The Oklahoma City Thunder waived Alex Reese on Wednesday. On Saturday, the NBA team re-signed the former Alabama big man.

Oklahoma City brought back Reese after learning that center Isaiah Hartenstein would be out for five or six weeks after fracturing his left hand in a preseason game on Tuesday night.

The Thunder signed Hartenstein to a three-year, $87 million contract as a free agent this summer after he averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks for the New York Knicks last season.

A 6-foot-9 forward, Reese averaged 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots in 43 games with the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League.

Reese averaged 7.6 points per game playing for the Portland Trail Blazers’ entry in the NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas in July.

Reese played in three of the Thunder’s first four preseason games before being released. He had seven points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

The Thunder tips off the regular season against the Denver Nuggets at 9 p.m. CDT Thursday at Ball Arena in Denver.

A former Pelham High School standout, Reese averaged 6.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in 124 games across four seasons at Alabama. Reese had a season off after Alabama before averaging 23.7 points in the Luxembourg Basketball League in the 2022-23 campaign.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.