The Oklahoma City Thunder have re-signed guard Lindy Waters III to a two-way contract. In June, Waters declined his $1.93 million player option for the 2023-24 season. His option is part of the two-year, $6.29 million rest-of-season contract he signed with OKC in February.
Waters, 26, went undrafted out of Oklahoma State University in 2020. The 6-foot-6 guard signed with the Enid Outlaws of The Basketball League (TBL) in March 2021. In 17 games, he averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game.
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Thunder Signs Lindy Waters III to Two-Way Contract
🔗 | https://t.co/nY0HIcSFGT pic.twitter.com/6xbwumWVJI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 18, 2023
Ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season, Waters signed with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. He averaged 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 16 appearances for the Blue.
In February 2022, the guard inked a two-way contract with the Thunder. Waters made one start in 25 appearances with OKC in the 2021-22 season. He averaged 8.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 18.6 minutes per game while shooting 40.6% from the floor and 36.3% beyond the arc.
Oklahoma City Thunder re-sign guard Lindy Waters III to a two-way contract after waiving guard TyTy Washington Jr.; Waters joins two-way signee Keyontae Johnson
In OKC’s 136-118 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on March 30, 2022, the guard recorded a career-high 25 points, four boards, one assist, and one steal in 33 minutes off the bench. He finished 9-of-15 (60%) shooting from the field and drained seven 3-pointers as well.
Last season, Waters averaged 5.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 13 minutes in 41 games off the bench with the Thunder. The Oklahoma State product also shot 39.3% from the floor and 35.8% from deep.
In the Thunder’s 132-101 loss against the Phoenix Suns on March 8, 2023, Waters logged a season-high 23 points, four rebounds, and two assists in 31 minutes off the bench. He also shot 7-of-14 (50%) from the field and knocked down six 3-pointers.
Lindy Waters III is back in Oklahoma City as expected. OKC had to waive TyTy Washington Jr to open up a spot to sign Lindy since you can only carry 21 guys on your roster right now. https://t.co/AOCVoic47o
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) August 18, 2023
With the Blue in the 2022-23 season, the guard averaged career highs of 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 34.1 minutes per game while shooting 48.3% from the floor and 37% from downtown.
Additionally, OKC renounced Waters’ free-agent exception rights this past July. The Thunder waived second-year guard TyTy Washington Jr. before adding the undrafted G League star.
After re-signing with the Thunder, the guard now joins fellow two-way signee Keyontae Johnson. Under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, the maximum number of two-way players NBA teams can sign increased from two to three.
