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Rehabbing in the background, Thomas Sorber likely had this season-long five-game road trip circled on his calendar. The 20-year-old needed things to look forward to in his first NBA year as he recovers from a torn ACL that shelved him before Media Day even arrived.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had an eventful 132-111 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday. Sorber's rookie duties likely included being their personal tour guide — as he played at Capital One Arena for Georgetown's home games.
The Thunder have seen Sorber slowly get back into the groove of things. Six months after he sustained the season-ending knee surgery, he conducted a pregame warmup at Washington. Over the last couple of months, his activity has ramped up to basketball exercises.
You never want to miss your first year in the NBA. The Thunder added Sorber with the No. 15 pick of the 2025 NBA draft. They likely had hoped to see him show enough flashes to make an educated decision with Isaiah Hartenstein's long-term future.
But alas, sometimes things are out of your control. Despite the redshirt year, Sorber has made the most of his situation. Helps being part of one of the deepest center rooms in the NBA. Hartenstein reflected on his one-man journey as OKC hopes to go back-to-back.
"I think it's the first time I've played with a child. You see that he's still a child. In a good way," Hartenstein said. "He's approached his rehab the right way. Anytime you see him, he's in a good mood. I try to talk to him a lot."
The Thunder were able to add Sorber thanks to the Miami Heat. They were the latest team to gift OKC a premium draft pick. Sitting on a box of draft capital, OKC has added a crop of young talent in recent years because of trades it made at the beginning of the decade. Talk about foresight.
"That happened to you in your first year, is always going to be hard mentally. But being able to come in, being able to approach it the right way and have the right energy," Hartenstein said. "Put your ego aside. To me, we have three starting centers on our team. You have Chet, me and J-Will. Just to come in each day with the right mindset."
Sorber joins Chet Holmgren and Nikola Topic as Thunder players who missed their first season due to injuries. He also missed the latter half of Georgetown's year with foot surgery. Odds are, he'll suit up for OKC in the 2026 Summer League — that will make the two-week event at least watchable.
Until then, though, Sorber must cosplay as a sponge and soak up all of the knowledge he could get from his Thunder teammates. There's no better trio to learn from as you clear more hurdles from your knee injury.
"Just be healthy. Be in the present moment and just kinda learn from us," Hartenstein said. "When he comes back, just figuring out when his time comes. It's a hard thing to figure out as a young player. To see three guys who are starters in the league at your position. I think he's done an amazing job at being part of the culture."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Isaiah Hartenstein details Thomas Sorber's 1st year in NBA
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