It’s no surprise that the expectations are low for Oklahoma City this season.

The Thunder aren’t expected to contend for an NBA Championship. They’re not even expected to contend for a spot in the postseason.

But what about individual expectations?

When Darius Bazley was selected with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the prep-to-pro forward didn’t have many expectations, thanks in part to his unusual path to the league.

But in a recent roundtable discussion about the Northwest Division, Brett Dawson of The Athletic picked Bazley as the player on the Thunder that will exceed expectations this season, even if it’s because the expectations are, as Dawson says, “so low”.

“Bazley is 19 years old, interned at New Balance last season rather than playing organized basketball and drew a collective “Who?” when his name was called on draft night. The prevailing opinion in June was that he’d play most of his minutes in the G League. But with Paul George and Russell Westbrook gone, the Thunder can throw caution to the wind and Bazley into the rotation. It’s hard to read much into his decent preseason, but if nothing else Bazley looked like he belonged on an NBA court. He’ll have his ups and downs, but I suspect fewer call-ups and reassignments than anticipated.”

Bazley did get valuable minutes during the preseason, earning a spot in the starting lineup in Oklahoma City’s 110-84 win over the New Zealand Breakers.

Billy Donovan told Erik Horne, then of The Oklahoman, that any opportunity Bazley gets is going to be helpful.

“The more opportunities and experiences you can throw him into are helpful,” Donovan said. “There are always going to be these ebbs and flows, ups and downs. Darius has always been very eager to learn, grow and get better.”

Donovan on starting Bazley: “The more opportunities and experiences you can throw him into are helpful. There are always going to be these ebbs and flows, ups and downs. Darius has always been very eager to learn, grow and get better.” — Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) October 11, 2019

Bazley played 19 minutes in the Thunder’s 100-95 season-opening loss to the Jazz. He was held scoreless but pulled down three rebounds.