2024-25 Thunder player grades: Alex Ducas

The calendar has flipped to August, which means we've officially hit the low point of the NBA cycle. The next couple of months are the driest part of the year. Everybody has headed to vacation and awaits training camp to kick off the 2025-26 season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy their NBA championship. They had a historic 68-14 regular-season campaign that eventually led to the franchise's first title with a 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 win. They'll enter next season as a favorite to be a rare repeat winner.

To reflect on their title run, Thunder Wire will conduct 2024-25 season grades for all 19 players who suited up for the squad at one point during the year. Seventeenth up is Alex Ducas, who spent the year on a two-way deal:

2024-25 statistics:

• 1.7 points
• 1.2 rebounds
• 0.2 assists
• 40.0% shooting
• 47.6% 3-point shooting
• 100% free-throw shooting

Advanced stats:

• True-shooting percentage: 58.3%
• 3-point attempt rate: 70.0%
• Usage rate: 11.8%
• Win shares: 0.3
• VORP: 0.0

Significant Percentile Finishes:

• N/A

Contract:

• N/A

Thoughts:

If Ducas' NBA career is over after one season, he had his money's worth. The 24-year-old can always say he was part of one of the greatest teams in league history and got a championship ring out of it. Besides that, though, not much to write about his forgettable tenure.

The Thunder added Ducas on a two-way deal. He went undrafted out of Saint Mary's. He was brought in as an outside shooter. In his limited time, the numbers showed that. Because the Thunder blew teams out left and right, the end of their bench received plenty of garbage time throughout the year.

Ducas benefitted from that. He appeared in 21 games. A high number for somebody who missed most of the season dealing with injuries. Besides that, he didn't do much else during his time with the Thunder. Not much either with the G League's OKC Blue, either. He faded into the background of most games.

It just didn't work out for Ducas on the Thunder. He was added to their 2025 Summer League squad, hinting that maybe they'd like to bring him back for a second season. But those hopes were quickly erased when he signed a deal to go to Australia's NBL.

Most undrafted players usually have Ducas' career arc. They stay for one season, but don't get many chances to stay. The injuries certainly didn't help. He missed a good chunk of the year because of them. Even though he only lasted a season in the NBA, he can at least say he experienced a championship.

Moving Forward:

Even though Ducas didn't do much, he at least proved he can be an outside shooter. The shooting splits reflect that. That'll be his bread and butter the rest of the way, regardless of what level of professional basketball he's in. The NBL was excited to add the NBA champion to its league. They don't get too many guys with that type of experience.

Let's see if Ducas can look more comfortable at home. Perhaps he can be a player who spends some time overseas before being given a second shot at the NBA. There's always a need for outside shooters. If he can increase his volume for a couple of years, he can return to the league.

The Thunder loved what they saw from Ducas at Maryland. To get a two-way deal as an undrafted rookie is quite the accomplishment. They tried to see if he could show anything at the next level. A handful of injuries limited his opportunities.

While his decision to leave the Thunder for the NBL was a bit of a shocker, it's not a catastrophic loss. They still have a vacant two-way spot on their roster. Surely they can find somebody who has equal or greater upside than Ducas over the next couple of months.

Final Grade: D-minus

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2024-25 Thunder player grades: Alex Ducas