Malcolm Iseiah Thomas (born November 8, 1988) 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 (appro ...

player for the Sagesse Club of the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

(LBL). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

, where he twice earned All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

(MWC) second-team honors.

Early life

Thomas was born in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

, to his father, also named Malcolm Thomas, and Lori Dawson. His father was an honorable mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

basketball player at

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and drafted in the sixth round of the

1985 NBA draft The 1985–86 NBA season, 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "NBA draft lottery, lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the ...

by the

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

. The younger Thomas was raised by his mother and aunts, while his father was not always around. Thomas played at Crawford High School in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, helping Crawford to a

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

(CIF) section title in his senior year.

College career

Thomas averaged 12.5 points and 8.8 rebounds as freshman at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

. He transferred to San Diego City College and averaged 21.1 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.9 blocks and was named California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) co-

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) and the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

Player of the Year. He declared early for the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

, but withdrew after one NBA workout. He went on to play two seasons at SDSU and twice earned All-MWC second team honors. In his senior year, he was named 2011 All-MWC defensive team after finishing second in the conference in rebounding and blocked shots. The team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 that season. He ended his two-year career with the Aztecs as the school's second leading all-time shot blocker and ranked eighth all-time in both rebound average and

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

Professional career

2011–12

Thomas went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the 2011 NBA draft. During the NBA lockout that summer, he signed a $350,000 contract to play a season for Mobis Phoebus in the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

. Most overseas rookies made about $100,000–$150,000. The team released him in November 2011, despite his averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists. They wanted a more veteran player, but agreed to pay the remainder of Thomas' salary. Thomas was signed by 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

on December 13, 2011. On December 17, he was assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders by the Lakers, and was recalled the next day. He was waived by the Lakers before the start of the 2011–12 season. He was signed by the D-Fenders on December 28. On January 11, 2012, Thomas was then signed by 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, where he was reunited with former Aztec teammate

Kawhi Leonard Kawhi Anthony Leonard ( ; born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA champion, he is a six-time NBA All-Star, All-Star and a six- ...

. He played in his first NBA game on January 13 against 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 Northwest Division (N ...

, getting one rebound in two minutes of

garbage time In sports, garbage time is the period toward the end of a timed sports competition that has become a Blowout (sports), blowout and the outcome has effectively already been decided. Typically during garbage time, the coaches of one or both teams wi ...

. Thomas was assigned to the

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

on January 30. On February 7, the Spurs waived Thomas. He joined the D-Fenders again on February 9. Later that season, he signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, who assigned him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He then rejoined the D-Fenders, with whom he played in the D-League finals.

2012–13

On October 3, 2012, Thomas signed a one-year contract with

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

club Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel. In competition in Israel, he averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, and in EuroLeague competition he had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes in a 70–68 victory over Italian

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from spon ...

in mid-October. However, after Tel Aviv signed 6-foot-11 Croatian Darko Planinić, his minutes decreased. Thomas was waived by Maccabi Tel Aviv in February 2013. On March 5, he rejoined the Los Angeles D-Fenders. On March 8, Thomas was called up from the D-League and signed a 10-day contract with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He was assigned to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

of the NBA D-League on March 12, 2013. He was recalled a day later. On March 19, 2013, Thomas signed a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls. He signed a second 10-day contract on March 29, and signed for the remainder of the season on April 8. On July 23, he was waived by the Bulls.

2013–14

In November 2013, Thomas was reacquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders. On December 3, 2013, Thomas signed with the San Antonio Spurs and was assigned multiple time to the Austin Toros. On January 23, 2014, he was waived by the Spurs. Two days later, he was claimed off waivers by the Utah Jazz. On February 3, 2014, Thomas was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game.

2014–15

On July 22, 2014, Thomas was traded by Utah, along with John Lucas III and Erik Murphy, to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in exchange for Carrick Felix, a 2015 second round draft pick, and cash considerations. On September 25, he was traded, along with John Lucas III, Erik Murphy, Dwight Powell, and the Cavaliers' 2016 and 2017 second-round picks, to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in exchange for Keith Bogans and two future second-round picks. Four days later, he was waived by the Celtics. On October 27, 2014, Thomas signed with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

. On November 10, he was waived by the 76ers after appearing in five games. He had been playing with fluid and loose cartilage in his left knee. On December 23, 2014, he re-signed with the 76ers. On February 22, 2015, he was waived again by the 76ers. In April 2015, Thomas signed with the

Piratas de Quebradillas ''Piratas'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series with comedy elements created by Carlos Portela and which stars Óscar Jaenada, Pilar Rubio and Silvia Abascal. It aired on Telecinco in 2011. Premise Set in the 18th century, the fi ...

of Puerto Rico.

