Isaiah Joe Drops Career-High in Thunder Thriller – Watch His Unreal 3-Point Clinic & Post-Game Reactions

Oklahoma City Thunder sharpshooter Isaiah Joe is once again in the spotlight as head coach Mark Daigneault fine-tunes his rotations for the stretch run of the 2025-26 season. Less than two weeks after the All-Star break, Joe’s role has already swung from sixth-man sparkplug to spot starter and back again, underscoring just how pivotal his versatile scoring has become for one of the West’s fastest-rising teams. Thunder fans got their first surprise of the week when Daigneault unveiled a revamped starting five against the Cleveland Cavaliers that featured Joe in the backcourt alongside rookie Cason Wallace, with Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein rounding out the unit. The move was designed to super-charge floor spacing and force defenses to choose between blitzing Holmgren’s pick-and-pops or closing hard on one of the league’s most efficient long-range bombers. The experiment didn’t last long. One night later in Brooklyn, Joe was back in his customary reserve role while Aaron Wiggins drew the start, a decision the staff framed as matchup driven. Even so, the quick shuffle illustrates how comfortable the Thunder are toggling Joe between lineups to maximize his gravity. Joe’s own confidence hasn’t wavered. Speaking after Saturday’s practice, the 26-year-old praised the chemistry he’s building with Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams, noting that the veteran bigs “know the reads before the play even develops,” allowing him to relocate for catch-and-shoot threes without breaking the offense’s rhythm. That rhythm has been humming since early February, when Joe strung together a series of double-digit outings that analysts at Last Word On Sports dubbed “the best stretch of his professional career,” pointing to his steady scoring as a bellwether for Oklahoma City’s playoff ceiling. With the Thunder now firmly in the race for home-court advantage, every hot streak matters. Long-term roster math only heightens Joe’s importance. The Oklahoman recently projected him among the handful of players the franchise would almost certainly protect in a hypothetical 2027 expansion draft, citing his team-friendly contract and elite three-point clip as “non-negotiable assets”. For now, the mission remains simple: keep firing. Whether he starts or anchors the second unit, Joe’s quick trigger and widening skill set have become a barometer for how far this youthful Thunder squad can soar in the season’s final two months.