Thunder rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz push for rotation spots as Daigneault keeps door open

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oct. 14, 2026 — The Oklahoma City Thunder have one preseason game left, Thursday at Houston, and their two first-round rookies have turned the last open rotation question into a real one. Asked after Tuesday’s 114-112 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers whether Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz will be in the regular-season rotation, coach Mark Daigneault did not lock either player in, but he did not shut the door either.

“It’s fluid night to night, so it’s not something that you lock into or are completely out of,” Daigneault said, in comments recorded by Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire. “But I trust those two guys.”

Mark Daigneault on if Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz will be in the regular season rotation: “It's fluid night to night, so it's not something that you lock into or are completely out of. But I trust those two guys.” pic.twitter.com/8MhFr8dqFN

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 14, 2026

What the rookies have put on tape

Mara, the No. 12 pick out of Michigan, made all 15 of his field-goal attempts across his first two exhibitions, totaling 34 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, ClutchPoints noted. With the veterans held back for Monday’s trip to Atlanta, the Thunder ran much of their offense through him, and he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 113-110 loss to the Hawks. Daigneault said playmaking “hasn’t been the foundational priority” of Mara’s development so far, but that the rookie had handled his core work well enough to earn a night of the team playing through him.

Back with the regular rotation on Tuesday, Mara went 4-of-5 from the field for 10 points with four rebounds and three blocks in about 19 minutes, according to the NBA.com box score, and the Thunder were plus-12 while he played. He also opened the second half alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Josh Dix. The one clear work item is the free-throw line, where he was 13-of-17 through his first three games before a 2-for-2 night on Tuesday. “That’s something that we’re working on with him,” Daigneault said before the Pacers game. “We’re trying to help him build a skillset that can sustain over the course of a long career.”

Stirtz, the No. 16 pick from Iowa, has been the shooter of the pair. He scored 26 points with six threes in Atlanta and entered Tuesday 13-of-22 from deep. A quieter seven-point night against Indiana leaves him at 68 points in four games, or 17.0 per game, and 14-of-26 from three. Daigneault has praised his “moxie,” saying the guard is clearly used to having the ball in pressure situations, even as he learns to play more off the ball next to Gilgeous-Alexander.

Where the minutes would come from

That is the hard part. Oklahoma City’s frontcourt already runs through Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams, so Mara’s path is most likely as the backup big if he keeps forcing the issue. Stirtz is competing in a guard group that includes Wallace, Jared McCain, who led the Thunder with 20 points on Tuesday, and Alex Caruso. Daigneault’s “night to night” answer suggests both rookies could move in and out depending on matchups rather than holding a fixed role on opening night.

The Thunder, 1-3 in the preseason, finish their exhibition slate at Houston on Thursday, Oct. 15. The regular season opens Tuesday, Oct. 20, at San Antonio, in a rematch of last spring’s Western Conference finals.