He flew into Philadelphia in the early morning of Tuesday, June 23. He would board a cross-country flight that same night to Los Angeles to see doctors as he continues to rehabilitate a major knee injury.
But Thomas Sorber wanted to be here.
The 15th selection of the 2025 NBA Draft’s first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to return to Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia, the alma mater that molded him and gave him a building block of faith, support and wisdom to build upon.
Sorber, a 2024 graduate and a 6’10” forward, wanted to talk to the 60 boys who attended the school’s basketball camp run by his coach, ‘06 Ryan grad Joe Zeglinski. He wanted to take questions from the young people. He wanted to instill values, lead court-long agility and speed drills, meet the kid wearing a Sorber Thunder jersey, and leave an impact on the place that has impacted him so much.
“I’ll forever be a Ryan Raider,” Sorber said Tuesday. “I love Ryan. I love coming back here to keep coming to the camps and make it a show.”
Zeglinski said that Sorber continues to be a living testimony to what faith, hard work, dedication, consistency, humility and thankfulness can do.
“He’s that grateful kid who talked to everyone in the building, smiled every day. If you walk around the school, everyone here knows him,” said Zeglinski. “That’s not just from him being an NBA player or being the best player who ever played here. It’s more just the person he was. He continues to give back to our community.”
Sorber got to do exactly that 365 days beforehand when he visited the same Ryan boys basketball camp. It was his last stop before heading to New York City for two days of preparation before becoming became the first-round selection of the then-defending NBA champions.
Sorber’s childhood included the loss of his father Peter Sorber at 8 years old, and the example of his mother, Tenneh Sorber, an immigrant from Liberia who worked two jobs while guiding her two children through school.
He said that he will relive the moment he heard the pick forever. He and his mother waterfalled tears on the NBA Draft stage in New York.
“Everything just left my body,” he said. “Every kid’s dream is to have their mom stop working one day, being able to provide for their parents. I’m honestly grateful that I got the chance to do that. I feel like the moment I heard my name being called, all this relief, all this pressure, everything was just out the window.”
Sorber, who played a year of college basketball at Georgetown, faced yet another year-long lap of adversity 73 days after being drafted. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during an offseason workout, temporarily halting his NBA career before it could first get off the ground.
Yet Sorber’s groundedness, instilled by his mother and the steady guidance he found at Archbishop Ryan, served him well through the frustrations.
“My family, my faith,” he said, “just knowing that they’re having my back, supporting me, just gives me the drive to keep pushing every day and do my best anytime I set my foot to the floor.”
He added that the unintended “gap” year helped him develop even more as a human being, expanding his maturity, growing the lessons he continues to learn daily as he prepares for a potential return during preseason play in October.
“It’s been a very long year, but my teammates were able to teach me patience just to give it time and put my work into my rehab,” Sorber said. “I’m honestly grateful to have this year to really learn the league, learn the NBA, and hopefully come out running.”
The time that he spent with the students last Tuesday at Ryan gave him that extra chance to influence the lives of young people, just as he received such a life-changing experience at Ryan.
He brought a forceful energy to the camp, the kind that Coach Zeglinski said he should bring every day to whatever he does in life.
He helped children understand the importance of non-verbal communication as he took questions, strongly encouraging them to look him in the eye when asking him a question.
That includes like one about the influence of Thunder teammate and two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“He taught me about the little things. He taught me how to be patient. He taught me how to stack bricks every single day,” Sorber said. “He’s a great role model.”
Sorber says that despite a year of not being able to play the game he loves, and amidst two cross-country flights in 24 hours to get back to Archbishop Ryan to be a similar role model at camp day, he sees God’s handiwork upon his new life in the NBA, a life molded by the Catholic education he received at Ryan.
“Very blessed,” he said. “I’m very blessed.”
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