The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, South Dakota, that competed in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and A ...

franchise. One of the many notable players of the team was

Keith Smart Jonathan Keith Smart (born September 21, 1964) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player. Playing career He is perhaps best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game that gave the Indian ...

, who played for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

when they won the NCAA tournament in 1987. The Thrillers had some very notable head coaches in its time. First,

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death ...

coached the team to three consecutive CBA titles during the 1980s. Musselman then moved to the NBA as coach of the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. Later,

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

coached the Thrillers for a season and later became head coach of the NBA's

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. Keith Fowler coached the team during one of their only losing seasons.

Eric Musselman Eric Musselman (born November 19, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas. He is the former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors of the N ...

(son of Bill Musselman) coached the team successfully for seven years but was never able to bring the championship back to the franchise, although the team was runner-up three separate times during its existence. This team traced its history back to the

Tampa Bay Thrillers The Tampa Bay Thrillers were a franchise in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1984–1987. They won back-to-back championships in 1984–85 and 1985–86. At the end of the 1986–87 CBA regular season the team relocated to Rapi ...

of the

. They won consecutive CBA titles in their first two seasons. However, the team never drew well, and abruptly changed cities in 1987. The Thrillers moved to Rapid City at the conclusion of the regular season, but didn't stop the team's momentum, as they won their third consecutive title. After eight and a half seasons, the team moved to

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

where they became the Florida Beach Dogs. The Beach Dogs lasted only two seasons folding after losing the championship series to the

Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...

. After the Thrillers left Rapid City, professional basketball continued in the form of the

Black Hills Posse The Black Hills Posse was a professional basketball team based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995–96 season. The team was founded by George Daniel, an attorney from Pennsy ...

of the

. In 1998 the Black Hills Posse were sold to John Tuschman (former owner of the original Thrillers). Tuschman tried to spark the old spirit the Thrillers had from the late 1980s and early 1990s, by renaming the Posse to the Thrillers and bringing back the original "flaming basketball" logo. Tuschman was unsuccessful and the new Thrillers folded after the end of the 1998–99 season. The IBA continued for one more season in Rapid City, as the

Black Hills Gold The Black Hills Gold was an American professional basketball club based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association for a single season (1999/2000). The team followed two previous Rapid City IBA teams, th ...

played in the 1999–2000 season for one year, before moving to Michell, South Dakota and becoming the South Dakota Gold. Rapid City has been without professional basketball since.

Year-by-year

Notable players

* Brian Martin *

Sidney Lowe Sidney Rochell Lowe (born January 21, 1960) is an American former basketball player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lowe played college basketball and served ...

Ed Nealy Eddie Carl Nealy (born February 19, 1960) is an American retired basketball player. At 6'7" and 238 pounds, he played as a power forward. After a standout college career, during which he won the Big Eight tournament title in 1980, he went on to p ...

Freeman Williams Freeman Williams Jr. (May 15, 1956 – April 19, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Portland State Vikings, where he was a two-time All-Americ ...

Richard Coffey Richard Lee Coffey (born September 2, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who had a brief stint with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Prior to his college basketball career he was a member of the US Army's 82nd Airborne ...

Shelton Jones Shelton Jones (born April 4, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played collegiately at St. John's University. He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round (27th pick overall) of the 1988 NBA draft. Sh ...

Stanley Brundy Stanley Dwayne Brundy (born November 13, 1967) is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the second round (32nd pick overall) of the 1989 NBA draft. A 6' 6" (1.98 m) and 210 lb (95 ...

*"Jumpin'" Joe Ward *

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

Fennis Dembo Fennis Marx Dembo (born January 24, 1966) is a retired American professional basketball player for the 1989 National Basketball Association champion Detroit Pistons. A small forward, he only played in the NBA for one season, averaging 1.2 points a ...

* Don Collins *

Ledell Eackles Ledell Eackles (born November 24, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Washington Bullets in the second round (36th overall pick) of the 1988 NBA draft. Eackles played in seven NBA seasons for the Bul ...

* Craig Neal *

Tony Dawson Antonio Ray Dawson (born August 25, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball player. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, and a weight of 220 lb. (100 kg), he played at the small forward position. High school Dawson was born ...

* Jarvis Basnight *

Conner Henry Conner Henry (born July 21, 1963) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He played collegiately for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and was selected as the 89th overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. Hen ...

Mark Macon Mark L. Macon (''born April 14, 1969'') is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is the former head coach of Binghamton University and a current staff member at his alma mater, Temple University. Playing career Macon w ...

* Lorenzo Charles *

Pearl Washington Dwayne Alonzo "Pearl" Washington (January 6, 1964 – April 20, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He was a , guard. Early life Washington grew up in the Brownsville section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where ...

Chris Jent Christopher Matthew Jent (born January 11, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was formerly the head coach of the Bakersfie ...

* Manute Bol * Nate Johnston * Leon Wood * Alvin Robertson *

Constantin Popa Constantin Popa ( he, קונסטנטין פופה; born February 18, 1971) is a Romanian-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player. Biography Popa played for Dinamo Bucharest in his native Romania before going overseas to play colle ...

Chris Whitney Christofer Antwone Whitney (born October 5, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. Whitney was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. A 6'0" point guard from Lincoln Trail College and then Clemson University, Whitney was selected ...

* George McCloud * Charles Smith *

Corey Crowder Jonathan Corey Crowder (born April 13, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A guard- forward from Kentucky Wesleyan Colleg ...

References

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External links

Article Concerning the Thrillers move from Tampa Bay, FL to Rapid City, SD
Continental Basketball Association teams Defunct basketball teams in the United States Basketball teams in South Dakota Sports in Rapid City, South Dakota