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Aday Mara came out of Michigan as one of the most promising big men in the NBA draft. The Oklahoma City Thunder snapped him up as the No. 12 overall pick, and they have high hopes for Mara.
For good reason, too. We're talking about a player who just won the NCAA championship with the Wolverines. He had a monster of a 2025 season, averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
On Friday, Mara and the Thunder fell hard to the Los Angeles Lakers. But, the loss isn't what stung. The way Mara played is what's concerning. Of course, making the leap from college to the NBA has its challenges, so don't worry too much about what you're about to read. Mara is still an incredible talent, but he may need some extra coaching.
Former Michigan player Aday Mara has difficult debut with Thunder
Mara had a difficult time offensively in his debut NBA Summer League game. The center, 7-foot-3, wasn't able to make a single field goal, even though he was up against a Lakers lineup without a real center. He also had early shots blocked twice. What was more troubling about those shots being blocked wasn't that they were blocked. It's the way Mara reacted. It seemed to hit his confidence and tame him on the court.
On a brighter note, he showed signs of greatness on defense. He had two blocks and seven rebounds. But, you want to see that also translate into buckets.
As for buckets, he only scored two points. That hurts, especially when his Michigan peers Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg produced much more in their Summer League debuts. Johnson scored 27 points in his NBA Summer League debut with the Dallas Mavericks against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. Lendeborg scored 21 points the same night.
For a player used to winning in college, the NBA can be a difficult jump. Maybe he hasn't come up against this kind of adversity. But, the time is now to develop Mara, because if he gets the proper training, he can soar.
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