Nate Thurmond considered one of the finest basketball players ever, was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 and designated among the 50 Greatest Players in the history of the NBA in 1996. Apart from appearing in seven NBA All-Star games, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team or Second Team five times. His jersey #42 was retired on March 8, 1978.
Over a 14-year NBA career that began with the San Francisco and Golden State Warriors and lasted 11 years, Thurmond averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds per game. In addition to his 11-year membership in the Warriors, Thurmond has spent 32 years serving as a valuable asset to the club’s community relations department. Thurmond has spent 43 years working for the Warriors’ management after his time with them. He played for the Chicago Bulls for two seasons and the Cleveland Cavaliers for one year and a half, leading them to the first-ever appearance in the playoffs.
Nate Thurmond – Early life
By complete chance, Nate Thurmond met an eventual NBA star player Gus Johnson when attending Central High School in Akron. He played on the school’s basketball team and put up good numbers from the start, becoming an aspiring center and power forward. Even though Nate was good, he was afraid that he would get outshined by some of the better peers like his high school adversary Jerry Lucas. For this reason, he declined an offer from the Ohio State University where Lucas had gone.
Nate Thurmond – College career
Instead, Thurmond went to Bowling Green. This is only a testament to a lack of faith in himself. He chose an inferior college just because he was afraid to be put on the bench.
Even with teammates certainly not on par compared to Division I schools, Thurmond managed to become a star player. The Mid-American Conference was his in terms of rebounds in all three years at the college, which earned him an All-American title. Rebounding like crazy, Nate led the team to an NCAA Tournament, setting the rebound record in the last game to 31.
His outstanding college career didn’t go unnoticed and Thurmond was named the third pick in the NBA Draft of 1963.
Nate Thurmond – NBA career
Needless to say, the San Francisco Warriors went with him, which was a decision that would pay off dividends for many years. Thurmond made a name for himself in San Francisco, becoming almost synonymous with the Bay Area.
Nate Thurmond – San Francisco Warriors
Coincidentally, Thurmond played his first NBA game when the legendary Wilt Chamberlain was still playing with the Warriors. Having Chamberlain by his side helped him immensely, as the senior player mentored and taught him the intricacies of playing in the NBA.
While Thurmond didn’t have an amazing rookie season, his modest playing time was enough to get acquainted with what it looks like. Chamberlain was the star, putting up seemingly impossible numbers of almost 37 points and over 22 rebounds in Nate’s rookie season. Even though Thurmond had a limited role in the Warriors, he still managed a 7-point and 10.4 rebound average, for which he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team.
Thurmond improved in the playoffs that year due to increased playtime, from 26 minutes to 34, and posted an average of 10 ppg and 12.3 rpg. The Warriors met the Celtics in the NBA finals but lost in five games.
In the following season, the Warriors traded Chamberlain, Thurmond got his position all to himself and managed further improvements, this time posting 16.5 points and 18.1 rebounds per game. He even beat a record of 17 rebounds in a quarter that belonged to Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, setting his own at 18, a record not to be beaten up to this day.
Nate Thurmond – Declining Warriors
While Thurmond was doing all he could, his franchise began to decline. The team mainly relied on Chamberlain as well as his numbers, and with him missing, they were on a slippery slope. With an abysmal 17-63 record in 1964-65, the year their star player left, they were clearly the worst in the league by a mile.
Despite a tragic season for the franchise, that year would go down as one of the best in Thurmond’s history. In one game, he got 42 rebounds, setting a career-high and placing seventh on an all-time single-game rebounding effort.
Nate Thurmond – Nate The Great
Even with his team lacking talent, Nate Thurmond flourished, making an appearance in all three All-Star Games from 1965 through 1967 averaging 18 rebounds and 21.3 during the 1966-67 campaign. The constant practice soon began to pay off. Apart from rebounding skills, Thurmond posted almost 19 points per game and over 20 in 1966-67 and 1967-68 respectively.
