We had talked about his numbers in the NCAA tournament went up another level, which just goes to show you that when the game was on the line, he played his best basketball.
I'll go back to you.
You have any, any left to words?
I mean, the, the play making.
They need a guy to take the load off of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Williams being hurt in the, in the Western Conference finals was so critical for them.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNo AJ Mitchell, no J Dub.
It really showed that they need another big who can play make.
And man, th- he's the best play making big in my mind- Yeah in a very long time.
I mean, the passes that you see, full court, 90 feet.
He catches a rebound and throws- it down the floor like Kevin Love, like, like Nikola Jokic.
He's got great touch around the basket, and I do think for him, I, I feel like getting with Chip, Engelland with OKC, a guy who is the, the shot whisperer, I need to see better shooting from, Mara at the next level.
And he landed in an organization that hired him away from, from the- Yeah San Antonio Spurs to make sure to sharpen all the shot mechanics from their wings, from their bigs.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd this is a perfect landing spot to for, for Adey Mara.
You said it, Tom, the word Chip Engelland.
Yes.
Name Chip Engelland.
Chip Engelland, perfect shooting coach for Mara to have.
A below 60% from free throws in college, non-three point shooter.
Hit a handful of them, but not too frequent.
Chip Engelland is the type of guy that can solve that.
But Tom, back to his point about the play making ability, of players 7'2" or taller in college basketball, the last player to have an assist percentage as high as Adey Mara did last year was Roy Hibbert in 2008- Ooh Hey, shout out to my big man at Georgetown.
So it's been a long time- Yeah we've seen- a play maker with size at this level with that frequency and volume that, that he did for Michigan last year.
And I think with him, sometimes you, you, you squint and you look, and you're like, this guy could be a potential star.
Yeah.
I do think there's star upside- Yeah with him, and there's still a high floor with him, with his massive size, a, a 7'6" wing span to protect the rim, play make on offense, finish loudly with the rim, finish with touch near the basket as well.
He's got a high floor.
But there's a chance this guy continues ascending and continues improving as a- Yes post score, figures out the jumper, to H- Tom Haverstro's point, and becomes one of the best bigs in the entire NBA.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd certainly for the Thunder, a perfect option to have in the next time we see the Spurs and the Thunder face off.
And isn't this what it's all about?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
Yes.
How do you win the NBA finals?
Yes.
How do you win again?
And Adey Mara is the type of guy that can help the Thunder do that.
I mean, just imagine in that front court when we have Chet at the four at 7', and then you have Mara in, at the five position at 7'3".
I mean, this young man averaged three blocks per game.
Mm-hmm.
He's an elite level rim protector, right?
May you like
So now when you have a guy like Mara, and you can slide Chet down to the four instead of Hardenstein- and now your defense goes to a different level.
When you're pressuring, now I gotta send everything to Mara at the rim, or Chet now becomes the secondary rim protector, oh my goodness
- Aday Mara may be what the Thunder need to stop WembyYahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew breaks down the 12th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as the Michigan center is heading to Oklahoma City.3:44Now PlayingPaused
- Thunder draft a 'Wemby stopper,' then Spurs counter amid 'arms race' in the West2:15Now PlayingPaused
- Why the Thunder might trade up in the NBA Draft2:07Now PlayingPaused
- Former Michigan standouts highlight best picks from Round 1 of the NBA Draft2:34Now PlayingPaused
- Will Mavericks draft one of top Michigan prospects after hiring Dusty May?2:12Now PlayingPaused
- Chet Holmgren & Oklahoma City have a Victor Wembanyama problem2:30Now PlayingPaused
- Post-lottery mock draft: Yaxel Lendeborg to the Thunder1:35Now PlayingPaused
