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Before Salt Lake City saw the final game of its four-day July festivities, any intrigue was zapped. On one side, Darryn Peterson enjoyed a day off as he sported a baseball cap. On the other side, Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz wore team apparel and hoodies. Otega Oweh was also out as he was limited with a walking boot.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a 103-69 Summer League loss to the Utah Jazz. That finished the Utah portion of their schedule. With this being the third game in four nights and the second game of a back-to-back, both sides smartly rolled out their G League lineups.
Things were pretty ugly from the jump for the Thunder. Brooks Barnhizer quickly realized he was the sole source of offense — quite the jump-up from his usual complementary role. While he took advantage by racking up points, nobody else from OKC's side could get in a rhythm.
The Jazz went on a 21-4 run to create separation. They were able to stay ahead of the Thunder by a double-digit margin the rest of the way. After the first quarter, OKC was in a 30-16 hole. Slow starts have plagued them in the Summer League. Same with an ugly-looking offense — even more so without their three draft picks.
Finally, Josh Dix showed up. He had his best showing in the Summer League so far. The two-way rookie started to sink his jumpers. But that was short-lived as Utah answered with a 15-2 run. Anytime it needed to muddy up OKC's offense, all it needed to do was apply on-ball pressure. Nobody from the Thunder could withstand that with their handle.
The Thunder scored 21 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 53-37 deficit. Aside from Barnhizer, everybody else failed to reach double-digit points. Not good. Look, if you skipped out on this one, I don't blame you. Zero real incentive to watch this as OKC sat out its top picks.
To show you how peak Summer League this was, Payton Sandfort had to switch out in a nameless No. 45 jersey at halftime. The reason? His No. 16 jersey was deemed unfit as it was torn apart.
After the break, the Thunder continued to struggle to score the ball. They just didn't have the offensive talent to run an offense. They only put up 15 points in the third quarter. That put them in a 79-52 hole. The rest of the game might as well have been played on a running clock. Even Utah's broadcast team struggled to come up with talking points. I mean, they were talking about arena renovations for a solid 15 minutes.
To tie things up in Salt Lake, the Thunder scored 17 points in the final frame. They trailed by as many as 37 points. By the final buzzer, it looked like an OKC Blue game with the number of G League guys on the floor for both sides. I guess the only upside is that it took less than two hours to speed by this mandatory final game.
The Thunder shot 33% from the field and went 9-of-34 (26.5%) from 3. They shot 5-of-10 on free throws. They had 15 assists on 25 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Barnhizer had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dix finished with 16 points and four rebounds. Ashworth had 16 points and two assists.
Meanwhile, the Jazz shot 55% from the field and went 13-of-27 (48.1%) from 3. They shot 6-of-12 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 40 baskets. Six Jazz players scored double-digit points.
Max Abmas had 15 points and six assists. Jona Aidoo tallied 16 points and 14 rebounds. Erix Dixon had 11 points and seven rebounds. Justin Harmon had 11 points and six rebounds. Matthew Cleveland dropped 15 points and five rebounds. Hayden Gray totaled 12 points and five assists.
Well, sometimes you get Summer League games that are played out because of necessity. Once the schedule is set, no way of getting out of it. You saw a textbook example of what the extravaganza looks like by the tail end of it. All the top attractions are in street clothes. So now, all you're left with are two-way players and a bunch of G League guys.
Not much you can really take away from this. There's a reason you seldom saw folks talk about it on social media. The Thunder had a few interesting flashes throughout their stay in Utah, but for the most part, it was pretty forgettable. Alas, that's what happens when you're a title contender. The draft picks you typically get don't get you the exciting names who pop off in July.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Brooks Barnhizer: B-minus
Getting space from a screen, Barnhizer dug into his bag. He went with the behind-the-back dribble before pulling up from deep. The 24-year-old swished in the rare outside jumper. Needing a pick-me-up after a slow start to his Summer League, he took full advantage of the extra reps.
