Nate Thurmond

Early life and college

Thurmond started at Akron's Central High School, where he played alongside fellow future NBA star Gus Johnson. 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.

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), 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.

Professional 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.

After Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the next season, Thurmond blossomed into a highly productive starting center for the Warriors. Among his many accomplishments Thurmond set a regular-season record for rebounds in a quarter with 18, 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.

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. 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."

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.

Chicago Bulls

A 33-year-old Thurmond was acquired by the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Clifford Ray and $100,000 prior to the 1974–75 season on September 3, 1974. The Bulls had felt a need for one starting center rather than continue with a three-man rotation of Ray, Tom Boerwinkle and Dennis Awtrey. The Warriors added more fiscal stability when completing the deal. On October 18, 1974, against the Atlanta Hawks, in his debut as a Bull, he recorded 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots, becoming the first player in NBA history to officially record a quadruple-double

Cleveland Cavaliers

Thirteen games into the 1975–76 season, Thurmond was traded along with Rowland Garrett to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Steve Patterson and Eric Fernsten on November 27, 1975. Thurmond's mobility on the court failed to mesh with an offense built for a more stationary center, resulting in diminished playing time on a team enduring a nine-game losing streak at the time of the deal. In Cleveland, the now 35-year-old Thurmond came off the bench for the injured Jim Chones to lead Cleveland's "Miracle at Richfield" team to the NBA Eastern Conference finals before the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in 1976.

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

After retirement, Thurmond returned to San Francisco and opened a restaurant, Big Nate's BBQ. 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.

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

Thurmond died on July 16, 2016, nine days away from his 75th birthday, after a short battle with leukemia. 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: Chicago Bulls (120) vs. Atlanta Hawks (115), (OT)

• 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocked shots
• The game was Thurmond's debut with the Chicago Bulls.
• Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson are the only other players to achieve a quadruple-double. Blocked shots were not recorded prior to 1973-74

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

• Also done by Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Pettit and Jerry Lucas

One of five players in NBA history to average at least 20 rebounds per game during a season: 21.3 (), 22.0 ()

• Also achieved by Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Pettit and Jerry LucasNote: Thurmond only played 51 games in 1967-68, and thus that season does not appear in this list.

One of four players in NBA history to record 40 or more rebounds in a game: 42, vs. Detroit Pistons,

• Also achieved by Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry Lucas

NBA regular season record for rebounds in a quarter: 18, at Baltimore Bullets,

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | 76 || || 25.9 || .395 || || .549 || 10.4 || 1.1 || || || 7.0 |- | 77 || || 41.2 || .419 || || .658 || 18.1 || 2.0 || || || 16.5 |- | 73 || || 39.6 || .406 || || .654 || 18.0 || 1.5 || || || 16.3 |- | 65 || || 42.5 || .437 || || .629 || 21.3 || 2.6 || || || 18.7 |- | 51 || || 43.6 || .411 || || .644 || 22.0 || 4.2 || || || 20.5 |- | 71 || || 45.2 || .410 || || .615 || 19.7 || 3.6 || || || 21.5 |- | 43 || || 44.6 || .414 || || .754 || 17.7 || 3.5 || || || 21.9 |- | 82 || || 40.9 || .445 || || .730 || 13.8 || 3.1 || || || 20.0 |- | 78 || || 43.1 || .432 || || .743 || 16.1 || 2.9 || || || 21.4 |- | 79 || || 43.3 || .446 || || .718 || 17.1 || 3.5 || || || 17.1 |- | 62 || || 39.7 || .444 || || .666 || 14.2 || 2.7 || .7 || 2.9 || 13.0 |- | 80 || || 34.5 || .364 || || .589 || 11.3 || 4.1 || .6 || 2.4 || 7.9 |- | 13 || || 20.0 || .444 || || .444 || 5.5 || 2.0 || .3 || .9 || 3.7 |- | 65 || || 17.4 || .418 || || .514 || 5.3 || 1.0 || .3 || 1.3 || 4.6 |- | 49 || || 20.3 || .407 || || .642 || 7.6 || 1.7 || .3 || 1.7 || 5.5 |- class="sortbottom" | 964 || || 37.2 || .421 || || .667 || 15.0 || 2.7 || .5 || 2.1 || 15.0 |- class="sortbottom" | 5 || 2 || 20.8 || .326 || || .375 || 8.8 || .4 || .0 || .0 || 6.2

