“He’s Like a Little Bowling Ball Out There”: Bruce Thornton is Already Turning Heads with the Houston Rockets

By Josh Poloha on July 8, 2026 at 8:35 am
Bruce Thornton
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Everywhere Bruce Thornton goes, players and coaches heap praise on him.

After becoming Ohio State's all-time leading scorer, the program's first four-time team captain and the first Buckeye selected in the NBA draft since 2023, Thornton has quickly made a name for himself already in Houston.

Selected with the 31st pick (first pick of the second round) by the Rockets on June 24, Thornton signed a four-year, $9.3 million deal on Tuesday. The contract includes one fully guaranteed season for the NBA’s $1.36 million rookie minimum, along with three non-guaranteed team option years.

On that same day, Thornton took part in his first practice with the Rockets, and he’s already drawing rave reviews in Houston. At 6 feet and 223 pounds, Thornton has already shown his coaches that he plays much bigger than his size suggests, just as he did throughout his time at Ohio State.

“He’s a tank,” said Rockets assistant coach Will Dunn, who will serve as head coach of the summer league squad. “You can see it right away. He’s like a little bowling ball out there.

“He’s physical, he’s strong, he’s got a really tight handle. So when you guard him, you’ll feel it, for sure,” he continued. "And that’ll also allow him defensively to do some switching and stuff like that. A guy his size might not normally be able to, but he’s got that physicality, where it will allow him to."

During his final season at Ohio State, Thornton watched film of players who he thought he could compare to in the NBA. One of those players was Fred VanVleet, who is now his teammate.

At 6 feet and 197 pounds, VanVleet enters his fourth season with the Rockets after playing for the Toronto Raptors during his first seven years in the league. The 10-year veteran missed all of the 2025-26 season after tearing his ACL last September during team mini-camp in the Bahamas.

“Last year, I was watching a lot of Fred VanVleet highlights,” Thornton said. "It’s crazy how everything works out, and now we’re in the same locker room. So all the questions I have, I can ask.”

While Thornton has work to do to transition his game to the NBA level, he’s confident he can make an impact as a rookie no matter how much playing time he sees.

"Me just filling in my role at a high level, doing the things they need me to do," Thornton said on draft night of how he wants to contribute for the Rockets. "Impact winning as much as I possibly can and be a great teammate in the locker room."

The Rockets will take part in the Las Vegas Summer League from July 9-19 with four games scheduled: 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) and July 16 vs. Brooklyn Nets (4:30, ESPNU).

Thornton hopes to make a name for himself beginning in Summer League, then carry that momentum into the rest of the offseason ahead of his rookie campaign. But no matter where his NBA career goes from here, Thornton knows how blessed he is to be in the position that he's in, something he will never take for granted.

“It’s just a blessing, all of this,” Thornton said. “My job is to play basketball now. I’ve got the best job in the world. There’s no complaining."

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