Former Iowa Star Payton Sandfort Explains His Fit With Oklahoma City Thunder

There was little to no shot that former Iowa forward Payton Sandfort was going to hear his name called during the 2025 NBA Draft. Sanfort underwent two surgeries after the Hawkeyes' season to repair tears in each of his shoulders.

He went into the draft process with a focus on regaining his health and looking ahead to a distant future. The Oklahoma City Thunder decided to give him some NBA hope to look forward to in the process after the draft. One of their first moves after winning the NBA Title was picking Sandfort up as an undrafted free agent.

He now has NBA resources at his disposal and an organization behind him that he hopes will be able to help him reach his pro potential once he's healthy and back on the court.

“I think they’ve just proven that they can really develop guys,” Sandfort said of the Thunder, according to Tyler Tachman of the Des Moines Register. “They’ve taken a ton of guys that were kind of under the radar through college or even their early pro careers and just have developed them, have like a specific plan for everybody. A lot of guys, regardless of what happens, they get a ton better while they’re there. So I’m super pumped about that. They’re just so organized and planned and have proven their success.”

Joining an organization when it has just hit the pinnacle of the sport has to be a bit intimidating, but Sandfort is in good company in Oklahoma City. In fact, the Thunder put a ton of time into getting to know him during the draft process.

“There were a lot of teams that showed interest, but they showed by far the most interest the whole time,” he explained.

A 6-foot-8, 215 pound forward, Sandfort averaged 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season for Iowa. He played through injuries for much of the season, but he was a leader for the Hawkeyes and he had been a huge part of the program during his time in Iowa City. He scored a total of 1,619 points in four season while making 271 shots from three-point range.

He's the type of player who would fit well in any NBA organization, and he believes that's a huge reason the Thunder decided to take a chance on him.

“I think they really like me as a culture fit, which is what they always look for first, especially with the talent they have,” Sandfort said. “They don’t want anyone to come in and disrupt that. They want guys who want to be good teammates, want to do everything they can to help the team win, which is obviously a big deal."

Now, his job is to get healthy while trying to pick up the intricacies of the NBA game.