Kurt Thomas (basketball)
Kurt Vincent Thomas (born October 4, 1972) is an American retired professional basketball player. Thomas is a 6'9", 230 lb. power forward-center known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense during his eight year tenure with the New York Knicks. Drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995, Thomas played college basketball at Texas Christian University.
 Thomas in 2009 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 4, 1972 Dallas, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Hillcrest (Dallas, Texas) |
| College | TCU (1990–1995) |
| NBA draft | 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall |
| Selected by the Miami Heat | |
| Playing career | 1995–2013 |
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| Number | 40, 44 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–1997 | Miami Heat |
| 1997–1998 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1998–2005 | New York Knicks |
| 2005–2007 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2007–2008 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2008–2009 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2009–2010 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2010–2011 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2011–2012 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2012–2013 | New York Knicks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 8,973 (8.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 7,328 (6.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,204 (1.1 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school and college
Kurt began his basketball career on the playgrounds at Dallas Birdie Alexander Elementary, D.A. Hulcy Middle School, and thereafter on to Dallas Carter High before transferring to Hillcrest High. Thomas grew up in Dallas, and after graduating from Dallas's Hillcrest High School, he attended Texas Christian University, where he led the NCAA Division I in scoring and rebounding in the 1994–95 season with 28.9 PPG and 14.6 RPG, becoming only the third player in history to accomplish this feat (the other two being Hank Gathers and Xavier McDaniel).[1]
NBA career
Miami Heat (1995-1997)
Thomas began his NBA career with the Miami Heat from 1995 to 1997. In his rookie season, he started 42 of his 74 games played. The following season, he only played 18 games before suffering a stress fracture in his right ankle, which required surgery. He would miss the rest of the season.[2] During his rehab, Thomas, along with Sasha Danilović and Martin Müürsepp, were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Jamal Mashburn.[3]
Dallas Mavericks (1997-1998)
Thomas's playing career with Dallas was short. He only played 5 games before suffering another stress fracture in the same ankle he had previously injured. This placed him on the injured list for the remainder of the season. Then-coach and general manager Don Nelson went out of his way to hire Thomas as an assistant coach.[4] In the offseason, Thomas decided to become a free agent, signing with the New York Knicks.[5]
New York Knicks (1998–2005)
Thomas played seven seasons with the New York Knicks from 1998 to 2005,[6] during which the team went to the playoffs four times, including two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals (1999 and 2000) and one trip to the NBA Finals (1999).[7]
Phoenix Suns (2005–2007)
Thomas played two seasons with the Phoenix Suns from 2005 to 2007.[6]
Seattle SuperSonics (2007–2008)
On July 20, 2007, Thomas, along with the Suns' first-round draft choices in 2008 and 2010, was traded by the Suns to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for a conditional second-round draft choice and an $8 million trade exception.[8]
San Antonio Spurs (2008–2009)
Thomas was traded by the Sonics to the San Antonio Spurs on February 20, 2008, for Francisco Elson, Brent Barry, and a 2009 first-round draft pick.[9]
Milwaukee Bucks (2009–2010)
On June 23, 2009, Thomas was traded along with Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto to the Milwaukee Bucks for Richard Jefferson.[10]
Chicago Bulls (2010–2011)
On July 26, 2010, the Chicago Bulls announced that they had signed Kurt Thomas.[11] Because of injuries to the Bulls' starting center Joakim Noah and power forward Carlos Boozer, Kurt Thomas saw some significant playing time, including 37 starts.[12] When Noah and Boozer came back, he experienced minimal playing time with Ömer Aşık playing in front of him on the bench. Although his playing time was slim during this span, Kurt Thomas won the appeal of Chicago fans with some emphatic highlights which were referred to as "Turning back the Clock" and eventually earned him the nickname "Big Sexy". Thomas averaged more than 20 minutes per game during the 2010-11 season along with 4.1 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Portland Trail Blazers (2011–2012)
