Tom LaGarde

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Tom LaGarde
New Jersey Nets
Career highlights
Career NBA statistics
Points
2,376 (7.6 ppg)
Rebounds1,593 (5.1 rpg)
Assists456 (1.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com 
Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1975 Mexico City Team competition

Thomas Joseph LaGarde (born February 10, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1985 before a recurring knee issue cut short his career. He earned a gold medal as a member of Team USA in the 1976 Olympics. LaGarde also was a member of an NBA championship team with the Seattle SuperSonics three years later, although torn right knee ligaments forced him to sit out the final five months of the season.

Basketball career

After playing collegiately at the University of North Carolina, LaGarde was selected 9th overall in the first round of the 1977 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.

At 6'10" and 220 lb, LaGarde played

forward and center at the pro level. In June, 1979, shortly after his rookie season with the Nuggets, LaGarde was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics
in return for a first-round draft choice.

LaGarde was selected by the expansion

1980–81 season,[1] finishing second on the team in points to Jim Spanarkel
and leading the team in rebounds and blocked shots.

LaGarde saw his playing time diminish the following season, averaging just 19 minutes per game in 47 games for the Mavericks. He played the two following seasons overseas.

In November 1984, LaGarde returned briefly to the NBA with the

New Jersey Nets as a replacement for the injured Darryl Dawkins
. But the comeback lasted only one game before a calf injury ended his season and career.

Personal life

In 2008, LaGarde created a video parody of

McCain-Palin called the Original Mavericks for Truth.[2]

LaGarde and his wife, Heather, live in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, with their two children. Together, they redeveloped an old mill, which is now a 700-person music venue, called the Haw River Ballroom.

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
 †  Won an NBA championship

NBA

Source[3]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1977–78 Denver 77 11.3 .405 .760 2.8 .6 .2 .2 4.0
1978–79† Seattle 23 25.0 .541 .600 8.3 1.4 .3 .8 11.0
1979–80 Seattle 82 14.2 .477 – .657 3.8 1.1 .2 .4 4.7
1980–81 Dallas 82 82 32.6 .470 – .649 8.1 2.9 .4 .5 13.7
1981–82 Dallas 47 28 19.3 .420 .000 .518 4.5 1.0 .4 .4 6.6
1984–85 New Jersey 1 0 8.0 .000 – .500 2.0 .0 .0 .0 1.0
Career 312 110 19.9 .462 .000 .640 5.1 1.5 .3 .4 7.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1978
 Denver 9 8.6 .526 .714 2.0 .8 .0 .2 2.8
1980
 Seattle 14 11.6 .370 – .818 2.9 .9 .1 .0 3.1
Career 23 10.4 .415 – .778 2.5 .8 .1 .1 3.0

Notes

  1. ^ Ex-Mavs center Ralph Drollinger is now living by the book, dallasnews.com, posted August 8, 2005
  2. ^ "Original Mavericks for Truth on YouTube". Archived from the original on December 14, 2021.
  3. Basketball Reference
    . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
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