Kurt Vincent Thomas (born October 4, 1972) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. A 6'9", 230 lb.

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, Thomas was known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense during his eight year tenure with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Having played college basketball at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

, he was drafted by the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and went on to play parts of 18 seasons in the NBA.

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

, where he led the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

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 Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. (February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990) was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I ...

and

Xavier McDaniel Xavier Maurice McDaniel (born June 4, 1963), nicknamed "X-Man", is an American retired professional basketball player who, at 6 ft 7 in, played both small forward and power forward. He played in college at Wichita State University. Hi ...

NBA career

Miami Heat (1995-1997)

Thomas began his NBA career with the

from 1995 to 1997. In his rookie season, he started 42 of his 74 games played. On December 10, 1995, he set a then career high with 29 points, along with grabbing 15 rebounds, in a loss to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. 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. During his rehab, Thomas, along with Sasha Danilović and

Martin Müürsepp Martin Müürsepp (; born 26 September 1974) is an Estonian professional basketball coach and former player, who is the head coach of BC Rakvere Tarvas of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. Widely regarded as one of Estonia's greatest bas ...

, were traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

for

Jamal Mashburn Jamal Mashburn Sr. (born November 29, 1972) is an American entrepreneur and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed the "Monster Mash", Mashburn was a prolific scorer as a small forward in his 12 seasons in the National Basketball Assoc ...

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 Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

went out of his way to hire Thomas as an assistant coach. In the offseason, Thomas decided to become a free agent, signing with the

New York Knicks (1999–2005)

Thomas played seven seasons with the

from 1999 to 2005, 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 The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

(1999). On March 28, 1999, Thomas was disqualified, and later fined $5,000, for a flagrant foul against

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

during a 99-91 loss against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. In the

2001 NBA Playoffs The 2001 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000-01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphi ...

, Thomas averaged 14.4 points and 11.2 rebounds while starting all five games in a 2-3 first round series loss against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. His best personal success perhaps came in the

2001-02 NBA season Increment or incremental may refer to: *Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) *Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming *Incremental computing *Incremental backup, wh ...

, where he started all 82 regular season games and averaged 13.2 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. Also during this season, and the following, Thomas scored a career high 33 points, on March 17, 2002 and then on November 8, 2002.

Phoenix Suns (2005–2007)

Thomas played two seasons with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

from 2005 to 2007.

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 The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

in exchange for a conditional second-round draft choice and an $8 million trade exception.

San Antonio Spurs (2008–2009)

Thomas was traded by the Sonics to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

on February 20, 2008, for

Francisco Elson Francisco Marinho Robby Elson (born February 28, 1976, in Rotterdam) is a Dutch retired professional basketball player. Elson was the seventh Dutch player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Elson served as the captain of the Ne ...

Brent Barry Brent Robert Barry (born December 31, 1971), also known by the nickname "Bones", is an American basketball executive, broadcaster and former player. He is the current vice president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs. The shooti ...

, and a 2009 first-round draft pick.

Milwaukee Bucks (2009–2010)

On June 23, 2009, Thomas was traded along with

Bruce Bowen Bruce Eric Bowen Jr. (born June 14, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. Bowen played small forward and graduated from Edison High School and Cal State Fullerton. He went on to play for the National Basketball Association' ...

and

Fabricio Oberto Fabricio Raúl Jesús Oberto (; born March 21, 1975) is an Argentine-Italian color analyst and former professional basketball player. At , he played as a center and power forward. With the LNB club Atenas, in his native Argentina, Oberto began p ...

to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

for

Richard Jefferson Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. (born June 21, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on ESPN. He played college basketball with the Arizona Wildcats. Jefferson was drafted in the first round of the 200 ...

Chicago Bulls (2010–2011)

On July 26, 2010, the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

announced that they had signed Kurt Thomas. Because of injuries to the Bulls' starting center

Joakim Noah Joakim Simon Noah ( ; born February 25, 1985) is an American-born French-Swedish former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007. The Chicago B ...

and power forward

Carlos Boozer Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last seas ...

, Kurt Thomas saw some significant playing time, including 37 starts. When Noah and Boozer came back, he experienced minimal playing time with

Ömer Aşık Ömer Faruk Aşık (; born July 4, 1986) is a Turkish former professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aşık, standing at 7'2", was sought after by many of the top Eurolea ...

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 The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

signed Thomas for the shortened 2011-2012 season. Though terms for the deal were not disclosed officially, it was reported to be a two-year contract.

