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Turning into an impromptu goodbye party, Isaiah Joe stuck to his donation event plans — even after he was officially traded to the Detroit Pistons. The 27-year-old hosted a two-day fundraiser for the pediatric cardiology programs at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
On Sunday, it was drinking wine and bidding on auctions. On Monday, it was a round of golf at a local OKC course. The latter featured some faces from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mark Daigneault, Dave Bliss and Mike Wilks were part of the celebrity row. Along with other top athletes such as Adrian Peterson.
At the end of their 18-hole round of golf, Daigneault toasted to Joe's time in OKC. The Thunder added him as a waiver-wire pickup. He played four seasons from 2022-26 and turned into one of the best outside shooters in the league. He averaged a career-best 11.1 points this past season. He shot a sizzling 42.3% from 3 on six attempts.
Alas, Joe faded out of OKC's playoff rotation. On top of that, a financial crunch forced the Thunder's hand. They had roster changes this offseason. A couple of complementary pieces were traded to save money.
Still, Joe is one of OKC's best developmental stories ever. He went from being cut by the Philadelphia 76ers to a role player on an NBA champion. Even though his time on the Thunder is over, Daigneault was all smiles when he talked about his time there. In fact, he peeled back the curtains a bit and explained his point of view from a famous anecdote, per Thunder reporter Addam Francisco.
When the Thunder added Joe, he was a late training-camp addition. The Sixers decided to move on after two underwhelming seasons. Seldom do you see OKC shake up its roster like that, but Sam Presti liked his outside jumper so much that he was worth the flyer. Keep in mind, they were still in rebuild mode.
After learning about Presti's plan to add Joe, Daigneault asked for one request — assign him to the G League. Because he came over at the end of training camp, they ran out of time to see how he'd fit in with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and others. So a quick G League assignment with the OKC Blue could've helped them form some sorta idea on how he'd jell.
"He comes in. He's there for a couple of practices. There's a G League scrimmage coming up on Sunday. This is like Thursday or Friday. I call Sam and I'm like, 'Hey, I'm going to have him play in the G League scrimmage. I want to just see him play.' He's like, 'Yeah. That's cool,'" Daigneault said. "I pull Isaiah over. It's my first interaction with him. I'm like, 'Isaiah, the G League team has a scrimmage on Sunday. I want you to play in the scrimmage. I just want to get a look at you and then you'll come back to the team the next day.' Then he said, 'Coach, respectfully, I'm not a G League player. I can help this team.'"
Turns out, that was enough to change Daigneault's mind. Joe never got assigned to the G League. Instead, he waited his turn to help out the Thunder. Two games into the 2022-23 regular season, he tallied seven minutes of garbage time. But by Game No. 3, he had his number called.
That's when Joe had his infamous breakout. In a 117-111 OT win over the Dallas Mavericks, he breathed life into OKC with 15 points in nine minutes off the bench — going a perfect 3-for-3 from 3. All happening after he checked in with under five minutes to go in regulation, by the way.
With the game basically over, Daigneault wanted to see if Joe could give the Thunder some last-second hope. He provided a boost with quick microwave scoring. It didn't take long for them to erase a double-digit deficit within a few minutes.
"It turns out that maybe he might be a little bit crazy, but he was also right and he’s been right ever since. And he helped bring a championship to Oklahoma City," Daigneault said. "He was a huge part of the team’s rise and a huge part of the team’s success. But the thing I always talk about with our team is not what we do, but how we do it. And what he does is he is a first-class professional, one of the best shooters in basketball."
From that point forward, Joe was a fixture in OKC's rotation. Talk about taking advantage of an opportunity. To win an NBA championship, you need success stories like his sprinkled throughout your roster. Even though he's on the Pistons now, he'll be immortalized with the fanbase because of his help to bring home their first Larry O'Brien trophy.
"We are going to sorely miss the Joe family and Isaiah," Daigneault said. "We’re glad that you’re doing this and leaving a legacy in Oklahoma City. Thank you for everything."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault pays tribute to Isaiah Joe's time in OKC with this 1 story
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