Olympics standout lands NBA contract

Mar 23, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward JT Thor (21) arrives at the arena before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers were apparently paying close attention to the Paris Olympic Games.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Saturday that the Cavs have agreed to a two-way contract with power forward JT Thor. The 21-year-old Thor is of South Sudanese descent and just turned in a strong performance at the Olympics playing for South Sudan.

Thor proved to be a dependable energy guy for South Sudan, averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game off the bench in group-stage play (the team didn’t qualify for the knockout stage). But Thor’s best performance came during the pre-Olympics exhibition in which South Sudan almost pulled off the shocking upset over Team USA. During that contest, Thor finished with 14 points in just 18 minutes of action, drawing fouls at the basket and sinking multiple three-pointers as well.

Thor had already gotten an opportunity in the NBA before this. He was the No. 37 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and had averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in three seasons of limited run with the Charlotte Hornets. But Thor had gone unsigned to this point of the summer, so his stellar play at the Olympics is probably what put him over the top.

As for the Cavs, recent rumors were that they might be signing a different breakout player from the Olympics instead. They will be taking a shot on Thor though and may still have some room for the other guy as well with multiple roster spots left to work with.