Isaiah Joe

Derrick Joe
Derrick Joe
Born	Derrick Isaiah Joe; July 2, 1999 (age 27); Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2020–present
Known for	Playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA

Derrick Isaiah Joe (born July 2, 1999), also known by the nickname "Strokin' Joe," is a professional basketball athlete from the United States currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career was spent with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Early life

Raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Joe attended Northside High School, where he was teammates with future professional player Jaylin Williams. As a sophomore, he achieved a 41% success rate from beyond the arc and committed to the University of Arkansas, choosing them over offers from Alabama and Arkansas-Little Rock. During his junior year, Joe posted averages of 18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game, guiding Northside to the AAA 7A state championship and earning first-team All-State recognition. In his final high school season, he averaged 22.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.9 steals per contest, received the Gatorade Arkansas Boys Basketball Player of the Year award as well as USA Today's State Player of the Year honor, and led his team to the state championship game.

College career

In his freshman year at Arkansas, Joe played in 34 games and averaged 13.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per outing, securing a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team. He converted 113 three-pointers on 273 attempts (41.4%), setting a new Arkansas record and matching the SEC freshman record while topping the conference in three-point shooting percentage. On December 1, 2018, he earned SEC Player of the Week honors after scoring 34 points with an efficient 10-for-13 shooting from three against FIU.

Before starting his sophomore season, Joe was selected for preseason All-SEC recognition and included on the Jerry West Award watchlist. CBS Sports ranked him as the 80th-best college player for the 2019–20 season, while ESPN placed him at number 33 among prospects for the 2020 NBA draft. On January 2, 2020, he shared SEC Player of the Week accolades following a strong showing of 24 points and five rebounds in a victory over Indiana. Ten days later, Joe scored a game-high 34 points—26 of which came in the second half—to spearhead Arkansas’s comeback win against Ole Miss.

Joe underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee on February 4 and was sidelined indefinitely. He completed his sophomore campaign with averages of 16.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Initially declaring for the 2020 NBA draft, Joe later announced on August 1 that he would withdraw and return to Arkansas but reversed this decision on August 17 to pursue a professional path. Additionally, Joe is affiliated with the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2022)

Selected with the 49th pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Joe signed with the franchise on December 3, 2020. He made his NBA debut on December 27, contributing two points in seven minutes during a defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On October 13, 2022, the Sixers waived him.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2022–present)

On October 16, 2022, Joe inked a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He initially set a personal best by scoring 28 points on February 24, 2023, during a defeat to the Phoenix Suns, then exceeded this mark with 33 points on March 29 in a matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. Notably, on November 16, Joe achieved a perfect seven-for-seven from beyond the arc, contributing 23 points in a victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Joe renewed his contract with the Thunder on July 1, 2024, signing a four-year agreement worth $48 million. On January 10, 2025, he posted 31 points, including a career-high eight three-pointers, leading to a win against the New York Knicks. Throughout the playoffs, Joe played a key role as the Thunder captured the NBA title on June 22, 2025, averaging 6.4 points per game while shooting 41.1% from three-point range across 21 games.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 41 || 1 || 9.3 || .361 || .368 || .750 || .9 || .5 || .3 || .1 || 3.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 55 || 1 || 11.1 || .350 || .333 || .935 || 1.0 || .6 || .3 || .1 || 3.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 73 || 10 || 19.1 || .441 || .409 || .820 || 2.4 || 1.2 || .7 || .1 || 9.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 78 || 1 || 18.5 || .458 || .416 || .865 || 2.3 || 1.3 || .6 || .3 || 8.2 |- |style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma City | 74 || 16 || 21.7 || .440 || .412 || .821 || 2.6 || 1.6 || .6 || .1 || 10.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center" colspan="2"|Career | 321 || 29 || 16.9 || .431 || .402 || .827 || 2.0 || 1.1 || .5 || .1 || 7.6

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2021 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 4 || 0 || 2.4 || .333 || .000 || || .0 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2022 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 7||0||2.1||.400||.333||||.3||.0||.0||.0||.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2024 | style="text-align:left;"|Oklahoma City |10|| 2|| 17.3|| .444|| .410|||| 2.2|| 1.0|| .5|| .0|| 6.4 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;" |2025

| style="text-align:left" |Oklahoma City
| 21||0||10.0|| .493|| .411|| .857||1.4|| .7|| .3|| .1||5.1

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center" colspan="2"|Career
|42||2||9.7||.467||.400||.857||1.3||.6||.3||.0||4.2

College

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |2018–19
| style="text-align:left;" |Arkansas
| 34|| 34||30.1|| .413|| .414|| .756||2.8|| 1.7|| 1.5|| .1||13.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |2019–20
| style="text-align:left;" |Arkansas
|26||25|||36.1|||.367|||.342|||.890|||4.1|||1.7|||1.4|||.3|||16.9
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center" colspan="2"|Career
|60||59|||32.7|||.390|||.378|||.827|||3.4|||1.7|||1.5|||.2|||15.2

Personal life

Joe's sibling, Jacob, is also a collegiate basketball player, representing the Newman Jets.

In 2024, Joe organized a "Shooters Shoot" camp focused on youth training in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which drew an audience exceeding 200 young athletes.

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio