The Thunder's Unsung HERO has arrived...

The Thunder, they currently have an unsung hero who has been flying underneath the radar while the team drowns in early season injuries. But with OKC in a sink or swim situation, a veteran presence has rose to the surface, rose to the occasion. And today on Thunder Digest, we are singing the praises of Kenny Hustle. Specifically, we're going to go into how Kenrich Williams is proving exactly why Sam Presti chose to retain him this past season. Over the likes of Lou Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and we're going to be going into how Kenny Hustle has been keeping the Thunder upright early season. All today here on Thunder Digest, home to the best community on Thunder social media across all platforms, and we have a goal to hit 11,000 subscribers by Thanksgiving. If you're already subscribed, well, we're thankful for you this holiday, and if not, make sure you subscribe before this holiday to help us hit this goal and to join our great community. Catch our pre-games. Post games, live streams during the games, all your Thunder content, all in one easy, convenient place. And without any further ado, we're jumping into Kenrich Williams, how he steps into OKC starting role amidst a bunch of injuries that happened early this year. And we're going to get into how he's been performing. But Kenrich Williams, he works in the starting lineup. In fact, he works in any lineup, according to Mark Dagnall. You can kind of put him on the court with anybody in any position, and he can just Merge into that, and we have seen Kenrich Williams, a very malleable player, do this a lot throughout his career, coming off the bench, being integrated into different lineups, but early season action this year, different story. He's had to have heavy minutes played. He's had to be in the starting lineup multiple times, and most importantly, he has delivered. Take a look at the performance that this guy has put on. 50% from behind the arc is the big thing of notice early on, but in 18 minutes per game, He has been very, very solid in all areas. Both sides of the glass, he's been good. He's been playmaking without turning the ball over. And this guy, you know, been a good addition to a very depleted OKC team. He has, in all ways about it, been the unsung hero of this team. He's been able to put on so many different masks for OKC. He played the five a couple years ago, quite a bit as a small ball center. And in the years between then and now, played a limited role, but was a staple in the locker room. and a huge part of team cohesion, one of the best chemistry teams and deepest teams in the league, it makes sense that Kenrich Williams, well, he was kind of lost in the mix for a little bit there, but we see him rise to the surface. We see him getting his shine now. As of late, he's been scoring more and more and more. He's went from 11 points to 12 points to 13 points in his most recent games, hitting a pair of threes in each of those games, over 50%. He has been a good factor. Mainly in the scoring department for us. That's where he's picked it up. But rebounding the basketball, he's been very effective. Defending, he's been very effective. This guy has just been servicing us in all of the areas that we needed with this lengthy injury report that we currently have. The left column, Case, Chet, J-Dub, those are our guys that are out through the new year. And the right side, Topage, Sorber, those are our, you know, habitual spectators, we call that section. And this team, they just had to have guys step up, had to have a guy like Kenrich Williams, Who you can plug and play in so many different roles on a team where he says about it, everything just comes natural. So whatever I'm put at, position I'm put at, I'll adapt. Whether that's on the wing or playing a big position, I'll adapt. And you have to admire his commitment to fulfilling whatever role the team needs. But as of late, make no mistake, they have needed his surge in the scoring department and his shooting. It is surging with more minutes being played, more time on the court, and more rhythm. Really is what I think the big thing is for Kenny Hustle, who has gone from scoring three points in each of the first couple games this season to almost averaging 10 points a game over the last three games he's scored double digits, and this is coming with a huge minute jump. He's playing 24 minutes a game, over half of the game. In the last couple of contests, because the team has needed it. They've had guys out there who have not played heavy NBA minutes. So having a guy with at least NBA experience like Kenrich Williams, who has been very, very overperforming of, you know, his contract when he came into the season, thinking his role would require of him. And he has just stepped up to the plate and no questions asked this early into the season and just delivered time and time again for OKC, consistent shooting, good defense, good rebounding. So I asked you guys. Can Kenrich Williams sustain this bigger role with the OKC team, giving us a good, you know, third of the game, 16, 18, 20 minutes, even with guys coming back? Or is this something that they're leaning on more with the injuries, his court time? And is it something that you don't think is sustainable? Because when I take a look at what he's doing with SGA out there, what he's doing without SGA out there, we're seeing that he is an impactful shooter. Whether SGA is out there or not, SGA is not the one really creating these looks for Kenrich as much as he is for a lot of the other guys that we see in the lineup. And Kenrich Williams is a little bit better of a playmaker in an interior scoring presence whenever SGA is on the floor. But this is a guy who, like Mark Dagnall talked about, can be serviceable with really anybody on the floor that you put alongside of him. And this year, he has really stepped up to the occasion whenever the team has counted on him to provide good minutes. Because usually, he's a leader guy. And don't get me wrong. His leadership has evolved. And Mark Daigneault says he's still as impactful of a leader. And a lot more of it is by example, which we're seeing now. Him getting out on the court, getting his hands dirty, and really, you know, talking the talk and then walking the walk out there, going out there and just performing for the team, giving that hustle. I mean, it's his nickname. Day in, day out, night in, night out. And you know that he supports the main guy up top. Shea looking for his third straight MVP. And Kenrich Williams says he knows Shea is going to show up every single night. So everybody else has to fall in line as