In 1965, the Warriors began to get up from a slump after acquiring small forward Rick Barry. After his arrival, they got back and posted a 35-45 record. Soon enough, it became apparent that Barry was the savior, putting up Chamberlain-level numbers, with 35.6 ppg in 1966-67. That season, the Warriors got to the playoffs pretty easily, plowing through most of the games, but were stopped by the Sixers and their former player Wilt Chamberlain.
The best of Thurmond’s career was in 1968-69 when he scored 21.5 points and 19.7 rebounds per game. Only Chamberlain (21.1), who had already won two titles with the Philadelphia Warriors before joining the Philadelphia 76ers, topped his rebounding average. The Golden State Warriors, who were mired in a seven-year-long period of inferiority, posted a 41-41 record and fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Nate Thurmond – Golden State Warriors
San Francisco became the Golden State Warriors in 1971, which was seemingly a breath of fresh air for the franchise. For Thurmond, this was once again a great season with 16.1 rebounds and 21.4 points per game. Winning their division with a 51-31 regular-season record, they, unfortunately, lost to the Bucks empowered by prime Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Thurmond’s production began to drop significantly after his second decade of play. His scoring average fell to 13.0 points per game in 1973-74, although he still averaged 14.2 rebounds per game. The Warriors, on the other hand, desired a jolt of young energy at the center position, so they dealt Thurmond to the Chicago Bulls for 25-year-old center Clifford Ray (who was subsequently traded away), cash, and a pick following the season.
Nate Thurmond – Chicago Bulls
On October 18, 1974, in his Bulls debut, Thurmond gave the team exactly what they’d asked for — and more. On October 18, 1974, facing the Atlanta Hawks, Thurmond had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks in his NBA debut. It was also the league’s first quadruple-double; it was matched just three more times in NBA history.
Again, Thurmond’s point production fell and coach Motta was forced to remove him from the squad. Even though his defense was still on point and he had his best year assist-wise (4.1 apg), he left for the Cleveland Cavaliers during 1975-76, after only 13 games played for the Bulls.
Nate Thurmond – Cleveland Cavaliers
While the statistics didn’t reflect that, Thurmond had some of his finest years with the Cavaliers, at least in his mind. During that time, the Cavs reached the playoffs for the first time in the history of the franchise, which made Thurmond ecstatic, even though these were the closing years of his basketball history.
The following season, they reached the playoffs again but were eliminated by the Warriors immediately. Even though Thurmond retired without an NBA title, he was content with his career, making a name for himself as one of the most consistent, versatile players.
Nate Thurmond – Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
After his number was retired by both the Warriors and the Cavaliers, he was inducted into the hall of fame in 1984 and was named to the 1996’s ranking of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.
Nate “The Great” Thurmond died peacefully at the age of 74 in 2016.
Nate Thurmond – Net Worth
Nate Thurmond was a great player, who mainly played for San Francisco Warriors. Due to his great success in the league, his net worth is estimated to be over $10 million.
What was Nate Thurmond good at?
Many consider him to be one of the greatest offensive and defensive talents the game has ever seen. Jabbar once called him the “toughest center” he’d ever faced, and his teammates described him as a “warrior on both ends of the court.”
According to experts and players alike, Thurmond’s defense was superior than Chamberlain’s, and his offense was superior than Bill Russell’s. With quickness and long fingers, a smooth outside shooting touch, tenacious rebounding, classic shot-blocking ability, and a team effort, Thurmond provided a well-rounded performance.
Even though he wasn’t as flashy as his more popular counterparts, he got the job done. According to him, being flashy takes unnecessary effort and hinders the ability to perform. He didn’t care about the spotlight. Thurmond was all about hard work, willingness to improve, and tenacity, which made him be overlooked by the media (which suited him!). He was all about playing, not appearances.
What position did Nate Thurmond play?
He played as a center and power forward.
