More than any other NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder has a defensive identity. With the first of its two picks in Wednesday’s first round of the NBA Draft, the Thunder did not deviate from that identity.
With the 15th pick overall, OKC selected an elite defender – Georgetown forward/center Thomas Sorber. At 6-foot-9, the 19-year-old Sorber has a 7-4 wingspan and should fortify the Thunder’s interior defense.
A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Sorber is headed to Oklahoma after having played one season of college basketball. When Sorber was on the floor as a Georgetown freshman, opponents converted on only 31% of shots attempted in the paint. His one season as a Hoya was shortened by a left-foot injury sustained in late February.
As expected, the Dallas Mavericks selected Duke freshman Cooper Flagg with the first selection overall.
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Unless Sorber is used a trade piece during this two-day draft process, he’ll be added to an Oklahoma City roster that has an outstanding rim-protecting big man – Chet Holmgren – along with strong perimeter defenders like Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
During its regular-season journey that led to a postseason surge to the NBA title, the Thunder led the league in opponents’ field-goal percentage (43.6%), field goals per game (37.9) and opponents’ 3-point percentage (34.2%).
While Sorber may have the ability to contribute immediately on defense, he does also have offensive skills. For the Hoyas, he averaged 14.5 points on 53.2% shooting. He also totaled 8.5 rebounds per game.
Oklahoma City also had the 24th pick in the first round, along with one second-round pick – the 44th overall. The second round of drafting occurs on Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
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