Tag: JT Thor

JT Thor scores seven points in loss to Team USA

The 6-9 forward hammered down 7 points in the 103-89 loss to Team USA.

After nearly upsetting the Stars & Stripes in an exhibition game a few weeks ago, the South Sudan Bright Stars had another chance to make history on Wednesday in the Olympic rematch. Unfortunately for former Auburn Tiger [autotag]JT Thor[/autotag] and his teammates Wednesday’s 103-86 loss was never very close.

Despite receiving the fourth most minutes out of all South Sudan players in the exhibition, Thor played just 15 minutes on Wednesday. However, he was able to put up some solid statistics in those limited minutes. The 6-9 forward hammered down 7 points while also providing the lightning on the defensive side with a block, a steal, and 4 rebounds.

Exhibition star Marial Shayok, who led all scorers with 24 in the one-point loss, scored just 12 points on 4-15 from the field on Wednesday. 29-year-old forward Nuni Omot scored the most out of any Bright Star, and any player in the game, with 24 of his own. As for Team USA, center Bam Adebayo and forward Kevin Durant led the way with 18 and 14 points, respectively.

South Sudan heads into a “win and you are in” showdown against Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Saturday. The winning country will secure the No. 2 spot in Group C behind USA, while the loser would finish third, behind Team USA, and the winning side, and ahead of Puerto Rico. Serbia’s current point differential (+15) gives it a likely spot as a “wild card” team in the quarterfinals even with a loss. At the same time, South Sudan (-6 ) could only afford to lose by a single point to stay ahead of Greece (-8) to capture the tiebreaker.

Thor and the Bright Stars will try to give South Sudan its first-ever knockout round bid on Saturday at 2 PM CST.

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JT Thor, South Sudan defeat Puerto Rico in first Olympic test

The former Tiger finished the contest with six points, seven rebounds, and a steal, block, and assist.

South Sudan’s basketball team won their first ever Olympic contest in the early hours of Sunday morning, defeating Puerto Rico 90-79 in the first round of Group Play.

The Bright Stars not only won their first game ever on the Paris Olympic Stage, but now are just one win away from securing a spot in the quarterfinal round.

Former Auburn Tiger[autotag]JT Thor[/autotag] did not end up starting the contest for his country, but he did play the third most minutes (23) out of all players on his squad. Thor was also on the floor when the momentum shifted in favor of South Sudan early in the second half. With the Bright Stars trailing by six coming out of the locker room, Thor provided more than half of his seven rebounds, a steal, and a block, to help his team enter the fourth quarter leading by two.

The 21-year-old finished the contest with six points, seven rebounds, and a steal, block, and assist. While Thor did his part, the real story came from South Sudan’s starting five, where four of five starters finished with at least 12 points. Carlik Jones, who secured a triple-double in the exhibition against Team USA a week ago, led the way with 19.

South Sudan now sit in second place in Group C with two games left to play. If the Bright Stars can find a way to get past one of Team USA or Serbia they are all but certain to secure a spot in the medal round. They will have the first chance to do that on July 31 in a rematch against Team USA at 2 PM CST.

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JT Thor and South Sudan nearly pull off stunner against Team USA

In the late stages of Saturday’s game, Thor calmly knocked down a step-back corner three pointer to put his nation ahead 100-99.

Former Auburn forward [autotag]J.T Thor[/autotag] and South Sudan nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets of all time on Saturday afternoon.

Playing an exhibition against a Team USA team favored by over 47 points, the Bright Stars were seconds away from causing enough hysteria in the city of London to prompt the bridges to fall down. After taking a double digit lead into the halftime locker room, the least experienced squad in the Olympic field fell 101-100 in the games final seconds after a LeBron James layup.

James, who has more Olympic gold medals (3) than South Sudan has Olympic appearances (2), led the way for the red, white, and blue with 23 points on an efficient 10/14 from the field including the eventual game winner with under a 20 seconds left. Before James’s heroics, it was former Tiger JT Thor who seemed to strike lightning in a bottle.

With his team down 99-97, the Charlotte Hornets forward calmly knocked down a step-back corner three pointer in front of the aforementioned Los Angeles Laker legend to put his nation ahead 100-99. The long ball was Thor’s only 3-point make of the game, although he contributed heavily elsewhere, finishing with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block over 18 minutes of action.

Thor’s 14 points were good enough for third on the Bright Stars. He trailed only NBA journeyman Carlik Jones (15 points) and Marial Shayok (24) on the stat sheet. Jones, who last played in the association in 2023 for the Chicago Bulls, did his best Michael Jordan impression across the pond, putting up a 15 point, 11 rebound, 11 assist triple-double performance in the loss. Shayok, who played college basketball at Iowa State with Team USA member Tyrese Haliburton, was not only the leading scorer for his team but the leading scorer in the game as well.

The former Auburn Tiger and his fellow Bright Stars put the basketball world on notice despite the loss. While South Sudan is still a long shot to claim a podium in the games, the moral victory should bode well for the team’s chances in Paris. As for Team USA, it is clear France won’t be all butterflies and pastries for the favorites.

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Jaylin Williams among top 100 prospects ahead of NBA draft

Williams looks to become the next Auburn player to join the NBA ranks.

Under [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s direction, it has become common practice for Auburn basketball to produce NBA talent.

Pearl has produced six NBA draft picks since taking over the program in 2014, most recently sending [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] to the association as first-round picks in 2022. The next Auburn-made NBA product could be forward Jaylin Williams.