2015–16

On October 31, 2015, Thomas was acquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders, returning to the franchise for a fourth stint. On January 29, 2016, he left the D-Fenders to sign with the Meralco Bolts of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. However, on February 6, 2016, he was released by the Bolts after suffering an injury before the start of the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

2016–17

On July 30, 2016, Thomas signed with Jilin Northeast Tigers of China for the 2016–17 CBA season.

2017–19

On July 20, 2017, Thomas signed a two-year deal with Russian club

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

and the

2019–20

On December 23, 2019, Thomas was reported to have signed with Fenerbahçe Beko. He averaged 2.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 12 games.

2020–21

On July 28, 2020, he signed a one-year deal with Bayern Munich of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL) with the option for another season. On December 3, 2020, Thomas and Bayern Munich parted ways.

2021–22

On November 17, 2021, he has signed 1,5 month contract with Petkim Spor of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) with an option to extend until end of season.

2022–23

On August 19, 2022, he has signed with

BC Samara BC Samara () is a Russian professional basketball team based in Samara. History BC Samara (1976–2002) Club was founded in Tolyatti as BC Azot. Club was a silver medalist of the Russian Basketball Super League 1, Russian Super League 1 in 19 ...

of the

2023–24

On December 7, 2023, he signed with ONVO Büyükçekmece of the

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL).

2024–25

On January 12, 2025, Thomas signed with the Sagesse SC of the

(LBL).

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) (2017–present)

In the summer of 2017, Thomas played in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

for team A Few Good Men (Gonzaga Alumni). He competed for the $2 million prize, and for team A Few Good Men, he averaged 12.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Thomas helped take team A Few Good Men to the Super 16 round, where they then lost to Team Challenge ALS 77–60.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , – , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 5 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .000 , , – , , .750 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .0 , , .2 , , .6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 5.1 , , .556 , , – , , .500 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .250 , , – , , .000 , , 9.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 6.9 , , .500 , , .250 , , – , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 11.6 , , .452 , , .000 , , .692 , , 3.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 40 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .435 , , .091 , , .600 , , 2.4 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.9

Playoffs

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

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .500 , , – , , .200 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0

NBA D-League

Regular season

Source , - , align="left", 2011–12 , align="left" ,

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, 4 , , 1 , , 28.0 , , .548 , , .000 , , .375 , , 6.8 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 2.5 , , 9.3 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 19 , , 13 , , 32.2 , , .650 , , – , , .679 , , 9.3 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , 2.1 , , 13.7 , - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" ,

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, 2 , , 2 , , 40.0 , , .531 , , – , , .667 , , 11.5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 4.0 , , 19.0 , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" , Santa Cruz , 1 , , 1 , , 39.0 , , .500 , , – , , – , , 15.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 1 , , 41.0 , , .500 , , – , , .750 , , 17.0 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Austin , 10 , , 10 , , 32.7 , , .570 , , .364 , , .600 , , 9.4 , , 3.0 , , .6 , , 2.4 , , 15.2 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Los Angeles , 2 , , 2 , , 40.0 , , .622 , , .615 , , .684 , , 15.5 , , 2.5 , , 2.5 , , 2.0 , , 33.5 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" , Los Angeles , 7 , , 7 , , 34.6 , , .538 , , .375 , , .621 , , 12.0 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , 2.4 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 46 , , 37 , , 33.3 , , .588 , , .413 , , .644 , , 10.2 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , 2.3 , , 15.2 , -

Playoffs

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

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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, 7 , , 1 , , 34.7 , , .611 , , .500 , , .750 , , 12.3 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 17.9

Personal

Thomas has a daughter, Mikeala, who was born in 2009.

References

External links

*
Malcolm Thomas
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Malcolm 1988 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Austin Toros players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players from San Diego Basketball players from Missouri BC Khimki players Büyükçekmece Basketbol players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls players FC Bayern Munich basketball players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Golden State Warriors players Jilin Northeast Tigers players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Korean Basketball League players Liga ACB players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Pepperdine Waves men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers players Piratas de Quebradillas players Power forwards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players San Antonio Spurs players San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball players Santa Cruz Warriors players Small forwards Sportspeople from Columbia, Missouri Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players Undrafted NBA players Utah Jazz players Shanxi Loongs players Petkim Spor players BC Samara players Wonju DB Promy players

Early life

College career

Professional career

2011–12

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

2017–19

2019–20

2020–21

2021–22

2022–23

2023–24

2024–25

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) (2017–present)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

NBA D-League

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal

See also

References

External links