On December 11, 2011, the Portland Trail Blazers signed Thomas for the shortened 2011-2012 season.[13] Though terms for the deal were not disclosed officially, it was reported to be a two-year contract.[14]
Return to the Knicks (2012–2013)
On July 16, 2012, Thomas and Raymond Felton were traded to the New York Knicks for Jared Jeffries, Dan Gadzuric, the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou and Giorgos Printezis, and a second round draft pick.[15] On April 12, 2013, the Knicks waived Thomas.[16]
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Miami | 74 | 42 | 22.4 | .501 | .000 | .663 | 5.9 | .6 | .6 | .5 | 9.0 |
| 1996–97 | Miami | 18 | 9 | 20.8 | .371 | .000 | .761 | 5.9 | .5 | .7 | .5 | 6.3 |
| 1997–98 | Dallas | 5 | 0 | 14.6 | .378 | - | 1.000 | 4.8 | .6 | .2 | .0 | 7.4 |
| 1998–99 | New York | 50 | 44 | 23.6 | .462 | .000 | .611 | 5.7 | 1.1 | .9 | .3 | 8.1 |
| 1999–00 | New York | 80 | 21 | 24.6 | .505 | .333 | .781 | 6.3 | 1.0 | .6 | .5 | 8.0 |
| 2000–01 | New York | 77 | 29 | 27.6 | .511 | .333 | .814 | 6.7 | .8 | .8 | .9 | 10.4 |
| 2001–02 | New York | 82 | 82 | 33.8 | .494 | .167 | .815 | 9.1 | 1.1 | .9 | 1.0 | 13.9 |
| 2002–03 | New York | 81 | 81 | 31.8 | .483 | .667 | .750 | 7.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 14.0 |
| 2003–04 | New York | 80 | 75 | 31.9 | .473 | .000 | .835 | 8.3 | 1.9 | .7 | 1.0 | 11.1 |
| 2004–05 | New York | 80 | 80 | 35.7 | .471 | .500 | .786 | 10.4 | 2.0 | .9 | 1.0 | 11.5 |
| 2005–06 | Phoenix | 53 | 50 | 26.6 | .486 | - | .815 | 7.8 | 1.1 | .4 | 1.0 | 8.6 |
| 2006–07 | Phoenix | 67 | 13 | 18.0 | .486 | .000 | .789 | 5.7 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 4.6 |
| 2007–08 | Seattle | 42 | 39 | 25.2 | .513 | - | .696 | 8.8 | 1.3 | .8 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| 2007–08 | San Antonio | 28 | 9 | 18.7 | .448 | .000 | .583 | 4.9 | .5 | .8 | .5 | 4.5 |
| 2008–09 | San Antonio | 79 | 10 | 17.8 | .503 | .000 | .822 | 5.1 | .8 | .4 | .7 | 4.3 |
| 2009–10 | Milwaukee | 70 | 9 | 15.0 | .476 | - | .800 | 4.2 | .7 | .4 | .7 | 3.0 |
| 2010–11 | Chicago | 52 | 37 | 22.7 | .511 | 1.000 | .630 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .6 | .8 | 4.1 |
| 2011–12 | Portland | 53 | 3 | 15.2 | .465 | - | .700 | 3.5 | .9 | .5 | .6 | 3.0 |
| 2012–13 | New York | 39 | 17 | 10.1 | .542 | 1.000 | .462 | 2.3 | .5 | .3 | .4 | 2.5 |
| Career | 1110 | 650 | 24.5 | .486 | .281 | .760 | 6.6 | 1.1 | .7 | .8 | 8.1 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Miami | 3 | 3 | 20.0 | .400 | - | 1.000 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .7 | .3 | 4.0 |
| 1999 | New York | 20 | 12 | 21.0 | .381 | - | .696 | 5.5 | .4 | .8 | .6 | 5.3 |
| 2000 | New York | 16 | 0 | 15.7 | .508 | - | .700 | 3.1 | .3 | .2 | .4 | 4.3 |
| 2001 | New York | 5 | 5 | 37.2 | .532 | - | .710 | 11.2 | 1.8 | .4 | 1.0 | 14.4 |
| 2004 | New York | 4 | 4 | 34.8 | .429 | - | .750 | 11.5 | 1.5 | 1.8 | .8 | 12.8 |
| 2006 | Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | - | .500 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| 2007 | Phoenix | 11 | 5 | 19.3 | .523 | - | .882 | 4.9 | 1.1 | .5 | .8 | 7.5 |
| 2008 | San Antonio | 17 | 8 | 15.8 | .457 | - | .714 | 4.9 | .4 | .1 | .4 | 4.1 |
| 2009 | San Antonio | 5 | 0 | 16.0 | .455 | - | .750 | 4.6 | .4 | .2 | .4 | 2.6 |
| 2010 | Milwaukee | 7 | 7 | 28.4 | .486 | - | .800 | 7.9 | 1.6 | .4 | .6 | 5.4 |
| 2011 | Chicago | 7 | 0 | 10.6 | .556 | .000 | .000 | 2.7 | .4 | .1 | .4 | 2.9 |
| Career | 96 | 44 | 19.7 | .463 | .000 | .748 | 5.4 | .7 | .4 | .5 | 5.6 | |
See also
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season scoring leaders
- List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
- List of oldest and youngest National Basketball Association players
References
- "Kurt Thomas". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- "Kurt Thomas - MavsWiki". Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2015-08-21.
- "Miami Acquires Mashburn From Dallas to Bolster Its Firepower".
- "THOMAS GIVES MAVS KURT REPLY NOTCHES 20 VS. OLD TEAM".
- ""1998-99 New York Knicks Transactions at Basketball-Reference.com"".
- "Kurt Thomas Career Stats Page". Archived from the original on 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
- "Kurt Thomas Bio Page". Archived from the original on 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
- Suns gain $8M trade exception by trading Thomas, posted July 20, 2007
- Spurs get Thomas from Sonics for Barry, Elson
- "Bucks source confirms Jefferson deal". 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
- http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/thomas_signs_100726.html
- "Kurt Thomas Stats".
- "Team adds NBA veteran to frontcourt". 2011-12-11. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19.
- "Blazers to add Kurt Thomas". 2011-12-11.
- KNICKS ACQUIRE FELTON & THOMAS Archived April 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- "New York Knicks waive Kurt Thomas". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-04-12.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com