The reigning NBA champions have already hit a bump in their road to a repeat, more than six weeks before the regular season even begins.
The Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday announced that rookie forward/center Thomas Sorber tore the ACL in his right knee during a workout a day earlier and will miss the 2025-26 season.
The Thunder selected Sorber with the 15th pick in June’s draft after the 19-year-old averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his lone season at Georgetown. He played in 24 games as a freshman, his season cut short by a turf toe injury that required surgery. He also sat out NBA Summer League with the Thunder while recovering from the surgery.
The 6-foot-10 Sorber was not expected to be a contributor this season. The Thunder return much of the core of the team that went 68-14 and beat the Indiana Pacers in seven games to win the franchise’s first title since the 1978-79 season, when the club was the Seattle SuperSonics.
If Sorber is looking for any inspiration, he can look to the Thunder roster.
Nikola Topic missed his entire rookie season in 2024-25 because of a torn ACL but averaged 11 points in three Summer League games in July. And star forward Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in 2022, missed his rookie season after suffering a foot injury that summer.
The Thunder open the season Oct. 21 with a home game against the Houston Rockets.
–Field Level Media
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