well. And that leadership, that's also a big reason, you know, Kenrich Williams taking that initiative, holding guys accountable. That's that OKC culture. And one of the reasons that they brought him back. Because OKC, they didn't re-sign Kenrich Williams just for nostalgic purposes. Or, you know, even just his leadership, but it's a big part of it. First of all, he just brings a great edge to the game, is what Mark Daigneault had to say. And an edge is the perfect way to describe Kenrich Williams. He has such a, you know, sharp edge to him when he steps on the court, rebounding the ball with tenacity. You know, everything he does is just with purpose. And that carries over into the other guys and, you know, inspires good play from the other guys, whether it's from the starting lineup down to the bench. All places that, you know. Kenrich Williams has found himself in the lineup, and just this past offseason, they reached terms for a new contract with Kenrich, a free agent who reached an agreement to return to the Thunder on a one-year, $5 million deal this past offseason, and this was a deal that I'm very happy did get done for OKC. A lot of salary restrictions and question marks regarding second apron, luxury tax over this summer, but Kenrich Williams, one of the guys who was able to be retained by Presti, proves his importance alone, that he is the stamp for this process, this dynasty window that we have, and especially this dynasty window that we thought would include this year, coming into this year, still could, you know, if we have some things break the right way, we stay competitive over these injuries, and then have some guys return at the right time, but for right now, you know, we have to just go to work every day, and that is something Kenrich Williams himself embodied. He said the reason he stayed in OKC, the reason he loves OKC so much, well, that would be It'll be the environment, the culture. And the people he works with every single day, getting in the building, grinding. And Kenny Hustle is one of the guys at OKC who started that, you know, culture. And him making $5 million a year, I'm just going to say that alone is well worth it, just for the leadership he's providing. Especially when you compare it to the fact that, you know, Thomas Sorber is also making $5 million a year. And Kenrich Williams is definitely out there providing more for us right now. And even in the leader presence thing, just him being one of the only two people on this roster above the age of 30. That alone is going to bring value and just maturity to this insanely young team, which includes guys under 23, Bennett Sturridge, McCain, Dick, Wallace, Topich, Mara, Sorbert. Half the roster is 23 and under. And then you also have a big group of guys, J-Dub, AJ, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Brooks, Jalen Terry, all 24 to 25. So the majority of this team, 25 and under, this team came into the year. The second youngest team by average age, and this team, I mean, they're competitive. They're going to have to be able to stay level-headed to be able to stay. Winning night after night. And that's what it boils down to. And you can't miss a season in SGH's prime in this dynasty championship window because of these injuries. And yeah, you have Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, J-Dub out. Three of your five starters out until the new year. And the unsung hero, the guy who stepped up, well, it's none other than Kenny Hustle. Kenny Hustle, well, I mean, other players obviously had to step up as well. But the guy who has consistently been here for OKC since his integration into the starting lineup Kenny Hustle, he's hit threes, he's played defense, he's rebounded the ball, he's done everything that he's needed to do, and it makes me happy that OKC has brought him back, and he said he wanted to retire here, so he looks like if it works out for us, he'll be here to stay, talking about, ultimately, I've said it before, and I don't want to be anywhere else but here in OKC, and once again, speaking to our team's great culture, how they treat the families, everything in between, they want players, I mean, players want to play in OKC. You see it with the big three signing those deals. And yeah, two of the big three might be out with this team. They have bench guys that are able to keep this team competitive, running alongside Shea Gilgis-Alexander. And through this fire, through this early season storm, we will prevail Thunder up. This team is so deep. We've talked about it for the past two, two and a half years, probably about how everybody on this team, one through 15 could seriously hoop on the NBA court. And well, it's being put to the test. And so far, Thunder took back-to-back wins against the Cavs. They're sitting at 6-2, taking on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. So make sure that you're subscribed to Thunder Digest to get our live stream postgame from the Grizzlies game and to stay up to date with all of your OKC news. As I asked you on the way out the door, can Kenny Hustle hold down this role until OKC gets healthy, which I would establish as like January when Chet Holmgren is supposed to come back. If you want to call it like the playoffs in March whenever Cason, whenever Jalen Williams might be, you know, gearing up towards playing basketball again. But I want to know, guys, is Kenny Hustle ready to hold this down throughout the next 50-plus games for the season? Because the Thunder, well, they might need it. They've been grinding out some wins against a quality team in the Cavaliers. But this team is going to need to stay afloat across well over half of the season without a lot of big guys, probably towards the All-Star break. We're here to keep you posted with everything in between now, then all your Thunder news all in one place here on Thunder Digest. Me and Ryan, we're bringing you guys that daily content, and we couldn't be more excited to do it. And we humbly ask you to join our great community. We're trying to hit 11K by Thanksgiving, and we're only 174 subscribers away. So you could be a big difference in helping us hit that mark. And I thank you just for watching this video all the way through, if you're still sticking around. This has been Gabriel Ebersole with Thunder Digest. I sincerely hope to see you in my next video, and until then, peace and love, my friends. All the way to the other side. All the way to the other side. It'll take nothing but 15, 20 minutes. Like, get something out of it. Like, y'all know how that ---- was last year for us? Like, push yourself right here. Oh, ----. Come on, you can do it. Come on, you can do it. Let's go.