It was a tough road back for former Hawkeye Payton Sandfort, but his hard work and determination paid off in a big way.
The former Hawkeye sharpshooter had multiple injuries in his final season in Iowa City, putting his NBA dreams on hold.
After the 2024-2025 college basketball season, Sandfort had double shoulder surgery and had no idea if he would get picked up by an NBA franchise. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder took a chance on him, signing him to a G-League contract with the OKC Blue.
Sandfort's perseverance paid off and his contract was converted to a two-way deal. After OKC's last regular-season game, Sandfort was emotional when discussing his wild ride.
Sandfort called his rookie season 'emotional'
In Oklahoma City's final regular-season game on April 12, Sandfort went off, scoring 23 points on a very efficient 69 percent shooting in 28 minutes.
From being unsure if a team would sign him to dropping buckets in the NBA, Sandfort reflected on his rookie season after the loss to Phoenix.
Payton Sandfort on his rookie season: “I was pretty emotional.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 13, 2026
Reflected to how this time last year, he was watching the Master’s with his dad. Didn’t know if he’d get signed by an NBA team after double-shoulder surgery pic.twitter.com/BQDsXu9hBY
Sandfort recalls watching the Masters with his dad in March 2025, and he was "just praying" that he would get an NBA opportunity.
He also mentioned that he learned an important life lesson through the challenging times before he signed with OKC. The lesson: never give up on yourself.
In four games for the Thunder, Sandfort averaged 8.8 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc, and added 2.5 rebounds per game.
Sandfort proved that hard work pays off, and he achieved his NBA dream despite a bleak early outlook.
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