Nate Thurmond

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Nate Thurmond
power forward
Number42
Career history
19631974San Francisco / Golden State Warriors
19741975Chicago Bulls
19751977Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points
14,437 (15.0 ppg)
Rebounds14,464 (15.0 rpg)
Assists2,575 (2.7 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

Nathaniel Thurmond (July 25, 1941 – July 16, 2016) was an American

quadruple-double. In 1965, he grabbed 42 rebounds in a game; only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell recorded more rebounds in an NBA game. Thurmond was named a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History,[2] and part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.[3]

Known to fans as "Nate the Great",[4] Thurmond has had his No. 42 jersey retired by both the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.[5]

High school and college career

Thurmond grabbing a rebound while at Bowling Green

Thurmond started at Akron's Central High School, where he played alongside fellow future NBA star Gus Johnson.[6] Passing up a scholarship offer from Ohio State to avoid becoming a backup to Jerry Lucas, a high school rival, Thurmond chose to play college basketball at Bowling Green.[7]

Thurmond led the Mid-American Conference in rebounds during all three of his varsity seasons (with a college career average of 17.0 rebounds per game),[7] and was named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News in 1963.[8] In Thurmond's last two years with Bowling Green, he helped lead the team into the NCAA Tournament and he set a school record with 31 rebounds in his final college game.[7]

NBA career

San Francisco/Golden State Warriors

Thurmond was drafted 3rd overall by the San Francisco Warriors (now known as the Golden State Warriors) in the 1963 NBA draft. As a rookie, he mainly played a supporting role alongside Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain. Thurmond averaged 7 points and 10.4 rebounds in his first NBA season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1964.[6]

After Chamberlain was traded to the

MVP balloting in the 1966–67 season,[9] averaged over 20 points per game each season from 1967–68 through 1971–72, and played in seven NBA All-Star Games as a member of the Warriors.[4]

Thurmond also gained a fearsome defensive reputation in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Thurmond the toughest defender he ever faced during his 20-season professional career.[10] NBA All-Star center Bob Rule recalled Thurmond blocking six of his seven shots during the first half of their first encounter. After his coach urged him to "Keep putting 'em up. He can't block 'em all," Rule responded "Yeah, well if I hadn't made that layup it would have been all of 'em."[11]

In spite of the contributions of star teammates like Rick Barry and Thurmond's stalwart play at center, the Warriors were unable to win a championship. They reached the 1967 NBA Finals, but lost to Chamberlain's 76ers.[6]

Chicago Bulls

A 33-year-old Thurmond was acquired by the

quadruple-double[6] (blocked shots were not counted before 1973–74).[13]

Cleveland Cavaliers

Thirteen games into the

NBA Eastern Conference finals before the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in 1976.[15]

A role player reduced to limited minutes and mid-single digit scoring and rebounds, Thurmond retired at the end of the 1976–77 season.

Personal life

Thurmond at the Golden State Warriors Victory Parade on June 19, 2015

After retirement, Thurmond returned to San Francisco and opened a restaurant, Big Nate's BBQ.[16] He sold the restaurant after 20 years, while living in San Francisco with his wife, Marci. As of 2019, the Chase Center, home venue for the Golden State Warriors, features a Big Nate's BBQ kiosk with dishes that pay homage to his career.[17]

He was given the title "Warriors Legend & Ambassador" by the Warriors organization.[18]

Thurmond died on July 16, 2016, nine days away from his 75th birthday, after a short battle with leukemia.[19] During the 2016–17 season, the Warriors paid homage to Thurmond by patching his number to their jerseys.

Statistical accomplishments

First player in NBA history to record a

quadruple-double in a game:[2] Chicago Bulls (120) vs. Atlanta Hawks (115), October 18, 1974 (OT)[13]

One of five players in NBA history to average at least 15 rebounds per game for his career: 15.0[20] (14,464/964)[4]

One of five players in NBA history to average at least 20 rebounds per game during a season: 21.3 (1966–67), 22.0 (1967–68)[4]

One of four players in NBA history to record 40 or more rebounds in a game: 42, vs. Detroit Pistons, November 9, 1965[22]

