JT Thor goes from Paris Olympics to NBA contract

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JT Thor goes from Paris Olympics to NBA contract

Updated: Aug. 17, 2024, 7:13 p.m.|Published: Aug. 17, 2024, 1:49 p.m.

3–4 minutes

JT Thor of South Sudan dunks against Puerto Rico in a men’s basketball game at the Summer Olympics on July 28, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

By

Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

After three seasons in the NBA, JT Thor played for South Sudan in the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics without a contract for the coming season.

But a week after the gold-medal game, Thor is headed back to the NBA after agreeing to a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Akron Beacon Journal and the Athletic reported on Saturday.

The two-way contract allows an NBA team to carry three players beyond the 15 on its regular-season roster. The two-way players can move between the NBA team and its G League affiliate without having to pass through waivers and be exposed to the possibility of being poached by opposing teams.

Two-way players are eligible to play in as many as 50 games in a season with the NBA team. A two-way contract pays $578,577 during the 2024-25 season, which is half of the rookie minimum.

In his only college season, Thor averaged 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds for Auburn in 2020-21.

Thor joined the Charlotte Hornets as the 37th selection in the 2021 NBA Draft. During three seasons with Charlotte, the 6-foot-10 frontcourter averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 165 games, with 11 starts. He also played in 17 games in 2021-22 and five in 2022-23 with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA Gatordade League.

In the 2023-24 season, Thor averaged 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 63 games for the Hornets.

In the final game of the season, Thor spent a career-high 41:06 on the court and posted career highs with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Charlotte’s 120-110 victory over the Cavaliers.

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During South Sudan’s first Olympic appearance, Thor had 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots as the Bright Stars went 1-2.

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With 20 seconds to play in an exhibition game against the U.S. men’s national team on July 20, Thor made a 3-point shot to give South Sudan a one-point lead in the Olympics warmup contest. But on the other end of the floor, Thor couldn’t keep LeBron James from driving to the basket, and the Los Angeles Lakers forward’s layup with eight seconds remaining provided the winning margin in the United States’ 101-100 victory over South Sudan in London.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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