OKC Thunder Extensive History With Rookie Injuries Benefits Thomas Sorber

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced on Friday that rookie Thomas Sorber will miss the entire 2025-26 campaign with a torn ACL suffered during an offseason workout on Thursday.

The Thunder selected Sorber with the No. 15 pick in 2025 NBA Draft after the Georgetown Big Man suffered a turf toe injury that ended his freshman campaign prematurely and held him out of Summer League in July.

After getting over that injury hurdle, Sorber now has to deal with another. The ACL rehab process has made plenty of advancements in modern medical history but it will still be a tough journey for the 19-year-old.

Oklahoma City has a long history with handling these situations in its past. As Nick Collison's jersey hands in the rafters and he remains part of the teams front office, he missed his true rookie year due to injury.

Most recently, Nikola Topic spent the entire 2024-25 championship campaign with an ACL injury his second major knee ailment.

Topic returned to the hardwood during the 2025 NBA Summer League where he had an impressive showing getting to the rim and facilitating the offense.

Sorber's front court partner, Chet Holmgren, saw his first season wiped out due to a Lisfanc fracture before returning for the 2022-23 season where he played in all 82 games. This past season, the Gonzaga product splatted onto the floor on Nov. 10 to shatter his hip before attacking the rehab process and return to the lineup earlier than even Oklahoma City expected. Holmgren went on to be a key cog in the Thunder's first championship with his stellar defense.

This entire regime is familiar with this outcome for a rookie season, now dealing with it for the third time in four years. That should give Sorber a big boost of confidence that he is in the right hands throughout this process.

When things get hard, he has success stories within the organization to look at, turn to and lean on. While this is a brutal blow for the rookie on an individual level, it doesn't change the outlook of the team entering this season.

At Georgetown, Sorber appeared in 24 games and averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in 31.3 minutes per game. He ranked second on the team in scoring and second in the nation in rebounding among freshmen.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will begin this season on Oct. 21 playing host to the Houston Rockets on banner night.