Injured Thunder rookie Thomas Sorber spreads cheer and fills carts, bringing joy and groceries to a grateful local family.
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie center Thomas Sorber may be missing his entire first season due to an unfortunate offseason ACL tear, but that setback isn't stopping him from helping in his new community.
The former Georgetown Hoya spent his Saturday afternoon assisting the Ponce family during a shopping spree at a local Homeland grocery store.
Today I just went shopping with a couple kids. Looking for some snacks, some food, had a little fun with it as well," Sorber said of the Thunder Cares experience. "They were showing me some of their dances. So we had a good time. It was really fun shopping with them and I got a good experience out of it."
The Thunder partnered with Homeland to provide $500 to the Ponce family to purchase groceries. The 6'9" redshirt rookie helped out by pushing the shopping carts, placing items in the baskets and assisting with the check out. Sorber's 7'6" wingspan came up clutch for all those top shelf foods. The family received an additional $500 Homeland gift card to use for a future visit.
"It means a lot," Sorber said of his time shopping with the Ponces. "You know, growing up, I didn't have that much when I was little. So it means a lot giving back to the community and putting smiles on those kids' faces. Coming back home with some pretty good food."
"We had Thomas here from the Thunder for a shopping spree. We've done multiples of these each year. It's always exciting to have them in town and shopping with us and helping out a local family," said Homeland store manager Russell Raydon. "We're a part of the community. We enjoy helping our customers feed their families. It's so nice when we can see somebody who has a need to be able to get fulfilled and taken care of the next few months with their grocery bills."
Thomas Sorber was the #15 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He is expected to make a full recovery and make his Thunder debut to start the 2026-2027 season.
The Thunder Cares Foundation vision via the official OKC Thunder website:
Oklahoma City Thunder is committed to community engagement through four areas of focus: education, healthy and vibrant communities, workforce development and basic needs. The Thunder Cares platform supports the community 365 days a year through the investment of staff resources, sponsored programs, donations, player engagement and the support of the Thunder Community Foundation.