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Jeremiah Robinson-Earl left his 'fingerprints' on OKC Thunder on road back to NBA playoffs
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- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl left his 'fingerprints' on OKC Thunder on road back to NBA playoffs
The crowd at Paycom Center wouldn't let up during OKC's 124-92 playoff win over New Orleans on Wednesday.
But with only a handful of minutes left in the blowout contest, a brief lull in the action allowed for a lone OKC fan's chant to be heard.
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"J-R-E," the fan chanted.
It was a call for New Orleans ' Jeremiah Robinson-Earl , who got traded from OKC to Houston just seven days before the start of the regular season.
Robinson-Earl spent the first two years of his career with the Thunder. He was there before OKC became the biggest breakout team in the NBA. Before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander garnered MVP consideration . Before fans barked with every bucket by Jalen Williams .
Robinson-Earl now finds himself on the opposite end of the sideline for the first-round playoff series, which OKC holds a 3-0 lead in . But after playing on his old home court in the final few minutes of Game 2, he couldn't help but reminisce on his days with the Thunder.
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"It was a great time," Robinson-Earl said. "It was a great group. I got drafted here, so we kind of grew up together. We were all kind of in the same situation, so I have a lot of love for the players and staff that are there. It's a great organization."
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) blocks a shot attempt by New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) during Game 2 of the NBA basketball playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Oklahoma City won 124-92.
The Thunder selected Robinson-Earl in the second round (No. 32 overall) of the 2021 NBA Draft.
OKC was searching for its center of the future following the departure of Al Horford , who got traded to Boston that offseason. And despite being a second-round pick, Robinson-Earl made an immediate impact.
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The 6-foot-9 center started in 36 of his 49 appearances as a rookie. He averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes, and he even shot a respectable 35.2% from deep.
"He was highly professional," OKC head coach Mark Daigneault said of Robinson-Earl. "He was very reliable day to day and a hard worker. He really cared about the team and cared about his craft. I really enjoyed being around him."
OKC only went 24-58 that season.
And even though the Thunder followed that up with a 40-42 campaign, which included a play-in appearance, many people questioned how big of a jump the young group could make in a stacked Western Conference.
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But Robinson-Earl wasn't one of those people. Not after seeing the way OKC's players prepared during the offseason.
"There's a lot of young players that are willing to get better," Robinson-Earl said. "They were doing, at all costs, what they needed to do to get better and put themselves in that position."
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Robinson-Earl also had inside information on the Thunder's biggest X-factor: Chet Holmgren .
OKC selected the 7-foot-1 center with the No. 2 overall pick in 2022. And even though Holmgren missed all of last season with a foot injury, Robinson-Earl caught an early glimpse of Holmgren's potential during the offseason and preseason play.
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Holmgren went on to start in all 82 regular-season games. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, and he's a finalist for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award .
"He had a great mind frame about how to attack every single day," Robinson-Earl said of Holmgren. "He's done it for the full 82, and he's been doing a good job in the postseason as well. I give a lot of kudos to him."
Holmgren's strong play helped OKC skyrocket to the top seed in the West with a 57-25 record.
Unfortunately, Robinson-Earl watched the breakout season from afar. OKC traded him and Victor Oladipo to Houston in exchange for Kevin Porter Jr. and two future second-round picks on Oct. 17.
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Houston waived Robinson-Earl six days later. But the third-year pro signed a two-way contract with New Orleans on Nov. 3, and he later got upgraded to a standard contract.
Robinson-Earl is averaging 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.6 minutes this season. He made his only playoff appearance in Game 2 and scored two points in five minutes.
More: Mark Daigneault wins NBA Coach of the Year after leading OKC Thunder to top seed in West
Carving out a role in New Orleans has been a process for Robinson-Earl. But after bouncing around the league earlier in the season, he feels he has found a new home.
"It's a great organization over here," Robinson-Earl said of New Orleans. "Very similar (to OKC). We're young, and we've got some veterans as well. But it's a really tight-knit group. We set high standards for ourselves and just keep getting better every day to put ourselves in the best position possible."
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Robinson-Earl isn't the only former OKC player who has watched the team's breakout season from afar.
Another example is the trio of Tre Mann , Vasilije Micic and Davis Bertans . OKC traded them and two future second-round picks to Charlotte in exchange for Gordon Hayward on Feb. 8.
Robinson-Earl. Mann. Micic. Bertans. Their days with OKC are over. But a chant from a lone fan isn't the only way their presence can still be felt whenever the Thunder takes to the floor.
"The guys who were a part of this build, they have their fingerprints on the environment that exists today," Daigneault said. "The guys have great respect for those guys. I have great respect for those guys. (Robinson-Earl) is included in that."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Pelicans' Jeremiah Robinson-Earl left his 'fingerprints' on Thunder
