OKC Thunder 2025 Summer League Roster And Full Two-Event Schedule Finalized
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.
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Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Player grades: Nikola Topic makes debut in Thunder's 92-80 SL loss to Grizzlies
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5: Ajay Mitchell #25 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looses control of the ball under pressure from Jaylen Wells #0 and Jeremy Jones #22 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of their NBA Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on July 5, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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) Picking up a low pass, Nikola Topic glanced up at the expiring shot clock. He only needed two dribbles to let off a deep pull-up 3-pointer that swished in before the buzzer sounded. That last-second outside heave was worth the two hours spent watching an exhibition with the broadcast quality of 360p. The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn't keep up in their 92-80 Summer League loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. It was the first of three games to be played at Utah before flying out to Las Vegas for the more traditional summer event. Advertisement The results don't matter in this environment. Instead, all eyes were on Topic and Ajay Mitchell to see how they looked against similar competition. They are the Thunder's top prospects who headline their Summer League roster. Safe to say both shined in the first game. Both of these teams had slow starts. Probably from a mix of rust and unfamiliarity. Oftentimes, these rosters are thrown together with just a raw collection of talent and no real rapport built in. The Grizzlies held a 19-18 lead after the first quarter. After that, both teams figured it out. The offenses ran smoothly. Mitchell and Jaylen Wells played like a pair of players who are knocking on the door of graduation. The Grizzlies scored 26 points in the second frame. The Thunder entered halftime in a 45-40 deficit. Despite the deficit, Thunder fans liked what they saw. Mitchell took over as the lead scorer. He got into a groove and drove to the basket with several fancy finishes. Meanwhile, Topic looked better as the game progressed. Brooks Barnhizer also shone as an all-hustle guy. Advertisement The buckets came in a flurry in the second half. Both teams figured out how to play against each other. Such is the modern nature of the NBA. Where even the exhibitions see teams score buckets at a fast pace. After Topic muscled his way through contact for a layup, the Thunder only faced a 61-60 deficit with a little over two minutes left in the third frame. Then the Grizzlies went on an 11-1 run to close the quarter. They scored 27 points in the frame. In the blink of an eye, the Thunder were in a 72-62 deficit after the third quarter. Wells and GG Jackson II took over. That must've been exciting to see if you're Memphis, as they're your two best available Summer League players. The Grizzlies stiff-armed the Thunder on the scoreboard for the rest of the way. The closest OKC would get was within eight points. Armando Bacot's easy layup pushed Memphis' lead to 82-68 with a little over six minutes left. That was their largest lead of the night. The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 7-of-23 (30.4%) from 3. They shot 11-of-17 on free throws. They had 14 assists on 31 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points. Advertisement Mitchell led the way with 24 points and six assists. Topic finished with 14 points and four assists. Barnhizer tallied nine points and 13 rebounds. Jazian Gortman had 10 points off the bench. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies shot 43% from the field and went 10-of-27 (37%) from 3. They shot 24-of-25 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 29 baskets. Three Grizzlies players scored double-digit points. Wells finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jackson II had 20 points and three rebounds. Cam Spencer tallied 14 points, five assists and five rebounds. You had to like what you saw from the Thunder's Summer League debut. The three most important players on the roster showed out in their own ways. That's all you can really ask for in these types of games. Topic finally made his OKC debut after a year's wait and Mitchell looked like a guy who just finished playing in the NBA Finals. Advertisement Let's look at Thunder player grades: Nikola Topic: C-plus Dribbling the ball behind the back, Topic had Phlandrous Fleming Jr. moving in the opposite direction. He saw an open lane and spun around to trick the Memphis defender one last time. He picked up his dribble and carried the ball in his bicep for the layup. That's quite the fancy way to score your first bucket. Topic finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four assists and one rebound. He shot 2-of-4 from 3. He also had two steals. Over a year later and 15 pounds later, Topic finally suited up for the Thunder. He quietly developed in the background of OKC's historic season that ended with a championship. Usually, the NBA champion has nothing to look forward to in the Summer League. The prospect cupboards are bare. Advertisement But thanks to the Thunder's rich draft haul, they had a blue-chip prospect already on the roster. Someone argued as a top-five pick before he sustained a partially torn ACL in May 2024. Topic showed flashes, but is still a work in progress. The drives to the basket were impressive. Topic looked under control. An element that's rarely seen from a 19-year-old. He showed some nice feel around the basket with a floater and finishes. The outside shot was also showcased with a couple of rushed 3-pointers that swished in. A couple of kick-out passes to outside shooters resulted in assists. The ball-handler looked right at home running the show. Especially in transition. He thrived in the chaotic nature of a fast break. Everything you wanted to see out of Topic in his first game was there. You also saw somebody who looked like he hadn't played in front of fans in over a year. Seven turnovers were mostly created by being rushed in his decision-making process. Wells picked him up full-court in the opening minutes. That rattled him for a bit. Advertisement This was a good first step in Topic's journey. He's the biggest name on the Thunder's Summer League roster. All eyes will be on him for the rest of the way. No matter how long that might be. Ajay Mitchell: A-plus SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5 : Efton Reid III #16 of the Memphis Grizzlies grabs a reobund away from Ajay Mitchell #25 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of their NBA Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on July 5, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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) Dancing with Fleming Jr., Mitchell spun around the Memphis defender and tripped him over his feet. He then bodied through Lawson Lovering's vertical contest for the fancy finish around the basket. The 23-year-old was in rhythm. After all, Summer League must've felt like small potatoes compared to the NBA Finals. Mitchell finished with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, six assists and one rebound. He shot 1-of-3 from3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had a steal. Advertisement Carrying the baton from Jalen Williams a couple of summers ago, Mitchell looked too good to be on the floor. He resembled his MVP teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with constant drives to the basket. He had no problem muscling his way through traffic or throwing up a soft floater that went in. Fresh off a contract extension, Mitchell had 16 points in the first half. He was OKC's sole source of offense. He continued that in the second half. Everything looked too easy for the second-year player. This is the type of domination you wanted to see from your most NBA-ready player on your Summer League roster. Let's see how many more Summer League games Mitchell has left, but this was an awesome start. Viewers tuned in for Topic but left impressed with Mitchell. Those two could battle it out for the backup point guard minutes next season. Brooks Barnhizer: B-plus SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5 Brooks Bamhizer #23 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives againt Cam Spencer #24 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the first half of their NBA Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on July 5, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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) Diving for a loose ball in the final moments, Barnhizer quickly got up and called a timeout. So far, his scouting report has looked pretty accurate. The 23-year-old played like a Red Bull can compensating for a lack of jumper with extra-effort plays. Advertisement Barnhizer finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and 13 rebounds. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had a steal. The board numbers pop out. Barnhizer was a great rebounder for his size at Northwestern. Looks like that strength easily translates to Summer League competition. Remains to be seen in the NBA, though. But the two-way player doesn't need to be a miss-shot magnet to be a positive on the court. Everything advertised about Barnhizer was shown in his Summer League debut. He can't score but can do a whole lot of else. He could swing a game in the Thunder's favor by winning on the margins. You saw that when he chased after a loose ball despite the score. Alex Ducas: C-minus SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5: Nate Hinton #8 of the Memphis Grizzlies tries to push through Zack Austin #52 and Alex Ducas #88 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of their NBA Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on July 5, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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) After an injury-plagued first year, Ducas hopes to flip the page for a better second season. He's off to a much better start now than he was this time last year. Just by simply being available. Advertisement Ducas finished with six points on 2-of-5 shooting and one rebound. He shot 2-of-4 from 3. He came off the bench. To be honest, outside of the above three players, nobody else on the Thunder really stood out. Branden Carlson didn't suit up, so Ducas was the other notable name. He was a two-way player last season. The 24-year-old will need to be lights out from the outside. That's his bread and butter. He'll have the entire Summer League to argue for himself why he should be back on a two-way deal. The only player officially under a two-way deal is Barnhizer. Carlson was tendered a two-way qualifying offer. Highlights: This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Topic debuts in Thunder's 92-80 SL loss to Grizzlies
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ajay Mitchell could soon graduate from Summer League after dominating Grizzlies
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JULY 5 : Ajay Mitchell #25 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives agaisnt Armando Bacot #00 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half of their NBA Summer League game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on July 5, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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) Dancing with Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Ajay Mitchell spun around the Memphis defender and tripped him over his feet. He then bodied through Lawson Lovering's vertical contest for the fancy finish around the basket. The 23-year-old was in rhythm. After all, Summer League must've felt like small potatoes compared to the NBA Finals. Mitchell finished with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, six assists and one rebound. He shot 1-of-3 from3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had a steal. Advertisement The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped a 92-80 Summer League loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. But as most know, the results of these games don't matter. Instead, the NBA champion has to feel good about how Mitchell looked. Carrying the baton from Jalen Williams a couple of summers ago, Mitchell looked too good to be on the floor. He resembled his MVP teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with constant drives to the basket. He had no problem muscling his way through traffic or throwing up a soft floater that went in. Fresh off a contract extension, Mitchell had 16 points in the first half. He was OKC's sole source of offense. He continued that in the second half. Everything looked too easy for the second-year player. This is the type of domination you wanted to see from the most NBA-ready player on your Summer League roster. Let's see how many more Summer League games Mitchell has left, but this was an awesome start. Viewers tuned in for Nikola Topic's debut but left impressed with Mitchell. Those two could battle it out for the backup point guard minutes next season. Advertisement "Just trying to stay in rhythm. I think there are a lot of things we can do better as a team. I can do better, too," Mitchell said. "Just got to look forward to the next one." This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Ajay Mitchell could soon graduate Summer League after Grizzlies game
Fox News
18 minutes ago
- Fox News
Former UPenn swimmer reflects on being teammates with Lia Thomas amid Trump admin victory over university
Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Monika Burzynska said she was assigned the locker just one over from Lia Thomas' when the transgender athlete joined the women's swim team in 2021. Burzynska previously knew the athlete as Will Thomas, a member of the men's swimming team at UPenn. "He wasn't very social," Burzynska told Fox News Digital, adding she had only ever had short, passing conversations with Thomas. She thought Thomas had already graduated when her team was dealt the news that the athlete would be transitioning to join the women's team starting in the 2021-22 season. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON When that season eventually began, and Thomas became a fixture in the women's locker room, Burzynska often retreated to the corner of the room to change. Other times, Burzynska timed exactly when she changed to coincide with when Thomas showered. Eventually, Burzynska opted to only change in the stalls or in the family locker across the hall. "Around Lia, I wasn't going to risk anything," Burzynska said, regarding the possibility of the trans athlete seeing her undress. Burzynska has never spoken out about her experience of being on a team with Thomas until now, amid the recent news that UPenn agreed to apologize to all the female swimmers, rescind Thomas' program records, and adopt a new policy that applies strict biological definitions for males and females. She said the news gave her "a deep sense of peace and validation." "Not only for me, but for all the girls on the team, for all the girls in the swim world and in the sport world. And I think this decision, it brought back – at least for me – a sense of fairness that had been lost," Burzynska said. "Women's records belong to women and that protecting the integrity of women's sports still matters." Still, the memories of what Burzynska and others had to endure lingers. Burzynska identifies as someone with conservative values, but says she grew up feeling "compassion" for transgender people. Her views changed when she was placed next to Thomas in the locker room. "I thought it must be terrible to feel like you're trapped in the wrong body. Just be so out of touch with who you really are," Burzynska said. "You have these issues that are from afar and you never really quite think they're going to touch you personally until you're on a team with Lia Thomas and your locker is directly next to this biological male. And you would have never believed that you'd be facing this issue directly. "And then when that happens, your views change where you still feel sorry for this person because they're clearly so deeply lost. But then it turns into more, 'OK, this is not fair,'" Burzynska added. As a native of Colonia, New Jersey, Burzynska explained that she grew up in a liberal environment with prominent pro-LGBTQ sentiment. Those values followed her when she went to UPenn in the deep blue city of Philadelphia. "We have a very, very, how should I call it, like deep LGBTQ presence on campus where the campus buildings or the dormitories, rather than flying the U.S. flag, the trans flag, the LGBTQ flag [were flown]. Whenever I visit Penn, I see it's like this huge skyscraper dorm, and they have the biggest rainbow flag you could imagine," Burzynska said. "So I guess, in a sense, you could say it encourages it if a person is very confused about their identity, and then there's this group that seems so accepting, so loving, telling you could be whatever you want to be… that might kind of, yeah, encourage people to turn that way." Burzynska, and the other female swimmers on the team at the time, were allegedly coerced into silence and submission by UPenn administrators. A lawsuit by three other former Thomas teammates, Grace, Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist, alleged that university officials pressured them not to speak out about their thoughts on Thomas joining the team publicly. "The UPenn administrators went on to tell the women that if the women spoke publicly about their concerns about Thomas' participation on the Women's Team, the reputation of those complaining about Thomas being on the team would be tainted with transphobia for the rest of their lives and they would probably never be able to get a job,'" the lawsuit alleged. UPENN AGREES TO FOLLOW TRUMP'S MANDATE ON PROTECTING WOMEN'S SPORTS AFTER LIA THOMAS INVESTIGATION Burzynska, having grown up in a liberal New Jersey town, was already accustomed to the consequences of sharing conservative values in a liberal setting. Burzynska recalls, from a young age, often being criticized for having "conservative or Republican values." "I had been experiencing that forever. And even UPenn, I think it's every university at this point, but UPenn is very, very left-leaning. And so I was kind of ready to embrace that, that my views wouldn't be welcomed because, yeah, I've been conservative most of my life. My beliefs are grounded in faith." Burzynska recalls a futile conversation she had with her head coach, Mike Schnur, when she confronted him with concerns about being on a team with Thomas. "We had this long meeting, I don't know, almost two hours long. And he said, 'Listen, Monika, I understand all your concerns. They're all valid. I don't think any of them would deter you from continuing onto your senior year and having a successful senior year. I think the one thing that would deter you is that Lia is changing in your locker room and there's nothing you could do about it,'" Burzynska said. "I told him in that meeting, 'What are you talking about? Like, how is this fair?' And his response was, 'It's not fair, but if you have any issues with it, come to me… Don't talk about it with everyone else. Come to me. We'll talk through it'" Burzynska said she never took Schnur up on that offer, believing that he wouldn't do anything about it anyway. Still, she alleges she witnessed her teammates having those futile conversations with Schnur, from a distance. Then came the administrators that allegedly pressured the women's swimmers who objected to Thomas to go to pro-LGBTQ counseling. Burzynska said she called the counseling session "brainwashing meetings." She never attended the sessions. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Burzynska has since moved on from the situation and has embraced her life and career beyond it. Still, she admits that parts of the situation instilled "trauma" in her, and she is grateful that President Donald Trump's administration made it a priority to instill consequences on UPenn. "Those [women's] rights at Penn were clearly compromised so it's amazing that they looked into it and Trump took it so seriously," Burzynska said. Fox News Digital has reached out to UPenn for a response to Burzynska's statements. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter .
