LaSalle Thompson III (born June 23, 1961) 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, who spent most of his 15-year career with the
Kansas City/Sacramento Kings and
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
. The 6 ft 10 in, 245-pound Thompson spent time at both the
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 ...
and
power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...
positions during his playing career. He later served as an assistant coach for the
Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...
, during head coach
Larry Brown's tenure and for 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 ...
during head coach
Mike Woodson
Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team.
With coach Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, Woodson played collegiate ...
's tenure.
Playing career
College
Nicknamed "Tank", Thompson finished his career at
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
as the school's all-time leader in rebounds with 1,027, despite the fact he played only three years. The record would stand for 21 years until it was broken by
James Thomas James Thomas may refer to:
Politicians
* James Thomas (Australian politician) (1826–1884), civil engineer who was Director of Public Works in Western Australia, 1876–1884
* James Thomas (Governor of Maryland) (1785–1845), served as the 23rd ...
in 2004.
Kansas City/Sacramento Kings
Thompson was drafted by the Kings with the fifth overall pick in the
1982 NBA draft, making him the highest Texas player taken until
LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Nurae Aldridge (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with the Texas Longhorns. ...
was selected second overall in
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 ...
. During the
1984 NBA playoffs, Thompson averaged what would be postseason career-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds per game, during a first round 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 1989–1990, he averaged 13.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while spending a half-season in Sacramento and the other half in Indiana. That season, while still on the Kings, Thompson scored a career-high 31 points during a 147-142 loss to 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 ...
.
Indiana Pacers
A regular starter for most of the first part of his career, in 1992–1993 Thompson moved to a role as the tough-nosed veteran off the bench, as
Rik Smits
Rik Smits (born 23 August 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The center was drafted by the ...
and
Dale Davis started every game in which they played. Thompson was a key reserve on the first Pacers team to reach the Eastern Conference Finals series, in 1993–1994.
Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets
After the 1994–1995 season, Thompson signed with the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
, playing there for a year before going to the
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
.
Return to the Pacers
He ended his career with nine more games in a Pacers uniform, following the trade-deadline deal that also brought
Mark Jackson back to Indiana.
Post-NBA career
Thompson served a stint as general manager and head coach of the
San Diego Wildfire in the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
in the 2000–01 season, which would be the only season of the Wildfire's existence.
He is co-owner of Prime Time Motors, an automobile sales firm in California.
On May 30, 2008, Thompson accepted an offer from
Larry Brown (for whom he played during his stints with Indiana Pacers) and the Charlotte Bobcats to become an assistant coach where he worked until Larry Brown parted ways with the Bobcats after the team started the season 9-19 on December 22, 2010.
Before the start of 2012–13 NBA season, Thompson became assistant coach of the New York Knicks under Mike Woodson (with whom he played for Kings in Kansas City and Sacramento) replacing Kenny Atkinson who quit joining the Atlanta Hawks staff. He worked for Knicks for 2 seasons until Woodson was fired on April 21, 2014.
Has one son, Nickolas who plays basketball at
Jonesboro High School in
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...
,
and one daughter (Ruby) who plays volleyball for Evanston Township High School in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
, and club at Sports Performance Volleyball Club.
See also
*
References
External links
LaSalle Thompson Bioat Basketball-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Lasalle
1961 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
American men's basketball players
American strength and conditioning coaches
Basketball coaches from Ohio
Basketball players from Cincinnati
Centers (basketball)
Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches
Denver Nuggets players
Indiana Pacers players
Kansas City Kings draft picks
Kansas City Kings players
New York Knicks assistant coaches
Philadelphia 76ers players
Sacramento Kings players
Texas Longhorns men's basketball players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople