Ohio State's all-time leading scorer and first four-time captain in program history, Bruce Thornton was selected with the 31st pick (first pick of the second round) by the Houston Rockets in the 2026 NBA draft.

Two weeks later, Thornton has officially signed with the Rockets, the team announced on Tuesday.

Thornton's contract is a four-year, $9.3 million deal, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto. His first season is for the NBA’s minimum rookie salary of $1.4 million, while subsequent years are non-guaranteed team options, per ClutchFans' David Weiner.

Doing the math here, this means that Thornton is only getting the rookie minimum ($1.36M) this season, with 3 more NG'teed years after that. This is literally the best possible contract on which the Rockets could have gotten him. Fantastic work! https://t.co/07UYFgTdVj

— David Weiner # (@BimaThug) July 7, 2026

For comparison's sake, Rasheer Fleming — the 31st pick in 2025 — signed a four-year, $8.7m deal ($5.9m guaranteed) with the Phoenix Suns last year.

Thornton is set to play for the Rockets in the Las Vegas Summer League from July 9-19. Houston's four games will be on either TV or streamed:

• July 10 vs. Denver Nuggets (6:30, ESPN2)
• July 11 vs. Toronto Raptors (9:30, Prime Video)
• July 14 vs. Philadelphia 76ers (4:00, Prime Video)
• July 16 vs. Brooklyn Nets (4:30, ESPNU)