Iowa’s Payton Sandfort to sign with NBA champ Oklahoma City Thunder

Former Iowa men’s basketball player Payton Sandfort has agreed to terms to sign with the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sandfort, a 6-foot-8 forward from Waukee who played four years with the Hawkeyes, averaged 16.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in the 2024-25 season. He ranks first on Iowa’s all-time list in career free throw percentage (.896), is second in 3-pointers (271) and 11th in points (1,619).

Sandfort started all 67 of Iowa’s games over the last two seasons. He had offseason shoulder surgery this spring, and must pass a physical before signing his contract.

He presumably would join Thunder on an Exhibit 10 contract. That’s a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary that allows teams to convert the deal into a two-way contract, or offer a bonus if the player joins their G League affiliate after being released. The Thunder’s G League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue.

Sandfort likely will play for the Thunder’s NBA Summer League team. That league runs from July 10-20 in Las Vegas. Oklahoma City’s first game is July 10 at 4:30 p.m. (CT) against Brooklyn on ESPN2.