In a packed practice facility, Thomas Sorber was in the gym for the first time since the media assembled at training camp. After the 19-year-old gingerly walked around at 2025-26 Media Day, he relied on crutches with his teammates around him at practice.
The crutches were a grim reminder of Sorber’s short-term future ahead. As Chet Holmgren put it, it’ll be a lot of mundane days that feel the same. He will look outside the window like Squidward as the Oklahoma City Thunder defend their NBA championship.
Sorber will miss the entire 2025-26 season. He sustained a torn ACL in an offseason workout in Sept. 2025. While he’s looked at it from a glass-half-full perspective, there’s no way around it — it’s a bad situation.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed Sorber’s presence and his season-ending injury. He said being around the team will be good for his psyche. It’ll be easy for him to feel isolated from the rest of the group as he quietly rehabs, so being at the facility helps avoid that.
“I think it’s helpful to strike a balance of getting those guys on their own schedule so that they’re not here seven hours a day but also have them around the team at appropriate times,” Daigneault said. “Especially since we had just had a longer film session. Those types of situations make sure they’re exposed to that and around the guys enough. I just think that’s good for their mental.”
The Thunder hope Sorber can be their long-term solution at backup center. He was taken with the No. 15 pick of the 2025 NBA draft. His sole collegiate season at Georgetown was cut short due to foot surgery. Now, this knee injury has further delayed his return to the court.
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