LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 16: Thomas Sorber #12 of the Oklahoma City Thunder poses for a portrait during the 2025 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at UNLV on July 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Less than a month before the start of NBA Training Camp, the Oklahoma City Thunder received tough news. Thomas Sorber, the team’s No. 15 overall pick in June’s draft and a one-and-done standout freshman center from Georgetown, has torn his ACL and will miss the entire 2025-26 season. The 19-year-old is a highly talented big with passing chops and a knack for making plays for others, but his ability to contribute at the NBA level will have to wait another year.
The reigning champions should be fine without him in the immediate future. Their frontcourt is already loaded and more than capable of holding its own — after all, it anchored them to a title just last season. Still, Sorber’s injury could impact the group’s depth during the regular season if other frontcourt injuries arise. Beyond that, the setback carries long-term implications, too.
Sorber was projected as a player with the talent to potentially eventually replace Isaiah Hartenstein in the rotation if the Thunder is unable to retain him due to future financial constraints. With this injury, Sorber won’t make his NBA debut until the 2026-27 campaign, meaning he’ll be behind the curve in terms of experience.
It may take him an additional year or two beyond that before he’s ready to handle a heavy role on a championship-caliber team. Of course, surprises do happen and first-year players have stepped into the league after injuries and delivered starting-caliber minutes right away.
But the timeline for Sorber to develop into a cornerstone piece of the Thunder’s roster has now been pushed back at least a year. That’s assuming he’s able to recover fully, regain form, and stay healthy. It’s also worth noting that Sorber missed the NBA Summer League and much of the pre-draft process with a foot injury suffered late in his lone college season at Georgetown. As a sturdy-built big man, these lower body injuries are worrisome for a player like Sorber, but he’s still just 19 years old with plenty of daylight ahead of him.
Now, with another significant injury to a rookie, the Thunder finds itself in a familiar situation. For the second straight year, a highly-touted first-round rookie will miss his entire first season with an ACL tear — Nikola Topic being the player in that category a year ago. The difference this time is that Oklahoma City knew about the Topic injury and the need surgery when drafting him. With Sorber, this was a surprise.
In short, it’s devastating news for Sorber. The Thunder will be fine in the short term, but this injury will shape how the team approaches its center rotation and long-term roster planning in the years ahead. Don’t expect any big moves to be made to fill his void this season, but Sorber’s ability to crack the rotation in the years following will be important to monitor from a team-building standpoint.
In the meantime, Sorber will spend time around the team further learning the system from the sideline, just as Topic did and even Chet Holmgren in the 2022-23 campaign. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the Thunder to navigate, but it is still an unfortunate event.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholascrain/2025/09/05/how-rookie-thomas-sorbers-season-ending-injury-impacts-thunder-now-and-in-future/
