Jokhow Panom "JT" Thor (born August 26, 2002) is a South Sudanese-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. He was selected with the 37th overall pick in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

Early life and high school career

Thor was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

to South Sudanese parents and moved to

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

at age five. He started playing basketball in seventh grade and competed for

West Anchorage High School West Anchorage High School (formerly Anchorage High School) is a public high school in Anchorage, Alaska. The school is part of the Anchorage School District (ASD). Opened in 1953, West is the oldest of ASD's eight major high schools. Serving the ...

. At age 14, Thor moved to West Virginia, where his brother lived, to attend

Huntington Prep School Huntington Prep or Huntington St. Joseph Prep is a basketball-focused college preparatory school located in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington Prep was originally unrelated to the public Huntington High School located in the same city, thoug ...

. After two seasons, he transferred to

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also th ...

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

. He

reclassified ''Reclassified'' is the reissue of Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut studio album, ''The New Classic'' (2014). It was released internationally on 21 November 2014 by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on 24 November 2014 by Def ...

to the 2020 class. As a senior, Thor averaged 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, receiving all-state honors. He was a consensus four-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, choosing the Tigers over

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

College career

On February 13, 2021, Thor recorded a freshman season-high 24 points and nine rebounds, shooting 5-of-6 from three-point range, in an 82–80 loss to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. As a freshman at Auburn, he averaged 9.4 points, five rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. On March 23, 2021, Thor declared for the

while maintaining his college eligibility. He later signed with an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

, forgoing his remaining eligibility.

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets (2021–present)

Thor was selected 37th overall by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

in the

. On August 6, he was traded to the

with

Mason Plumlee Mason Alexander Plumlee (born March 5, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily plays the forward and center positions. As a freshman in 2009–10, h ...

for the 57th overall pick. The Hornets officially signed Thor on August 6, 2021. On October 26 and November 2, he was assigned to the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The team became ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. In his G League debut, Thor posted 34 points off of 14-22 shooting and 12 rebounds in a 128–117 loss to the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team plays their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 2019 ...

Career statistics

NBA

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Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

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, 69 , , 8 , , 14.0 , , .399 , , .317 , , .702 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 102 , , 8 , , 12.1 , , .406 , , .307 , , .672 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.2

College

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, style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 27 , , 23.0 , , .440 , , .297 , , .741 , , 5.0 , , .9 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , 9.4

Personal life

Thor's older cousin, Jal Rial, played basketball for

Phoenix College Phoenix College (PC) is a public community college in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country. History The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Junio ...

and

Howard College Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...

. He has four brothers and three sisters.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thor, JT 2002 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of South Sudanese descent Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball players from Alaska Basketball players from Omaha, Nebraska Charlotte Hornets players Detroit Pistons draft picks Greensboro Swarm players Norcross High School alumni Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent