The Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites to win the West this year. Their success has been created through smart draft picks, as well as the emergence of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Thunder have slowly become a model organization through valuing necessity over talent. Among one of the Thunder's best draft decisions is Nick Collison. Collison had a storied career at Kansas before entering the NBA as the twelfth pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Seattle Supersonics. Since then, he has quietly become a valuable player on the Thunder.
Although his stats are not gaudy, they do demonstrate his effectiveness. He consistently shoots over 50 percent from the field and over 70 percent from the free-throw line, all while providing smart play offensively. He also sets great picks, which in turn sets up good looks for his teammates. Although his offense is nothing to sneeze at, his play defensively is really where he shines.
Again, he does not get a lot of stats on defense, but he is still effective defensively. He is not afraid of contact and is willing to do the dirty work down low. He is a smart defensive player who somehow always finds a way to se ...
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Article written by Kevin Hsu
2011-12 NBA Season: The Most Overlooked Member of the Oklahoma City Thunder
December 31st, 2011 by Kevin Hsu Leave a reply »
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