Williams had an impressive Auburn career which saw him average 10-plus points per game in four of his five seasons on the Plains. Now, he is ready to take the next step in his career by joining the NBA ranks.

Ahead of next week’s NBA draft, [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] ranks No. 78 in On3’s top 100 prospects list. NBA Scouting Live feels that Williams could be a threat on both sides of the basketball.

Auburn’s Jaylin Williams is a versatile scorer that can make plays on both sides of the ball. He has a variety of skills but can tend to fade into the background too much at times, but he is a skilled forward that could end up being a second round pick in the 2024 draft.

Williams ends his collegiate career as Auburn’s all-time winningest player with over 110 wins. In five seasons at Auburn, Williams averaged 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game over 141 games. He looks to join the likes of [autotag]Isaac Okoro[/autotag] and [autotag]JT Thor[/autotag] by becoming another former Tiger on an active NBA roster.

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JT Thor scores 28 as Hornets fall short in summer league finale

Charlotte closes out their time in Vegas with a 2-3 record.

The Charlotte Hornets fell short in their final summer league matchup, losing 89-86 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Charlotte was led by second-year player JT Thor, who finished with a game-high 28 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 steals on 9-of-14 shooting from the field.

Last Sunday, Thor his the game-winning sudden death shot to defeat the Lakers in double overtime.

2022 first-round pick Mark Williams finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 20 minutes of action.

LiAngelo Ball did not make an appearance in Saturday’s summer league finale.

The Hornets’ time in Las Vegas showed promising big man depth in Williams and 2021 first-round pick Kai Jones along with the play of 2022 second-round pick Bryce McGowens.

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WATCH: JT Thor makes game-winner to beat Lakers

JT Thor is still dangerous from 3.

[autotag]JT Thor[/autotag] was the hero for the Charlotte Hornets in their game against the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night.

Thor hit a walk-off three-pointer in double overtime to beat the Lakers 89-86 in the Summer League matchup.

The Lakers got the ball first in the second overtime with a chance to end the game but were unable to score. The Hornets then turned to Thor, who was 1-of-5 from 3 and 2-of-12 overall with the game on the line and he delivered. He nailed a corner 3 to give the Hornets the victory.

He finished the night with 12 points and three rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Thor, a 6-foot-9, 203-pound power forward, is looking to establish himself in the NBA after playing in 33 games for the Hornets in his rookie season.

The former No. 37 overall pick averaged 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 7.9 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-9, 203-pound power forward played at Auburn during the 2020 season and averaged 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 27 games.

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Hornets’ JT Thor taking advantage of newfound role amid injuries

Thor explained how he is taking advantage of a newfound opportunity given the current injury situation facing the Hornets.

JT Thor on Thursday explained how he is taking advantage of a newfound opportunity given the current injury situation facing the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets currently have five players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, including LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Mason Plumlee. With those players out of the lineup, the Hornets have relied on Thor extensively recently.

Thor logged just two appearances all season prior to this week but has played in each of the Hornets’ last three games, averaging 4.3 points and two rebounds in 15.8 minutes. He has given the team a spark off the bench and helped make an impact on defense.

He can see progress being made every time he steps onto the court.

I feel like it’s just building blocks now from the first game to the second game to the third game now. It feels like I can just keep adding onto it each game. I feel like just showing my effort out there defensively. I feel like I can impact that now and just being able to use most of my opportunities with the guys who are out with COVID and just doing what I can for us to try to win.

The recent stretch allowed Thor to register his first career points, and the 37th pick got on the board in a big way. On Monday, Thor rotated toward the basket, caught the pass from Gordon Hayward and threw it down over Andre Drummond.

Thor will continue to see an uptick in playing time with those players out as the Hornets play shorthanded. The situation is certainly not ideal but it will allow the team to get an extended look at Thor and what he can bring to the lineup on a nightly basis.

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WATCH: JT Thor has incredible dunk

JT Thor is a monster.

JT Thor has already had several explosive plays during his professional career.

Monday night with Charlotte Hornets, he slammed the ball through the rim with authority.

The Hornets ended up losing to the Philidelphia 76ers 127-124. Thor played 20 minutes and had a +/- of +7. He was 3 0f 5 shooting, made a three-point shot, and scored eight points.

He’s averaging two points per game this season.

The former Auburn forward was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 37th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

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Former Auburn Tiger JT Thor has strong night in NBA G League debut

Here’s more Auburn basketball news.

JT Thor showed the NBA what he’s capable of Friday night.

Thor made his NBA G League debut for the Greensboro Swarm last night and had quite the showing against another former Auburn Tiger.

He scored 34 points off of 14-22 shooting. He also added 12 rebounds.

Despite Thor’s great effort, the Swarm fell to the Birmingham Squadron 128-117. The Squadron were led by former Auburn guard Jared Harper’s 35 points.

Thor was drafted with the 37th overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. The former Tiger knew he would need to be developed to be an NBA player but he really showed out in his debut.

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Hornets season preview: Is LaMelo Ball ready to become an All-Star?

The Charlotte Hornets are a team that can potentially exceed expectations, especially if LaMelo Ball is able to further improve his game.

The Charlotte Hornets are a team that can potentially exceed expectations, especially if LaMelo Ball is able to further improve his game.

Ball is one of the most exciting young players in basketball and the sky is the limit when it comes to his career. But there are still some questions about if that will translate to winning for the Hornets. For example, will he have enough talent around him to make a splash in the postseason?

Below, check out our preview for the 2021-22 Hornets campaign.