Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber is headed to the defending champions — he has been selected 15th overall by the Thunder.
Sorber, who stands 6’9″ with an impressive 7’6″ wingspan, had a strong freshman year for the Hoyas in 2024/25, serving as the team’s starting center and filling up the stat sheet with 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game in 24 outings (31.3 MPG).
Sorber’s season ended early due to a toe injury, but he still earned a spot on the All-Big East third team and decided to go pro at age 19, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility after a single college season.
Despite the injury, Sorber’s stock rose during the pre-draft process. He was linked to Oklahoma City in recent days, a team that often prioritizes strength and length and isn’t afraid to take a swing on players who may need time to get accustomed to the speed of the NBA game.
It’s worth noting that Isaiah Hartenstein‘s contract features a $28.5MM team option for 2026/27, when likely new deals for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will take effect. If he develops the way the Thunder hope, Sorber could be a long-term replacement for Hartenstein.
Hopefully brings back the Georgetown big legacy. He will get some run behind Ihart, Jaylin can also play with him and anyone. The team is going to stay deep reduce regular season minutes for starters too.
Really smart pick. Chet is extremely injury prone & this guy can eventually be a really similar player. Kid reminds me of Vin Baker with his hands, footwork, agility combo.
Also, from the video, Sorber has a great base and can bang, which has become a huge need in the West with Jokic, Zubac, Randle, Sengun, Sabonis, Edey, Clingan, Kessler, etc, etc.
Chet does a good job on these guys given how light he is, but he can be backed down. (And, like you suggest, that is dangerous in the long-term.)
Sorber is also a super-smart and a great kid. OKC does it again.
Called it…..IHart’s replacement after next year due to cost of resigning the big 3. Pretty obvious that was the direction they were heading anyways so not a huge surprise either.
Don’t count on iHart sticking around this season. Presti overpaid him and Joe for a reason. Has a window to add another max player this season or next while SGA is only making $40M with no player option. Even with Chet and Jalen getting bigger deals in 2026-27, you can package Hart, Joe, Kenrich and Dieng and add a max guy for 2 years. Team really needs to start consolidating soon with all these picks!
> Presti overpaid (Isiah) Joe for a reason.
You think a career 40% shooter and plus defender is overpaid at $12M/yr? He’d easily get another $3M-$6M year on the open market.
IMO, you’re missing a central point in Presti’s design. He doesn’t want to “consolidate” your mid-level players into a “max guy”. Instead he wants a small number of max players (SGA, Williams, and Chet) so that he can have a large number of excellent mid-level players (Wiggins, Joe, Kenrich Williams, Dort, etc.). That’s why he’s collected 25 extra 2nd reound picks, which provide a pipeline of these mid-level players.
Wiggins, Dort and Caruso are the ones who will stick. Joe is not going to be on the roster as a designated 3pt shooter who can’t get on the court in the WCF or Finals. He helps in the regular season sure, but if he can’t play when it matters, he shouldn’t be on the roster at that number. Just because he can shoot 3’s doesn’t mean he should get paid. Ask the Nets how they feel about Joe Harris and Heat about Duncan Robinson making those salaries. Malik Beasley just got $6M this last season and he’s the same type of designated shooter.
They can find someone off the street to shoot 3s and SGA/Jdub/Cason should be working to improve their 3pt shooting.
Topic can’t shoot 3’s so not sure how that’s gonna work but Presti seem to love his Giddey type ball handlers. I’m saying if you get a max player it would be for this upcoming season.
When SGA is at $80 and JDUB at $45M, Chet at $35M you can’t have Joe at $12M when Caruso is at $20 and Dort will probably be at $20 as well. Wiggins deal is great because it will be almost at a minimum level. Having the picks insure that you can swap out players 8-12 for cheaper rookies if they are later 1st and 2nd round picks.
Wow, that’s a lot of mistakes by Sam Presti! And I love the part about SGA and JDub needing to work on their 3’s in the off-season.
You miss the key point about Isiah Joe. He’s not only a career 3 pt shooter, but an excellent defender. Comparing him to Joe Harris and Duncan Robinson is misguided.
Locking up Isiah Joe for 4 years at $12M was a strong move. He’s a great value as the 9th/10th man on a deep roster, and fits their system perfectly.
Not excellent enough to be on the court when it mattered.
How does he flop though?
One of my favorite draft picks and Thomas Sober will be great for the Oklahoma City Thunder!