Bruce Rashad Thornton Jr. (born September 14, 2003) is an American basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he finished his career as the program's all-time leading scorer.
Early life Thornton was raised in Alpharetta, Georgia and attended Milton High School, where he was a fouryear starter on the basketball team. The team won the state championship in 2021, and Thornton was Mr. Georgia Basketball and the Gatorade Georgia Boys' Basketball Player of the Year in 2022.
Recruiting Thornton was considered a consensus four-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals. On November 26, 2020, Thornton committed to play college basketball for Ohio State over offers from teams such as Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn.
College career As a freshman, Thornton started all 35 games for Ohio State during the 2022–23 season while averaging 10.6 points and 2.6 assists per game. He scored his most points of the season against Michigan with 22. On March 7, 2026, Thornton scored a three pointer during a game against Indiana to become Ohio State’s all time leading scorer.
Professional career On June 24, 2026, Thornton was selected by the New York Knicks with the 31st overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft then was immediately traded to the Houston Rockets for pick 39 (Jack Kayil) and the draft rights to Mojave King.
College statistics
College
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23 | style="text-align:left;"| Ohio State | 35 || 35 || 30.5 || .456 || .375 || .729 || 2.7 || 2.6 || .8 || .1 || 10.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24 | style="text-align:left;"| Ohio State | 35 || 35 || 33.6 || .427 || .333 || .850 || 3.7 || 4.8 || 1.2 || .0 || 15.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25 | style="text-align:left;"| Ohio State | 32 || 32 || 36.2 || .501 || .424 || .853 || 3.4 || 4.6 || 1.1 || .1 || 17.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2025–26 | style="text-align:left;"| Ohio State | 34 || 34 || 36.5 || .554 || .400 || .829 || 5.1 || 3.9 || 1.1 || .2 || 19.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 136 || 136 || 34.1 || .486 || .381 || .829 || 3.7 || 4.0 || 1.1 || .1 || 15.9
References
External links Ohio State Buckeyes bio