Sedale Eugene Threatt (born September 10, 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 in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA). Born in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Threatt 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
West Virginia Institute of Technology from 1979 to 1983. Nicknamed "The Thief" for his ability to steal the basketball, Threatt has the distinction of being the last sixth round pick to play in the NBA (the NBA draft was shortened to the now-current two rounds in
1989), played in the NBA from 1983–1997 and finished his basketball career overseas.
Professional career
Threatt was drafted by 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 ...
in the sixth round of the
1983 NBA draft, and is the only player from
West Virginia Tech
West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University.
History
The college was founded in 189 ...
to have ever played in the NBA. During the
1986 NBA playoffs
The 1986 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1985–86 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Ro ...
, Threatt played a key role for the 76ers, averaging then career-highs of 13.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. During the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the
Bucks, Threatt led all scorers with 28 points during the series deciding game seven, but Philadelphia lost by one point, 113-112. In total, Threatt played for four seasons with the 76ers and was traded to 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 ...
in 1986. In 1988, he was traded 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 ...
for
Sam Vincent
James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach.
Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High Sch ...
. He played for Seattle for four seasons before being traded to 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 ...
on October 2, 1991, in exchange for three second round draft picks.
Threatt was expected to play a backup role to
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
. However, after Johnson's sudden retirement for medical reasons (he announced that he was
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
positive), Threatt became the starting point guard. Threatt's ability to steal the ball earned him the nickname "The Thief" from Lakers commentators
Chick Hearn
Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid f ...
and
Stu Lantz. Threatt led the Lakers in assists, steals and minutes played each in his first two seasons. In 1992-93, he became the second player in Lakers franchise history (after Johnson) to lead the Lakers in scoring (15.1), assists (6.9), and steals (1.7).
He scored a career high 42 points against the New York Knicks on March 10, 1992, and scored a career playoff high 35 points in Game 1 of the 1993 Western Conference Quarterfinals against 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 ...
. He retired from the NBA after the 1996-97 season and went on to play basketball with the
Gymnastikos S. Larissas (Greece) before retiring in 2002.
Personal life
Threatt is thought to have fathered at least fourteen children,
and been married twice. He married his first wife, Nicole Plotzker, in 1992. She later left him for
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...
; his second marriage was to Britt Johnson.
In 2000, Threatt was sentenced to six months in prison for failing to pay child support. Threatt had a plea deal with prosecutors, who recommended five months of probation, but U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf rejected the agreement and sentenced him to prison. Wolf also ordered Threatt to comply with five other outstanding child-support orders for children in other jurisdictions.
Threatt currently lives in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
working alongside his eldest son,
Sedale Threatt Jr., in his company, Australian Basketball Development (AUBD).
Threatt has another son also named Sedale Threatt Jr., who attended college at
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...
and played quarterback on the football team. This Sedale Jr. later went into acting.
References
External links
Player Statisticsat Basketball-Reference.com
Historical Player Profileat
NBA.com
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
College and NBA statisticsat basketballreference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Threatt, Sedale
1961 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Australia
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Atlanta
Chicago Bulls players
Greek Basket League players
Gymnastikos S. Larissas B.C. players
Houston Rockets players
Los Angeles Lakers players
Paris Racing Basket players
Philadelphia 76ers draft picks
Philadelphia 76ers players
Point guards
Seattle SuperSonics players
West Virginia Tech Golden Bears men's basketball players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople