That of Quincy Olivari who is moved when he meets Steph Curry and earns a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers It’s not the only good story this preseason. In Oklahoma City, in fact, there is one with an even more happy ending, that of Alex Reese. Only five days ago he was cut by the Thunderbut evidently he must have left a good impression after a summer spent in Oklahoma City between Summer League and training camp, deserving the confirms with a non-guaranteed contract for the regular season. The reason is simple: OKC will have to do without starting big man Isaiah Hartenstein for at least 5-6 weeks and in both Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams are struggling with some physical problems in the forward departmentleaving only Chet Holmgren under the basket. For this reason Reese, undersized at 206 centimeters but with good physicality and presence under the basket, was recalled by the OKC franchise to plug a holethus sealing a story that is incredible.
The farewell to basketball, Luxembourg and the NBA: Reese’s story
Reese indeed had began to get noticed in high school at Pelham High Schoolaveraging over 25 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Figures they have attracted the attention of the nearby University of Alabamabut in the NCAA his impact was significantly reduced, passing four years without particular success in college and going undrafted in 2021. In March 2020 he was also stopped by the police while he was walking down the street at 3.30 in the morning in an evident state of intoxicationgetting out on $300 bail and publicly apologizing to his family and university on social media. In the summer of 2021, however, he decided to say enoughfeeling he had given everything he had to basketball and moving on to do other things, including two jobs as a bartender and a mover for an entire year in Birmingham, Alabama. That experience, however, convinced him to try basketball again: in the summer of 2022 he signed for Amicale Steesel in Luxembourg championship, dominating the scene (23.7 points and 12.9 rebounds in 33.1 minutes). Last year, after a failed tryout with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, spent the season at Rip City Remixthe G-League affiliate of the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 11.5 points in 17.2 minutes. Performances that attracted the interest of the Thunder, which was followed by the Summer League experience, and now a contract — although not guaranteed — with OKC. Not bad, for someone who thought about saying enough three years ago.
