HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed rookie guard Bruce Thornton. He will play for the Rockets at the 2026 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from July 9-19.
Thornton was the 31st overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft following his senior season at Ohio State. He started 136 of a possible 137 games for his career, while averaging 15.9 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
The Georgia native became the Buckeyes first four-time captain and is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,164 points. Thornton is the first Division I player with career totals of at least 2,000 points and 500 assists while recording fewer than 200 turnovers since the NCAA began officially tracking turnovers in 1992-93.
Thornton increased his scoring average across each of his four seasons and recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.02 for his career. Over his final two seasons, Thornton averaged 1.8 3-pointers made on 41.2% shooting.