OKC Thunder Ink Undrafted Sharpshooter

The NBA Draft is a two-night event, though things are just heating up after the final pick is made. As ESPN signs off the air following pick No. 59, the rest of the NBA is hard at work attempting to sign undrafted free agents.

Moves are announced with a swiftness, prospects clinging to deals that represent opportunities of achieving their dreams.

Despite just wrapping up the NBA Finals on Sunday, basketball never sleeps. After closing out the two-day NBA Draft, free agency opens on Monday ahead of next Saturday's summer league opener. That is where most undrafted players come in.

While some high-priority prospects who force their way out of the top 60 get preferential treatment to land on a two-way pact, most signings are inking Exhibit 10 deals. This grants them the right to summer league action and typically a training camp invite in October.

After selecting Thomas Sorber with the No. 15 and Brooks Barnhizer at No. 44, the Oklahoma City Thunder have brought in another member of the 2025 NBA Draft class.

Shortly after the NBA Draft came to a close, ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported that the OKC Thunder were bringing in Iowa's Payton Sandfort. The ESPN scribe left the details ambiguous, just touting that he has heard the two sides have "agreed to a deal."

According to the Athletic's Andrew Schlect, this is one of the Thunder's three two-way contracts. Sandfort played in 33 games for the Hawkeyes as a Senior, posting 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 stocks (steals + blocks) per game on 40/34/89 shooting splits.

If this move becomes official in a two-way capacity, all signs point to Barnhizer also accounting for one of the Thunder's three two-way slots.

For his career in conference play, Sanfort converts at a 37% clip from beyond the arc in 86 games played.

The floor spacing wing turns in 34% shooting on catch and shoot attempts, a number that increases to 36% when left unguarded. However, the unique wrinkle of Sandfort's game is his off-the-dribble jumpers, a trait not many current Thunder role players possess. In that setting, the Iowa product shot 36% during his Senior season, ranking in the 65th percentile on high volume.

Sandfort is a dimensional scorer, getting most of his buckets in the short mid-range and beyond the arc. His rim finishing must improve to parlay this undrafted contract into anything of note, but his ability to nail triples from multiple steps behind the line off the dribble is eye-catching.

On what Synergy tabs as long 3s, Sandfort converted at a 37% clip in his Junior season (79th percentile) and a 33% clip during the 2024-25 campaign while battling injury.

The undrafted rookie deserves plenty of credit for battling through multiple injuries during his final season with the Hawkeyes despite the team's 17-16 record.

Ultimately, Sandfort's most likely outcome is the Thunder making this move to bolster its G League squad with hopes of developing the four-year college swingman. He can fill a valuable role with the OKC Blue.

As always, there are questions surrounding how many players from last year's G League club will return. One thing they need to sure up is their shot-creation from 3-point land. The undrafted forward does just that.

Hypothetically, under Kam Woods, you could see Sandfort make a defensive leap the same way that Miller Kopp has. A fellow Big Ten product that came into the league with vast questions on that side of the floor but is earning summer time tryouts with other organizations in no small part due to his development with the Blue.