Barnhizer finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 10 rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-1 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one steal.
Finally, Barnhizer was awarded a good results game. He continued to play his full-battery energy. He put his head down and relentlessly drove to the rim. He even got daring with his self-created jumpers. Now, the numbers were in his favor. He scored nine points in the first quarter as the Thunder looked to him for buckets.
The Thunder rolled out the red carpet. He was their only resemblance of a ball-handler. Results were positive at the start. But that didn't last long. Eventually, the Jazz figured Barnhizer out. All they needed to do was throw double-teams at him.
Eh. Not that bad of a game for Barnhizer — all things considered. He finally stamped himself in one of OKC's Summer League games. In the first two games, he was just kinda out there and invisible. The same problems remain with his skittish playstyle, but there were more tangible positive results because he stayed aggressive.
scored it Josh Dix: B
Catching the ball deep at the top of the key, Dix swished an outside jumper. It was part of a flurry of third-quarter buckets by him. Finally, the sharpshooter produced results for the first time this Summer League. Considering the circumstances, that's what you wanted to see from one of your two-way players.
Dix finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and 0-of-1 on free throws. He also had one block.
It was a little surprising to see the Thunder add Dix to a two-way spot just minutes after the 2026 NBA draft ended. But obviously, they loved his jumper. That's how he made a name for himself at Iowa and Creighton. But through two Summer League starts, he was just kinda out there. Some of that is on him. Some of that is on the infrastructure, as OKC had zero real playmakers to kick the ball out to him.
Given more opportunities, though, Dix showed out in their last game at Utah. He scored 10 points in the second half. A handful of outside jumpers showed off his range. All on kick-out passes as the Thunder fed him the ball for offense. He also knocked down a baseline jumper.
If you're going to be a sharpshooter, you gotta put up shots. Simple as that. Dix didn't really do that in his first two games but went all out here. Good to see that. Because Sandfort started to breathe down his neck. Especially since he essentially usurped him for a two-way spot. Need to keep this up in Las Vegas.
Steven Ashworth: C
Knocking down the deep left-wing outside jumper in the final seconds, Ashworth was leaving Utah with something. Without their top three players, ample opportunities and shot attempts were up for grabs. The 26-year-old gladly filled up his plate as he's trying to make the most of this Summer League opportunity.
Ashworth finished with 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3, two assists and one rebound. He also shot 2-of-2 on free throws.
Inevitably, someone from the end of your bench will put up numbers in this situation. Ashworth did that. He was mostly outside of OKC's rotation through the first two Summer League games. This time around, though, he showed off his jumper. He got into a groove and made plenty of outside looks. Pretty good outing — all things considered.
As a little biography, Ashworth played in five collegiate seasons from 2020-25. He spent three years at Utah State and then two years at Creighton. He went undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft. He was with the Indiana Pacers last season as a G League player. Maybe he spends next year on the G League's Blue.
Christoph Tilly: D-minus
Things are getting pretty bare. Nobody else from the Thunder really stood out — for better or worse. A lot of blah play. Let's go with Tilly. Of their entire undrafted rookie pool, he's probably gained the most popularity in their Summer League games. He earned the start as Mara sat out.
Tilly finished with four points on 2-of-5 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He shot 0-of-3 on free throws. He also had two blocks and one steal.
I'll give Tilley credit — he's played a lot better than I thought. He shot a meh 48% from the field in his final year at Ohio State. That's not good to see for a seven-foot center. And some of that poor finishing around the paint showed up here. But he also showed a unique combination of speed and fluidity you rarely see from someone his size. Especially in transition.
Through Utah, Tilley has been Mara's designated backup center. The Thunder added him after he went undrafted in the 2026 NBA draft. He's another guy who spent time at Santa Clara — three collegiate seasons, specifically. Let's see if he can bundle up enough flashes to earn a spot on their G League team.
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder wrap up SLC Summer League with 103-69 loss to Jazz
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