JT Thor | |
Position: | Power forward |
Height Ft: | 6 |
Height In: | 9 |
Weight Lbs: | 203 |
League: | NBA |
Team: | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Birth Date: | 26 August 2002 |
Birth Place: | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
Nationality: | American / South Sudanese |
High School: | |
College: | Auburn (2020–2021) |
Draft Year: | 2021 |
Draft Round: | 2 |
Draft Pick: | 37 |
Draft Team: | Detroit Pistons |
Career Start: | 2021 |
Years1: | – |
Team1: | Charlotte Hornets |
Years2: | 2021–2022 |
Team2: | →Greensboro Swarm |
Years3: | –present |
Team3: | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Years4: | 2024–present |
Team4: | →Cleveland Charge |
Jokhow Panom "JT" Thor (born August 26, 2002) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League.[1] He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers. He was selected with the 37th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
Thor was born in Omaha, Nebraska to South Sudanese parents and moved to Anchorage, Alaska at age five.[2] He started playing basketball in seventh grade and competed for West Anchorage High School.[3] At age 14, Thor moved to West Virginia, where his brother lived, to attend Huntington Prep School.[4] After two seasons, he transferred to Norcross High School in Norcross, Georgia.[5] He reclassified to the 2020 class.[6] As a senior, Thor averaged 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, receiving all-state honors.[7] He was a consensus four-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for Auburn, choosing the Tigers over Oklahoma State.[8]
On February 13, 2021, Thor recorded a freshman season-high 24 points and nine rebounds, shooting 5-of-6 from three-point range, in an 82–80 loss to Kentucky.[9] As a freshman at Auburn, he averaged 9.4 points, five rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.[10] On March 23, 2021, Thor declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[11] He later signed with an agent, forgoing his remaining eligibility.[12]
Thor was selected 37th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2021 NBA draft. On August 6, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets with Mason Plumlee for the 57th overall pick.[13] [14] The Hornets officially signed Thor on August 6, 2021.[15] On October 26 and November 2, he was assigned to the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.[16] In his G League debut, Thor posted 34 points off of 14-of-22 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 128–117 loss to the Birmingham Squadron.[17] The Hornets released Thor on June 28, 2024, along with guard Seth Curry.[18]
On August 17, 2024, Thor signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[19]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte| 33 || 0 || 7.9 || .436 || .259 || .600 || 1.3 || .6 || .2 || .3 || 2.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte| 69 || 8 || 14.0 || .399 || .317 || .702 || 2.2 || .5 || .3 || .3 || 3.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte| 63 || 3 || 12.4 || .437 || .346 || .550 || 2.3 || .5 || .2 || .4 || 3.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 165 || 11 || 12.2 || .418 || .320 || .644 || 2.1 || .5 || .2 || .4 || 3.2
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Auburn| 27 || 27 || 23.0 || .440 || .297 || .741 || 5.0 || .9 || .8 || 1.4 || 9.4
Thor's older cousin, Jal Rial, played basketball for Phoenix College and Howard College. He has four brothers and three sisters.[2]