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Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls
2026-27 · Regular season
Aday Mara scores a career-high 18 and makes his first NBA three as the Thunder rookie grows into a bigger role
Thunder rookie Aday Mara scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds and three blocks in a 114-75 win over the Wizards, and made the first three-pointer of his NBA career.
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Aday Mara has been a regular in the Oklahoma City Thunder rotation since opening night. On Saturday he had the best game of his short NBA career: 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 27 minutes of a 114-75 win over the Washington Wizards at Paycom Center.
The 7-foot-3 rookie from Michigan, taken 12th overall by Oklahoma City in June, had never scored more than 11 points in a regular-season game. He also made the first three-pointer of his NBA career, a 25-footer in the fourth quarter on his first attempt of the season.
Mara’s first NBA three, with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter. Video via the Thunder on X.
A second start next to Hartenstein
Saturday was Mara’s second NBA start. Both have come alongside Isaiah Hartenstein, with Oklahoma City playing without Chet Holmgren (knee), Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace. The first was Wednesday against Cleveland, when he had 9 points and 3 blocks in 25 minutes.
He scored the first basket of the game on Saturday and blocked a Bilal Coulibaly layup in the first quarter. In the third, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set him up three times in just over two minutes: a pull-up jumper, then two dunks, the second of them an and-one. Mara added two more blocks in the second half, on Tre Johnson and Anthony Gill.
One of Mara’s three blocks against Washington. Video via the NBA on X.
The three came early in the fourth quarter, with Oklahoma City up 92-63. Bennett Stirtz found him for a 25-footer, and it dropped. He scored twice more before he checked out, on a running layup and a fadeaway jumper, and finished plus-17.
A bigger role in November
Through six October games, Mara averaged 5.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 17.8 minutes. In four November games he is averaging 11.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 22.5 minutes, shooting 21 of 29 from the field. He has 19 blocks in 10 games this season, including four in the loss at Houston on Oct. 31.
Oklahoma City has won four straight and is 8-2, tied with the Spurs and Lakers for the best record in the West entering Sunday.
Mark Daigneault and Kenrich Williams on Mara after the win. Video via the Thunder on X.
“It’s been really consistent,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s played impactful minutes every single night, which is hard to do for a rookie player, especially at that position.”
Kenrich Williams, who has started next to Mara in both of his starts, said the rookie has been “evolving in front of our eyes.”
“He’s gonna keep getting better. There’s still areas where he can grow,” Williams said. “But I’m just super proud of his growth so far. And the three-pointer was kind of icing on the cake.”
The Thunder are off until Tuesday night, when they open a two-game set at Portland.
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