Return to the Knicks (2012–2013)

On July 16, 2012, Thomas and

Raymond Felton Raymond Bernard Felton Jr. (born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Felton played college basketball for the University of North Carolina under head coach Roy Williams. At North Carolina, Felton led the Tar Hee ...

were traded to the

for

Jared Jeffries Jared Scott Carter Jeffries (born November 25, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Jeffries was drafted with the 11th overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. He also played for the New York Knicks, ...

Dan Gadzuric Daniel Gadzuric (born February 2, 1978) is a Dutch-Serbian former professional basketball player. Gadzuric, a center, attended preparatory school at The Governor's Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, before playing college basketball for the Bru ...

, the rights to

Kostas Papanikolaou Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born 31 July 1990) is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroL ...

and

Giorgos Printezis Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) ( el, Γεώργιος Πρίντεζης, born February 22, 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career with Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League an ...

, and a second round draft pick. On April 12, 2013, the Knicks waived Thomas.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 74 , , 42 , , 22.4 , , .501 , , .000 , , .663 , , 5.9 , , .6 , , .6 , , .5 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 18 , , 9 , , 20.8 , , .371 , , .000 , , .761 , , 5.9 , , .5 , , .7 , , .5 , , 6.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 14.6 , , .378 , , - , , 1.000 , , 4.8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 50 , , 44 , , 23.6 , , .462 , , .000 , , .611 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .3 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 21 , , 24.6 , , .505 , , .333 , , .781 , , 6.3 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .5 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 29 , , 27.6 , , .511 , , .333 , , .814 , , 6.7 , , .8 , , .8 , , .9 , , 10.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.8 , , .494 , , .167 , , .815 , , 9.1 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 81 , , 31.8 , , .483 , , .667 , , .750 , , 7.9 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 75 , , 31.9 , , .473 , , .000 , , .835 , , 8.3 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , 11.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 80 , , 35.7 , , .471 , , .500 , , .786 , , 10.4 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 11.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 53 , , 50 , , 26.6 , , .486 , , - , , .815 , , 7.8 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 8.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 67 , , 13 , , 18.0 , , .486 , , .000 , , .789 , , 5.7 , , .4 , , .4 , , .4 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 42 , , 39 , , 25.2 , , .513 , , - , , .696 , , 8.8 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 28 , , 9 , , 18.7 , , .448 , , .000 , , .583 , , 4.9 , , .5 , , .8 , , .5 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 79 , , 10 , , 17.8 , , .503 , , .000 , , .822 , , 5.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , .7 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 70 , , 9 , , 15.0 , , .476 , , - , , .800 , , 4.2 , , .7 , , .4 , , .7 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 52 , , 37 , , 22.7 , , .511 , , 1.000 , , .630 , , 5.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .8 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 53 , , 3 , , 15.2 , , .465 , , - , , .700 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .5 , , .6 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 39 , , 17 , , 10.1 , , .542 , , 1.000 , , .462 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .3 , , .4 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1110 , , 650 , , 24.5 , , .486 , , .281 , , .760 , , 6.6 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .8 , , 8.1

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 20.0 , , .400 , , - , , 1.000 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, align="left" ,

, 20 , , 12 , , 21.0 , , .381 , , - , , .696 , , 5.5 , , .4 , , .8 , , .6 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, align="left" ,

, 16 , , 0 , , 15.7 , , .508 , , - , , .700 , , 3.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , .4 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 37.2 , , .532 , , - , , .710 , , 11.2 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , 14.4 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 34.8 , , .429 , , - , , .750 , , 11.5 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .000 , , - , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, align="left" ,

, 11 , , 5 , , 19.3 , , .523 , , - , , .882 , , 4.9 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .8 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

, 17 , , 8 , , 15.8 , , .457 , , - , , .714 , , 4.9 , , .4 , , .1 , , .4 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .455 , , - , , .750 , , 4.6 , , .4 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, align="left" ,

, 7 , , 7 , , 28.4 , , .486 , , - , , .800 , , 7.9 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .6 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 10.6 , , .556 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , .4 , , 2.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 96 , , 44 , , 19.7 , , .463 , , .000 , , .748 , , 5.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , .5 , , 5.6

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Kurt 1972 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Dallas Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players Dallas Mavericks players Hillcrest High School (Dallas) alumni Miami Heat draft picks Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks players New York Knicks players Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople

High school and college

NBA career

Miami Heat (1995-1997)

Dallas Mavericks (1997-1998)

New York Knicks (1999–2005)

Phoenix Suns (2005–2007)

Seattle SuperSonics (2007–2008)

San Antonio Spurs (2008–2009)

Milwaukee Bucks (2009–2010)

Chicago Bulls (2010–2011)

Portland Trail Blazers (2011–2012)

Return to the Knicks (2012–2013)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links