A summer filled with celebration nears its end. Only a month remains until the Oklahoma City Thunder start the 2025-26 regular season. The NBA champion has enjoyed its accomplishments, but soon a new marathon will start with them at the top.
Bringing back mostly the same roster, the Thunder are the consensus title favorite. They’re viewed as a team that could pull off the rare feat of being a back-to-back champion. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all signed contract extensions this offseason to keep their title window wide open.
To prepare for the 2025-26 regular season, Thunder Wire will lay out three goals for all 17 players on the roster. OKC has 15 standard players and two two-way players. Let’s look at Thomas Sorber and what he could accomplish this upcoming year:
Rehab torn ACL
A long rehab process awaits Sorber. A torn ACL has knocked him out for the entire 2025-26 season. Just a brutal break for somebody who recently returned from foot surgery that cut his collegiate season at Georgetown short. Now, he’ll spend the next nine-plus months getting back to form. He’s suffered another roadbump in his NBA journey. It’s about making the best of a bad situation.
At least torn ACLs aren’t the career-crushers they used to be. Sorber should be able to make a full recovery and still have a long career ahead of him. The Thunder are just now in this pretty weird historic spot where three of their last four top draft picks missed their first season with an injury.
Learn from Holmgren, Hartenstein
Even though Sorber won’t be able to share the court with Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, he should still be able to absorb their knowledge like a sponge. Especially once he’s clear enough to travel with the team on road trips. There’s perhaps no better center room to be a part of. Both players were starters on an NBA champion.
Sorber will get a chance to learn from a distance. The Thunder hope the 19-year-old could be the long-term backup center. But first, he must learn how to be a threat against NBA defenses. Hartenstein always talks about how his time with Nikola Jokic unlocked his playmaking abilities. Maybe he can pass down the favor to the next generation of centers.
Prepare for NBA lifestyle
You always hear about a rookie wall. Sometimes, first-year players get off to hot starts. They’re productive from the jump. Then, their production dips as they approach the middle of the season. The NBA season indeed takes some time to get used to. It’s more games than in high school and college seasons.
Sorber will get a chance to work through the travel logistics of a grueling NBA regular season without the physical taxes. There’s some good in that, for sure. Obviously, you prefer him learning on the job. But being out of action shouldn’t prevent him from learning about other facets of being a professional basketball player.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder 3 goals: Thomas Sorber has to embrace torn ACL rehab
