Coming out of the 2025 NBA Draft, the OKC Thunder were argued to have landed a true steal in the likes of Thomas Sorber at 15 overall on the night.
Following his one-and-done season with the Georgetown Hoyas, one where he earned Third-Team All-Big East honors, the center was viewed as one of the best rim protectors in his class and, at just 19 years old, as having significantly more room for growth in his game.
Of course, considering the state of the club's big man rotation that consists of established core members like Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams, even before he went down with a season-ending ACL tear in early September, it was considered rather hard to envision Sorber coming across a significant role within coach Mark Daigneault's scheme right out of the gates.
Because of this, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report believes that, if they were presented with some sort of hypothetical do-over, Sam Presti and company may be tempted to go in a different direction, perhaps one that sees them coming away with South Carolina power forward Collin Murray-Boyles instead.
Bleacher Report re-draft has Thunder taking Collin Murray-Boyles
In a recent piece, Swartz questioned how different the 2025 NBA Draft would be if it "took place today," given all the player-based knowledge that's now available after Summer League, training camp, and preseason action.
In this exercise, by the time the Thunder are on the clock, Sorber still finds himself available for the taking, which, in turn, would allow the franchise to run things back exactly how they played out in real life.
However, instead of keeping things the same, Swartz believes Oklahoma City may want to shake things up and, instead, take a shot on the highly versatile Second-Team All-SEC honoree in Murray-Boyles.
"In a re-draft, OKC should be thrilled to scoop up Collin Murray-Boyles here," Swartz said. "It's easy to imagine the 6'7" power forward lining up alongside Chet Holmgren in the frontcourt for stretches, as his strong frame and defensive skills would pair nicely alongside Holmgren's three-point shooting and rim protection."
Though there's a case to be made that going with Sorber again could be a logical move to make, especially when considering OKC's rising payroll, coupled with I-Hart's contract situation, the opportunity to snag the likes of Murray-Boyles may be too enticing to pass up on in this hypothetical re-do.
The former Gamecock wrapped up his collegiate career with stellar stat sheet stuffing averages of 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks on 58.6 percent shooting from deep while drawing strong comparisons to star Swiss Army Knife fours such as Julius Randle and Draymond Green along the way.
Ultimately, the 20-year-old was snatched up six slots ahead of the Thunder by the Toronto Raptors, a decision the organization is seemingly still head over heels about, with cornerstone Scottie Barnes recently referring to the incoming rookie as a "monster" on the hardwood.
As things currently stand, Oklahoma City should have no regrets or second-guesses when looking back on how they handled their draft day decision-making, even with Sorber now slated to be the club's third red-shirted rookie in four years.
That said, it's always fun to discuss the "what could have beens" had a few things played out differently back during June's festivities. The Thunder would likely have been more than happy with this theoretical scenario proposed by Swartz, and would have been able to reap the rewards of their pick far sooner as well.