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Player grades for the Oklahoma City Thunder's 86-82 Summer League loss to the Utah Jazz.

After scrambling following a turnover, Nikola Topic dotted a side pass to Chris Youngblood. As the final seconds ticked away, his outside attempt clanked off the rim. That proved to be OKC's final chance of a comeback attempt as Utah collected the miss and dribbled the clock out.

The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn't erase an 18-point deficit in their 86-82 Summer League loss to the Utah Jazz. As the saying goes, basketball is a game of runs. That was especially exemplified in this exhibition.

Both teams exchanged swing runs in the second half. The Jazz would score five straight buckets. Then the Thunder would answer right back. The lead tracker had sharp ups and downs. Ajay Mitchell drew Jamal Murray comparisons from the broadcast with a strong start.

The Thunder had a 25-22 lead after the first quarter. Mitchell had 11 points from the jump. He's been OKC's best scorer in Utah. The points then came to a screeching halt. The scoreboard was frozen for most of the second frame. The Jazz scored 17 points to enter halftime with a 39-36 lead.

On one of the deepest Summer League teams, Kyle Filipowski was the best player on the floor. He had a 12-point double-double at the break. He was a rebound machine and cleaned up several Jazz misses. The Thunder's lack of size was exposed.

After a forgettable first half, both the Thunder and Jazz had an entertaining second half. They made basketball sickos who stayed up to watch this contest feel like they made the right decision. In a game filled with runs, Utah had the biggest one with 20 straight points.

While Thunder fans were glued to their phone screen as Alex Ducas' decision to return to the NBL broke online, the Jazz slowly flipped a small deficit into a double-digit lead. They scored 34 points in the third quarter. Suddenly, OKC was in a 73-57 deficit. It felt all but over.

Then, almost as if he learned there was a two-way spot open, Malevy Leons had his best stretch in the Summer League. A bunch of steal-and-score plays chipped away at Utah's lead. The Thunder made it a single-digit deficit. Youngblood knocked down a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to make it a 73-66 contest less than two minutes into the fourth frame.

The Thunder opened the fourth quarter on a 15-2 run. Leons' layup cut Utah's lead to 75-72. Later on, he scored a transition layup and a catch-and-shoot outside look to continue his hot streak. Brooks Barnhizer swished in an outside look on the next possession to give the Thunder an 80-79 lead with a little under three minutes left.

Just like that, the Thunder had the lead. Alas, they only scored two more points the rest of the way. The Jazz finished on a 7-2 run to avoid a meltdown. Walter Clayton Jr. and Elijah Harkless hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give them the go-ahead lead.

The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 7-of-21 (33.3%) from 3. They shot 9-of-14 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 33 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Mitchell finished with 19 points and eight assists. Leons had 17 points and five rebounds. Barnhizer tallied 12 points and six rebounds. Nikola Topic was quiet with seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

Meanwhile, the Jazz shot 38% from the field and went 14-of-39 (35.9%) from 3. They shot 16-of-19 on free throws. They had 19 assists on 28 baskets. Three Jazz players scored double-digit points.

Filipowski totaled 18 points and 15 rebounds. Clayton Jr. had 20 points and four assists. Harkless finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

This was some good basketball. For the Summer League at least. A juxtaposition to the first night of OKC's back-to-back. Mitchell and Barnhizer stood out. Some of the possible OKC Blue candidates also had solid outings after barely making an impact. Meanwhile, it was good to see the Thunder be competitive with the Jazz, who basically played their regular season rotation with how young their roster is.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Ajay Mitchell: A

Not getting pushed around, Mitchell exchanged words with Adama Sanogo. Things got chippy between the two players and received double technical fouls. The usually-mannered Mitchell showed off in his Utah stay that he was the top dog of OKC's Summer League roster.

Mitchell finished with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, eight assists and five rebounds. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 5-of-7 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Against a deep Jazz squad with several blue-chip prospects, Mitchell looked like the best player on the floor. He was relentless in his attacks on the basket. That's why his free-throw numbers have jumped in the summer exhibitions. He battled through fatigue and defenders to get to the cup.

Once Mitchell had the opposing defense think about that, his jumper showed out. A couple of stepback jumpers swished in. It was the purest his shot has looked through the three Summer League games. Utah couldn't slow down the 23-year-old.

This was also Mitchell's best playmaking outing. He was a pick-and-roll maestro. He found plenty of his rollers for easy looks. He even found off-ball cutters and kick-outs. The NBA champion has shown how easy the Summer League is after playing in the NBA Finals less than a month ago.

Ajay wasted no time and got right to work 💼 pic.twitter.com/877MDwsIbO
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 9, 2025

Nikola Topic: D

Still getting used to playing on an NBA court, this was the most obvious Topic has looked like somebody who was out of basketball for over a year. Signs of fatigue were there from the jump as the Thunder played three games in four nights. The 19-year-old looked overwhelmed.

Topic finished with seven points on 3-of-12 shooting, five rebounds and four assists. He shot 0-of-5 from 3 and went 1-of-1 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Credit to the Jazz, they made Topic look uncomfortable as a ball-handler. Ball security has been a problem in the Summer League so far. That was piled on with eight turnovers. He was pressured early on and forced to play an off-ball role, which could be his biggest weakness.

If Topic doesn't have the ball, he roams around the halfcourt. Utah welcomed his jumpers. When they don't fall, it could result in some bad misses. That'll be something he'll need to work on if he wants to be a productive NBA player.

Tough take & tough finish from Topić 😤 pic.twitter.com/6E0Mjzh7vz
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 9, 2025

Perfect timing 🤌 pic.twitter.com/nZDOq3oxhE
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 9, 2025

Brooks Barnhizer: A

Knocking down a couple of catch-and-shoot outside looks, Barnhizer previewed what his best-case scenario could look like. One game after a forgettable outing, the 23-year-old bounced back with his best Summer League game yet.

Barnhizer finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, six rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-2 from 3. He also had two steals and two blocks.

While plus-minus can't be overly relied upon, Barnhizer's plus-22 in 26 minutes tells a pretty accurate story. He was active on both ends. In transition, he ran up the court to get good looks. Throw in his extra-effort defense, and this is how he can beat the odds and carve out an NBA career.

The Thunder must love Barnhizer's defensive energy. He has an endless battery strapped to his back on that end. The stats are nice, but they only tell what happens on a handful of possessions. Whether staying on his assignment or providing help, the two-way rookie has gone all out.

Ajay 🤝 Brooks
Brooks 🤝 Ajay pic.twitter.com/wM53iyOO0s
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 9, 2025

Malevy Leons: A

Somebody must've broken the Ducas news to Leons at halftime. The 25-year-old started in all three Summer League games, but I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't know that. He had a very forgettable first two games, where he became invisible on the court.

That's not what you want to see if you're fighting for your NBA aspirations. But to Leons' credit, he made up for lost time in the second half. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-1 from 3 and 2-of-4 on free throws. He also had five steals.

Doing his best TJ McConnell impersonation, Leons single-handedly ramped up the Thunder's comeback attempt. Steal-and-score. Steal-and-score. Steal-and-score. Full-court presses saw Utah turn it over several times to help OKC shave away its deficit.

Leons scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. A highly-contested deep 3-pointer was his most impressive bucket. The 6-foot-9 forward leveraged his length to poke the ball out of Utah ball-handlers and get easy buckets. His fourth quarter made up for his first two-and-a-half Summer League games.

The Thunder have one two-way spot left. Barnhizer and Branden Carlson occupy the other two. With Ducas' departure, Leons has a serious shot to grab it. He spent last year on the G League's OKC Blue squad and has some familiarity with the Thunder.