Melvin Thomas (born February 25, 1968) 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 played 15 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia between 1992 and 2006.

Early life

Thomas was born in the U.S. state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

College career

Thomas played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Texas–Pan American , mottoeng = Education, the Guardian of Society , established = , closed = , type = Public university , endowment = $65 million , president = Dr. Havidan Rodriguez ...

for the

Texas–Pan American Broncs The Texas–Pan American Broncs (also UTPA) were the varsity athletic teams representing University of Texas–Pan American in Edinburg, Texas in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsored 15 teams including men and women's basketball, c ...

between 1987 and 1990. He earned All-

American South Conference The American South Conference was an NCAA Division I athletic conference that existed from 1987–88 to 1990–91. The charter members were Arkansas State University, Lamar University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of New Orleans, the ...

Third Team honors in 1988–98 and All-American South Conference Second Team honors in 1989–90. He was also the UTPA Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 1989–90, and in December 1989, he was named the Jowers Jamboree tournament MVP. Thomas amassed 1,306 points in three seasons and as of 2022, his total ranks ninth all time in school history.

Professional career

Thomas made his debut in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

with the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

. Alongside

Doug Overton Douglas M. Overton (born August 3, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. Playing career Prior to his NBA career, Overton spent a season with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL. He credits his experience ...

, the pair were one of the Hawks' all-time greatest import duos. Thomas played four seasons for the Hawks before joining the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...

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 ...

. After two seasons for the Kings, he played for the

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After thi ...

in the

1998 NBL season The 1998 NBL season was the 20th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contest the league. This season marked the NBL's final winter season. The Illawarra Hawks were renamed the Wollongong Hawks. Regular seas ...

and

1998–99 NBL season The 1998–99 NBL season was the 21st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. This season marked the first summer season for the NBL. The Townsville Suns were renamed the Townsville Crocodi ...

. He returned to the Hawks, now known as Wollongong, for the 1999–2000 season. In the 2000–01 season, he averaged a team-high 18.8 points to lead the Hawks to the NBL championship. After another four seasons with the Hawks, Thomas joined the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

for the

2003–04 NBL season The 2003–04 NBL season was the 26th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 12 teams contested the league. This season marked the first NBL season that featured the New Zealand Breakers, the first New Zealand team in ...

. On December 31, 2003, in a game against the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...

, Thomas suffered a season-ending achilles injury. He returned to the Taipans for the 2004–05 season and played his final NBL season with the Taipans in 2005–06. Thomas was named to the

All-NBL Team The All-NBL Team is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) honour bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBL season. The team has been selected in every season since the league's second year in 1980. The All-NBL Team i ...

seven times, including first team in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

; second team in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

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 third team in 1992, 1996,

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 ...

, and 2001. In October 2013, the Illawarra Hawks retired his number 33 jersey.

Personal life

Thomas and his wife have a son named Noah. Noah grew up in Australia and played college basketball in the United States. In February 2003, Thomas' brother died after being shot at his home in Detroit. As of October 2013, Thomas was working as a

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

baggage handler in Sydney.

References

External links

NBL profile (2001)NBL profile (2004)NBL profile (2005)andthefoul.net profileNBL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Melvin 1968 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Alabama Cairns Taipans players Canberra Cannons players Centers (basketball) Forwards (basketball) Illawarra Hawks players Sydney Kings players Texas–Pan American Broncs men's basketball players Wollongong Hawks players