The Oklahoma City Thunder held practice on Saturday. They're fresh off a badly-needed 105-86 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. But they must quickly turn the page as the high-scoring Cleveland Cavaliers come to town for a Sunday afternoon primetime matchup.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Isaiah Joe talked to the media after practice. Daigneault talked about bringing Jared McCain and Nikola Topic along. He also talked about Thomas Sorber's continuing rehab from a torn ACL.
Meanwhile, Joe talked about his growth on defense. He's stepped up in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's as a double-digit scorer. He's shown he can do more than just be a catch-and-shoot guy.
Here's what else happened at OKC's Saturday, Feb. 21 practice:
Thunder practice today. Will face the Cavaliers tomorrow afternoon in a primetime game pic.twitter.com/4pbvbddtsA
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
SGA getting ready to do some post-practice work as he continues to recover from an abdominal strain pic.twitter.com/1CHf6JUo4C
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Isaiah Joe on his defensive effort: “You don’t wanna be the weak link with this team that we have. We have tremendous defenders. We can almost always live and die on our defense.” pic.twitter.com/9rdCI4nWQB
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Isaiah Joe on his growth as a defender: “Being able to play off the guys who guard the main engines that the other teams have like Lu, AC and Caso. Knowing when to hedge on a screen. Knowing when to switch.” pic.twitter.com/eQXO1cLej2
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Isaiah Joe on OKC’s 3-point shooting game at practice: “I try to hold a mantle. You know who’s surprisingly good at the competitions? K-Rich. He’s stepped it up.” pic.twitter.com/cu5bxD8cDE
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Isaiah Joe on playing with Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams: “Their IQ. They know how to screen first off. They know when to hand the ball off and not to. They know when I’m about to back-cut and when I’m not.” pic.twitter.com/QtAer45JN0
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Mark Daigneault on the Cavaliers: “They’re playing great basketball right now. They’re playing as well as anybody in the league. The Harden trade has gone very well for them.” pic.twitter.com/wvKvGJaic1
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Mark Daigneault on integrating Jared McCain and Nikola Topic to the Thunder: “The lesson we’ve learned is there’s a lot to do. A lot of ground to cover. The more you try to accelerate that process or try to skip steps, you end up taking one step forward but two steps backwards.” pic.twitter.com/U0XoVZmBti
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Mark Daigneault on Jim Boeheim attending last night’s game. His son Buddy is on an OKC two-way deal: “I went to UConn. I was trained at a young age to hate Syracuse.” pic.twitter.com/zZvse4aYPX
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Mark Daigneault on Thomas Sorber’s recovery as he’s done more recently: “ACL injuries are tough and they take a lot of time but they’re also very predictable… A lot of people go through it and are better than they’ve ever been after they fully recover.” pic.twitter.com/ijBtug8IsH
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Mark Daigneault on Nikola Topic’s rim contest of Michael Porter Jr.: “We don’t want to hurt anybody. We don’t want to take flagrant ones. But it beats jumping out of the way.” pic.twitter.com/1xBjWbJgn7
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
Mark Daigneault on Isaiah Joe: “There’s way more to that guy’s game than his shooting. It’s obviously his elite skill. It’s the reason why he’s in the NBA. It’s the reason he goes in the game. But he gets a lot done out there.” pic.twitter.com/JMec4hoUbQ
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) February 21, 2026
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Recap: What happened at OKC Thunder's Saturday, Feb. 21 practice