Slowly doing more and more during the NBA playoffs, novelty still surrounded Thomas Sorber. As the Oklahoma City Thunder made their way through an epic 2026 Western Conference Finals, the 20-year-old faded into the background as his physical activity amped up nine months since his torn ACL.

Even though they're no longer the NBA champions, expect the Thunder to remain the picture for the foreseeable future. One of the reasons? Besides the obvious of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they've done an excellent job at filling the backend of the roster with young talent.

Sorber is one. Or at least, that's the hope. The Thunder added him with the No. 15 pick of the 2025 NBA draft. Just a few days after their championship parade. Out of Georgetown, most penciled him in as OKC's long-term backup big. We'll see if that materializes. Especially depending on Isaiah Hartenstein's summer. But at the very least, he provides quality depth — if all goes well.

At his exit interview, Sorber talked about his 2025-26 redshirt year. He joined Chet Holmgren and Nikola Topic as OKC's recent top draft picks who missed their first year due to injury.

"Honestly, I didn't think I would be in this position if you were to ask me a year ago," Sorber said. "But it's been a blessing just being picked by the Thunder, learning what I can learn from the reigning champs and being a part of this amazing group of guys. They want to win and want to compete every day. So I learned a lot from them."

On the cusp of inevitable change, the Thunder could fork over opportunities for Sorber in this upcoming season and beyond. He's already licking his chops at the prospect of actually suiting up. Not only has he yet to log NBA minutes, but he also missed the final month of Georgetown's season when he had foot surgery in Feb. 2025.

The first step? Summer League. Hopefully, at least. Sorber wouldn't say one way or the other if he'd suit up for the multi-week extravaganza, but considering he'd be 10 months removed from his Sept. 2025 torn ACL and has ramped up his physical activity, I think it's a safe bet to make that he'll play.

"That would be my plan," Sorber said. "But I'm not sure on my timeline yet."

Considering his circumstances, Sorber made the best of a bad situation. Nobody ever wants to miss their entire first season, but the Thunder have had some brutal luck over the last four years of their top picks being in that situation. That said, he absorbed all knowledge like a sponge. But there's no better teacher than actual experience. He's more than ready to get to that part of his journey.

"Definitely a lot of focus around playoff time. So guys were dialed in and I was just like piggybacking off and learning off what they were learning off too," Sorber said. "Just trying to see, honestly, our opponents' strengths and weaknesses just so I can go up and be ready for next year."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thomas Sorber hopes to play in 2026 NBA Summer League