OKC Thunder 2025 Summer League Roster And Full Two-Event Schedule Finalized

Forbes

2 days ago

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 28: Ajay Mitchell #25 of the Oklahoma City Thunder brings the ... More ball up court during the first half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on December 28, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
While the Oklahoma City Thunder recently won an NBA Championship and already have 15 players accounted for on next season's roster, NBA Summer League is still an important milestone in the offseason. Over the next few weeks, the Thunder will play at least eight games across two cities in an effort to develop young talent and get a look at other interesting prospects across the league.
Oklahoma City will participate in both the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas circuits, which means plenty of action in the coming days. It all begins on Saturday, andthen will continue for multiple weeks.
Here's everything you need to know about the Thunder's upcoming NBA Summer League action.
Oklahoma City officially unveiled its roster for NBA Summer League on Friday afternoon, which gives insight into what to expect over the next few weeks. It's largely an inexperienced group of players, primarily built with rookies with zero NBA experience and five players with just one season under their belt. As such, Ajay Mitchell, Alex Ducas, Brandon Carlson, Malevy Leons and Jazian Gortman will be the veterans on this team, despite having minimal experience.
Here's the Thunder's official roster for NBA Summer League:
Thunder NBA Summer League Roster
Nikola Topic is undoubtedly the most interesting player on this roster. Viewed as a potential top-five pick 18 months ago leading into the 2024 NBA Draft, he dealt with a knee injury and ultimately slipped to the Thunder at No. 12 before undergoing surgery and missing all of last season. NBA Summer League will be his first time playing game action in an Oklahoma City uniform. Alongside him in the backcourt will be Ajay Mitchell, who carved out a spot in the Thunder's rotation last season as a rookie and will likely be the best player on the roster this summer.
From there, Brandon Carlson and Alex Ducas are among the notable players on the roster, as both were on a two-way contract in Oklahoma City last season and will be looking to prove their worth another. Furthermore, Viktor Lakhin is a legitimate NBA talent, but he recently suffered a foot injury and won't be able to compete.
Similarly, it's important to note that Thomas Sorber and Payton Sandfort are on the roster, but not expected to play. Sorber is still recovering from a season-ending foot injury, while Sandfort is also rehabbing a dual shoulder issue. Both are among the most promising on this list of players, but won't be on the floor this summer in game action.
Once again, the Thunder will compete in a smaller NBA Summer League in Salt Lake City to kick off its long stretch of action in July. Only four teams compete in this event, which has become a tradition for each of these franchises every summer.
From there, the Thunder heads to Las Vegas for at least five more games right after wrapping up in Utah. The Las Vegas event is the bigger of the two that OKC participates in, as all 30 NBA teams compete in that one.
As outlined by the NBA, after each team's first four games, the top four teams will advance to participate in the playoffs. The four playoff teams and their seeds for playoff games will be determined by winning percentage in each team's first four games, with tiebreaker criteria available here. The 26 teams that do not advance to the four-team playoff will play a fifth game to round out their summer.
NBA Summer League is important for not just the players on every team, but also for the teams themselves. This is one of the best forums to evaluate young talent to win on the margins. Especially for the Thunder, filling out the two-way contracts with real contributors who could have the chance to make their way to the 15-man roster at some point is a huge advantage when it comes to roster building.