Playoffs

|- |12||||34.2||.438||||.679||12.3||.8||||||10.0 |- |15||||46.0||.433||||.571||23.1||3.1||||||15.9 |- |6||||43.8||.392||||.588||19.5||4.7||||||16.7 |- |5||||38.4||.371||||.800||10.2||3.0||||||17.6 |- |5||||46.0||.434||||.750||17.8||5.2||||||25.4 |- |11||||41.8||.398||||.800||13.2||3.6||||||14.5 |- |13||||19.5||.368||||.486||6.7||2.4||.4||1.6||3.5 |- |13||||28.8||.468||||.406||9.0||2.2||.5||2.2|| 6.7 |- |1||||1.0||||||||1.0||.0||.0||1.0|| .0 |- class="sortbottom" | 81 || || 35.5 || .416 || || .621 || 13.6 || 2.8 || .4 || 1.9 || 11.9

References

References

1. Brown, Daniel. (July 16, 2016). "Nate Thurmond dead at 74; Warriors legend battled leukemia". San Jose Mercury News.
2. (July 16, 2016). "In era of great centers, Nate Thurmond was among the best". ESPN.
3. nba.com/75
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5. (July 16, 2016). "NBA legend Nate Thurmond dies at 74". FoxNews.com.
6. "Nate Thurmond Bio". NBA.com.
7. Musselman, Ron. (March 13, 2005). "Nate the Great: Thurmond was BG's best and among elite in NBA". Toledo Blade.
8. "Nate Thurmond, Bowling Green". Mid-American Conference.
9. "1966-67 NBA Awards Voting". basketball-reference.com.
10. Livingston, Bill. (July 16, 2016). "Nate Thurmond, defensive star of Miracle of Richfield Cavaliers, dies". cleveland.com.
11. (October 19, 2011). "With RCC honor, Rule revisits memory lane". [[Press-Enterprise]].
12. (September 4, 1974). "Chicago Acquires Nate Thurmond; For Clifford Ray and Cash". Schenectady Gazette.
13. [http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1975/11/28/page/67/article/pick-up-marin-from-braves Logan, Bob. "Nate goes to Cavs, Bulls get Patterson; Pick up Marin from Braves", ''Chicago Tribune'', November 28, 1975].{{dead link. (May 2024)
14. Lucchesi, Paolo. (December 27, 2011). "Big Nate's BBQ closes; CatHead's BBQ en route". SFGate.
15. Guerrero, Susana. (August 26, 2019). "These Bay Area food favorites will be available at the Chase Center. The regularly played on basketball courts in Golden Gate park is named after the Warriors legend.". SF Chronicle.
16. Whiting, Sam. (March 3, 2013). "Big Nate Thurmond a center of attention". San Francisco Chronicle.
17. (July 16, 2016). "Warriors Legend and Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond Passes Away at Age of 74". NBA.com.
18. "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Rebounds Per Game". basketball-reference.com.
19. "NBA & ABA Single Season Leaders and Records for Rebounds Per Game". basketball-reference.com.
20. Weir, Tom (November 9, 2011). "[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/11/nate-thurmond-42-rebounds-wilt-chamberlain-bill-russell/1#.V4uOPbgrLIU Daily NBA fix: The night Nate Thurmond had 42 rebounds]". ''USA Today''. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
21. Shouler, Ken. (July 16, 2016). "Emerging from Wilt's shadow, Nate Thurmond became an all-time great". ESPN.