Grading OKC Thunder No. 15 Pick, Thomas Sorber

Oklahoma City just capped off celebrating a championship. It was a seven-game thriller against the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals that allowed the Thunder to capture its first title.

The celebration was short-lived in the Thunder's front office. Back to work they went as the NBA calendar waits for no one, not even champions. The 2025 NBA Draft began tonight at 7:00 PM CT, with the Bricktown ballers owning two first-round selections.

Oklahoma City stayed put at No.15, selecting Thomas Sorber, a big man from the University of Georgetown, before trading out of the No. 24 selection with the Sacramento Kings.

Grading the Thomas Sorber Selection for OKC Thunder

On the Court

This is a selection that this scribe tabbed for Oklahoma City on Wednesday morning and came true as the 2025 NBA Draft unfolded. It is the perfect pick for Sam Presti and company.

The Thunder get a 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-foot-6 wingspan while checking in at 262 pounds. His wingspan isn't just best in class but among the best in the entire league. His physical size is something the Bricktown ballers don't currently roster.

Sorber will spend a lot of time as the center in lineups under head coach Mark Daigneault, but can also move up to the power forward spot with his size in conjunction with his athleticism, which allows him to handle the likes of Aaron Gordon, Pascal Siakam and P.J. Washington –– an archetype that has given Oklahoma City trouble the past two seasons.

His defense is truly elite and ready-made for a Day 1 impact in Bricktown. Sorber ranks in the 89th percentile defensively according to Synergy. He is elite as a low man protecting the rim, especially coming from the weak side, while also disrupting pick-and-roll offenses at an elite level.

In that setting, Sorber limits matchups to 0.5 points per possession, mainly in drop coverage due to his length and rim protection. Though the Georgetown product has shown an ability to defend in space, as his length allows him to make up for times when he is beaten off the dribble. With improved footwork and angles, he naturally will improve on switches as his career develops.

Lastly on defense, Sorber should excite the Thunder with his ability to fly out to shooters. In 25 games for the freshman, he limited matchups to 28% shooting. That is what Oklahoma City's defensive unit is built on. Swarming the paint and flying out to the corners. After logging 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per tilt, it is clear that Sorber is an opportunistic defender.

Offensively, the biggest red flag is his lowly 16% from beyond the arc on 1.5 attempts per game. This is not encouraging for his long-term future from 3-point land, though he did convert at the charity stripe at a 72% clip and 68% around the rim –– typically indicators of touch and future growth from distance.

This would not be the first time the Thunder brought in a non-shooter and revolutionized their careers. Arkansas' Jaylin Williams shot just 25% from 3-point land on 1.9 attempts a game before it was his calling guard off the bench in Oklahoma City. Though the idea of Sorber spacing the floor from a distance remains a pipe dream.

Sorber is an excellent play-finisher, turning in 1.304 points per possession on cuts, 1.303 points per possession on put-backs 0.96 points per possession on post-ups during his rookie season. While dumping the ball inside is not part of the Thunder's offensive identity to this point, their half-court offense needs a facelift, and this is a new tool at its disposal that they didn't previously possess.

His biggest trait offensively is passing. Not only as a connective option to keep the ball heading in the right direction, but as an advantageous passer to create chances to score for his teammates, a characteristic only Isaiah Hartenstein and Williams have currently. Daigneault has been keen on using high-post playmakers dating back to Al Horford.

In the Future

The Oklahoma City Thunder are going to get really expensive, really fast. The first name up on the chopping block as the bill comes due on this young title team is Isaiah Hartenstein's $28.5 million team-option ahead of the 2026-27 season. With Sorber's overlapping skillset, perhaps the goal for the Bricktown Ballers is to get the Hoya ready to fill in for the former Knick as the cost goes up.

Here and Now

Many people wonder how Sorber will get on the floor, which is vastly overblown. If there is one thing Daigneault has shown in his tenure as Thunder bench boss, he will find ways to play everyone better than most youth coaches in the metro.

The Oklahoma City Thunder just played deep into June, not sending players to the offseason until June 25 after a Championship parade. For a roster made up of driven individuals who have no off switch in the regular season, the Bricktown brass will need to save players from themselves.

Oklahoma City is going to have to take chances during the regular season on back-to-back, three-game in four-night stretches, etc., to rest the likes of Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Hartenstein and others.

While Sorber's true position only overlaps with Holmgren and Hartenstein, how the Thunder deploy Caruso and Williams –– forcing them to scale-up and defend fours and fives nightly –– is a role the rookie can fill during the court of the 82-game marathon, which will be here before you know it.

Though even when the Thunder are at full strength, as the double-big lineup grows and Holmgren removes himself further from his Nov. 10 hip fracture, if that is a look Oklahoma City wants to stick with, Sorber helps them do that.

Now, Daigneault could potentially have two bigs on the floor at all times in staggering Holmgren and Hartenstein's minutes with Sorber stepping in for whichever is on the bench. This lets the Santa Clara All-Star stay put at a more natural position and reap all the benefits of a bunch that became the Thunder's go-to starting five.

However, even if Sorber is glued to the true secondary units, he still helps this current roster. If you sit and wonder how Oklahoma City can afford to keep Aaron Wiggins' three-level scoring and creation on the bench for so long throughout games and in certain matchups, look no further than his defense. The way Oklahoma City was previously set up, Wiggins was forced to defend power forwards, a role he frankly isn't designed for or good at. Now, Sorber can play alongside him, allowing Wiggins to defend a more natural position and stick on the hardwood to provide an offensive punch for OKC.

Off the Court

All reports are that Sorber is a great teammate and contagiously positive. So far, the rookie has said all the right things, even down to labeling Thunderstruck his favorite movie. A flick that even lead actor Kevin Durant and the kid star alongside him wouldn't pick as their top billing.

He has raved about the Thunder faithful before stepping foot in Bricktown as a member of the roster...and oh yeah, Nick Gallo, enjoy more towels laid upon your head as Sorber brought those Thunder tactics to Georgetown midway through this season.

Grade: A+