Howard Samuel "Trey" Thompkins III (born May 29, 1990) is an American 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 for

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. Standing at , he plays at the

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 ...

position.

High school career

Thompkins attended the

Wesleyan School Wesleyan School is a private college-preparatory nondenominational Christian school located 20 miles north of Atlanta in the suburban city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1963 and has existed on its current ground ...

Peachtree Corners, Georgia Peachtree Corners is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and is the largest city in Gwinnett County with a population of 42,243 as of the 2020 US Census. Peachtree Corners is the only ...

. During his junior year, Thompkins decided to attend Oak Hill Academy where he averaged 15.8 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. For his senior season, Thompkins averaged 27.5 points and 14.7 rebounds for Wesleyan as they won the Georgia High School Association Class AA state championship. In May 2007, Thompkins committed to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

for the 2008-2009 NCAA season despite offers from many other schools. Considered a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Thompkins was listed as the No. 11 power forward and the No. 30 player in the nation in 2008.

College career

In Thompkins's freshman season for the Bulldogs, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team while leading the team in rebounding (7.4) and blocks (31 total) and second in points (12.6). He missed the preseason practices and first four regular season games due to injury while the team eventually finished the season below expectations, having head coach Dennis Felton fired midseason. In his sophomore season, Thompkins skied to averages of 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds. He was a unanimous vote for the first team All-SEC selection. Thompkins leveled out in his junior year statistically, while the Bulldogs eventually made it to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament only to be eliminated 68–65 in the first round to the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

. He was once again a first team All-SEC selection. While preparing for the draft, there were concerns about Thompkins' body fat level of 15.5%. Jay Bilas describes Trey Thompkins' body fat percentage as "pretty good if you're a sea lion."

Professional career

Los Angeles Clippers (2011–13)

Thompkins announced that he would leave Georgia and forgo his senior season to enter the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...

on April 5, 2011. Thompkins was drafted with the 37th overall pick in the 2nd round of the

by the

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

. In his first season with the Clippers, he averaged 2.4 points and 1 rebound over 24 games played. In the summer of 2012, during the NBA Summer League, he suffered a bone

bruise A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close ...

on his left knee, which sidelined him off the court for nearly two years, including the rehabilitation time. He was waived by the Clippers on March 14, 2013.

Nizhny Novgorod (2014–2015)

On August 4, 2014, Thompkins signed a one-year deal with the Russian team

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. From the start of the 2014–15 season, he saw a lot of trust from the team's

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

, Ainars Bagatskis, as he played at least 20 minutes per game, in both the

and the EuroLeague. On November 6, in a home game loss to

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

, he had 14 points and 10 rebounds, making his first EuroLeague

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

. On November 21, against

Dinamo Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the current European Cu ...

, he grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds, also scoring 13 points. Nizhny Novgorod finished 4th in its EuroLeague group, and advanced to the EuroLeague Top 16. On February 6, in a game against

Unicaja Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the n ...

, he scored a season-high 27 points, and added 13 rebounds, to help his team win the first game in the EuroLeague Top 16. That was also his third straight EuroLeague game win which he scored more than 20 points. Nizhny Novgorod eventually finished its participation in the EuroLeague by finishing last in its Top 16 group, with 3 wins in 14 games. Over 23 EuroLeague games played, Thompkins averaged 14.5 points and a third best in the league 8.1 rebounds per game. Nizhny Novgorod ended the competition in the

, after being eliminated by

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

, by a 3–0 series sweep in the league's playoff semifinal series.

Real Madrid (2015–2022)

On August 26, 2015, Thompkins signed a one-year deal with the Spanish team

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. On July 16, 2016, Thompkins signed a two-year contract extension with

. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the final game with 85–80. Over 28 EuroLeague games, Thompkins averaged 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. On July 6, 2018, Thompkins re-signed a two-year deal with the Spanish team

. On March 12, 2020, Thompkins tested positive for

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...

, the virus responsible for the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was the first professional basketball player in Europe to be diagnosed with the virus. On June 9, 2020, Thompkins signed a three-year extension with the team. On June 27, 2022, Thompkins officially parted ways with the club after seven seasons.

Zenit (2022–present)

On July 13, 2022, he has signed with

of the

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, 28 , , 23 , , 26.0 , , .434 , , .384 , , .726 , , 7.4 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 29 , , 31.0 , , .483 , , .377 , , .762 , , 8.3 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 29 , , 31.2 , , .481 , , .311 , , .689 , , 7.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , 1.7 , , 16.4 , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 89 , , 81 , , 29.5 , , .469 , , .357 , , .729 , , 7.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 15.7

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 24 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .393 , , .308 , , .714 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.4 , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 24 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .393 , , .308 , , .714 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.4

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 18 , , 27.5 , , .483 , , .374 , , .837 , , 8.1 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .4 , , 14.5 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3,

, 15 , , 6 , , 15.2 , , .390 , , .350 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .3 , , 5.9 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 26 , , 3 , , 13.7 , , .475 , , .475 , , .810 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.1 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2017–18† , 28 , , 16 , , 21.4 , , .480 , , .424 , , .833 , , 5.1 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .3 , , 9.5 , , 10.9 , -class="sortbottom" , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 92 , , 43 , , 19.7 , , .469 , , .409 , , .846 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 9.2 , , 9.3

International career

Thompkins represented the Under-19 United States national team at the 2009 Under-19 World Championship, which was held in New Zealand, and where the USA team won the gold medal. Over 9 tournament games, he averaged 10.6 points and 5 rebounds per game.

Personal life

His father, Howard Thompkins Jr., 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 ...

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

, and was later drafted by the

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

in 1981.