NBA regular season record for rebounds in a quarter: 18, at Baltimore Bullets, February 28, 1965[6]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1963–64 San Francisco 76 25.9 .395 .549 10.4 1.1 7.0
1964–65 San Francisco 77 41.2 .419 .658 18.1 2.0 16.5
1965–66 San Francisco 73 39.6 .406 .654 18.0 1.5 16.3
1966–67 San Francisco 65 42.5 .437 .629 21.3 2.6 18.7
1967–68 San Francisco 51 43.6 .411 .644 22.0 4.2 20.5
1968–69 San Francisco 71 45.2 .410 .615 19.7 3.6 21.5
1969–70 San Francisco 43 44.6 .414 .754 17.7 3.5 21.9
1970–71 San Francisco 82 40.9 .445 .730 13.8 3.1 20.0
1971–72 Golden State 78 43.1 .432 .743 16.1 2.9 21.4
1972–73 Golden State 79 43.3 .446 .718 17.1 3.5 17.1
1973–74 Golden State 62 39.7 .444 .666 14.2 2.7 .7 2.9 13.0
1974–75 Chicago 80 34.5 .364 .589 11.3 4.1 .6 2.4 7.9
1975–76 Chicago 13 20.0 .444 .444 5.5 2.0 .3 .9 3.7
1975–76 Cleveland 65 17.4 .418 .514 5.3 1.0 .3 1.3 4.6
1976–77 Cleveland 49 20.3 .407 .642 7.6 1.7 .3 1.7 5.5
Career 964 37.2 .421 .667 15.0 2.7 .5 2.1 15.0
All-Star 5 2 20.8 .326 .375 8.8 .4 .0 .0 6.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1964
San Francisco
12 34.2 .438 .679 12.3 .8 10.0
1967
San Francisco
15 46.0 .433 .571 23.1 3.1 15.9
1969
San Francisco
6 43.8 .392 .588 19.5 4.7 16.7
1971
San Francisco
5 38.4 .371 .800 10.2 3.0 17.6
1972
Golden State
5 46.0 .434 .750 17.8 5.2 25.4
1973
Golden State
11 41.8 .398 .800 13.2 3.6 14.5
1975
Chicago
13 19.5 .368 .486 6.7 2.4 .4 1.6 3.5
1976
Cleveland
13 28.8 .468 .406 9.0 2.2 .5 2.2 6.7
1977
Cleveland
1 1.0 1.0 .0 .0 1.0 .0
Career 81 35.5 .416 .621 13.6 2.8 .4 1.9 11.9

See also

  • List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
  • List of National Basketball Association players with most rebounds in a game
  • List of National Basketball Association players with most blocks in a game
  • List of National Basketball Association single-season rebounding leaders
  • Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

References

  1. ^ Brown, Daniel (July 16, 2016). "Nate Thurmond dead at 74; Warriors legend battled leukemia". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "In era of great centers, Nate Thurmond was among the best". ESPN. July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  3. ^ nba.com/75
  4. ^ a b c d e "Nate Thurmond NBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
  5. ^ "NBA legend Nate Thurmond dies at 74". FoxNews.com. July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Nate Thurmond Bio". NBA.com. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Musselman, Ron (March 13, 2005). "Nate the Great: Thurmond was BG's best and among elite in NBA". Toledo Blade. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  8. ^ "Nate Thurmond, Bowling Green". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  9. ^ "1966-67 NBA Awards Voting". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  10. ^ Livingston, Bill (July 16, 2016), "Nate Thurmond, defensive star of Miracle of Richfield Cavaliers, dies", The Plain Dealer
  11. Press-Enterprise
    . October 19, 2011.
  12. ^ "Chicago Acquires Nate Thurmond; For Clifford Ray and Cash". Schenectady Gazette. September 4, 1974. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d e Granderson, LZ (March 11, 2009). "Will the NBA ever produce another quadruple-double?". ESPN Page 2. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  14. ^ Logan, Bob. "Nate goes to Cavs, Bulls get Patterson; Pick up Marin from Braves," Chicago Tribune, Friday, November 28, 1975
  15. ^ Livingston, Bill (July 17, 2016). "Nate Thurmond, defensive star of Miracle of Richfield Cavaliers, dies". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  16. ^ Lucchesi, Paolo (December 27, 2011). "Big Nate's BBQ closes; CatHead's BBQ en route". SFGate. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  17. ^ Guerrero, Susana (August 26, 2019). "These Bay Area food favorites will be available at the Chase Center". SF Chronicle. San Francisco, CA. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  18. ^ Whiting, Sam (March 3, 2013). "Big Nate Thurmond a center of attention". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  19. ^ "Warriors Legend and Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond Passes Away at Age of 74". NBA.com. July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  20. ^ a b "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Rebounds Per Game". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  21. ^ "NBA & ABA Single Season Leaders and Records for Rebounds Per Game". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  22. ^ Weir, Tom (November 9, 2011). "Daily NBA fix: The night Nate Thurmond had 42 rebounds". USA Today. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  23. ^ Shouler, Ken (July 16, 2016). "Emerging from Wilt's shadow, Nate Thurmond became an all-time great". ESPN. Retrieved July 17, 2016.

Further reading

  • Heisler, Mark (2003). Giants: The 25 Greatest Centers of All Time. Chicago: Triumph Books. .

External links