Iowa has had some recent success in the NBA Draft, with four players being selected over three drafts, from 2021 to 2023. Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza were selected in the second round in 2021, while Keegan Murray became the highest-drafted player ever (#4 overall) in the 2022 draft. Kris Murray rounded out the drafted Hawkeyes by going to the Portland Trailblazers with the 23rd pick in 2023.

The Hawkeyes didn't have a player selected in last year's draft and they didn't have anyone taken this year, either -- but former Hawkeye standout Payton Sandfort will get a chance to make an NBA roster after signing a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

A star recruit from Waukee, Iowa, Sandfort excelled over four years at Iowa. He was named the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, after averaging 10.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg and draining 34.3% of his 3-point attempts. As a junior, Sandfort averaged 16.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 2.7 apg while shooting a career-best 44.6% from the field (including 37.9% from 3-point range) and earning Third-Team All-Big Ten honors.

Sandfort went through the NBA Draft process last season, but opted to return for his senior season. Unfortunately, wrist and shoulder injuries plagued Sandfort through most of the season, though he still managed to average 16.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 2.9 apg while shooting 40.7% from the field (34.0% from 3-point range). Sandfort's efforts saw him receive Honorable Mention All-Big Ten consideration this season.

"No one was really giving me a chance to have a good or great career here at Iowa," Sandfort said in an interview earlier this year. "I was kind of under-recruited, I came out of COVID. I was really just coming out of high school hoping that I could make an impact on this program."

In an era defined by rapid-fire player movement thanks to the transfer portal and NIL opportunities, Sandfort never wavered in his commitment to Iowa. He worked his ass off for four years, bled black and gold through all the wins and all the losses and continued to battle for himself, his teammates, and his program.

One of his most memorable performances came against Michigan State in 2023, when he caught fire from deep late and helped the Hawkeyes pull off an incredible 112-106 overtime comeback against the Spartans.

Sandfort will likely need to find a way to produce shooting performances like that more frequently if he hopes to stick at the next step of his basketball journey. Sandfort's NBA future will almost certainly depend on his performance as a 3-point shooter at the highest level. If he can take (and make) triples at a consistent clip and prove that he can be an effective 3-point shooter at the NBA level, then he should have a real shot to carve out a role for himself in the professional ranks.

That next step will first come in Oklahoma City with the Thunder. Cracking the roster of the current NBA champions won't be easy, so getting time in the G-League is probably a more attainable short-term goal. But the Thunder have an excellent (and well-deserved) reputation for developing young players, so Oklahoma City could be a good place for Sandfort to try and begin his NBA journey.