Remembering Nate Thurmond: Born on This Date in 1941

Photo: Nate Thurmond posting up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Photo credit: Associated Press.

Cover photo: Nate Thurmond as a Golden State Warrior. Photo credit: Getty Images.

One of the greatest centers in NBA history would have celebrated his 84th birthday today, July 25. 

Nate Thurmond was born in Akron, Ohio, a city that must have something special in the water - LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Gus Johnson were also born there. Johnson is in the Hall of Fame. Superstars James and Curry will be there one day, too. Thurmond starred with Johnson at Central Hower High School. 

In three years at Bowling Green State University, Thurmond averaged 17.8 points and 16.6 rebounds per game in 76 games. As a senior, he averaged 19.9 points and 16.7 rebounds and garnered 2nd team All-American honors. 

Thurmond was drafted fourth overall in the 1963 NBA Draft, with his high school teammate Johnson being drafted in the second round. A 22-year-old Thurmond joined a San Francisco Warrior team that had won 31 games in ‘62-’63. In his rookie season, the Warriors went 48-32 behind the greatness of Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 36.9 points, 22.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. Thurmond played 76 games and averaged 25.9 minutes. Despite the lack of minutes, he still managed 10.4 rebounds per game along with his 7.0 points. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting - Johnson finished second, while Jerry Lucas won the award. The Warriors defeated the St. Louis Hawks in the Western Division Finals in seven games but lost to the Boston Celtics four games to one in the Finals. Thurmond averaged 11.2 points and 13.0 rebounds in the five games in the Finals. 

On January 15, 1965, the Warriors traded Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers, which opened the door for opportunities for Thurmond. Despite a 17-63 record, he averaged 16.5 points and 18.1 rebounds in 41.2 minutes per game (77 games) in '65-'66 and was an all-star for the first time. 

In 1965-66, a rookie Rick Barry averaged 25.7 points and won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Thurmond put up 16.3 points and 18.0 rebounds (73 games, 39.6 minutes), and was an all-star once again. 

Thurmond had his best season to date 1966-67, averaging 42.5 minutes per game in 65 games. Attempting 16.4 shots per game, he scored 18.7 points per game and grabbed 21.3 rebounds per game. The Warriors improved their win total from the previous season by nine games to finish 44-37, and lost the NBA Finals to Chamberlain and the 76ers. Thurmond led all players in rebounds in Game 5 of the series with 28, and averaged 26.7 boards in the series to Chamberlain’s 28.5. 

The 6 foot, 11 inch Thurmond was again an all-star in ‘68 (20.5 points, 22.0 rebounds, 43.6 minutes in 51 games) while dealing with a knee injury, and was an all-star in '70 when he averaged 21.9 points and 17.7 rebounds in 44.6 minutes per game in 43 games - the 29 missed games were due to a torn right knee that he suffered on January 16, 1970 in a game against the 76ers. The '69-'70 Warriors won 30 games and missed the playoffs.

The season in between, ‘68-‘69, Thurmond averaged 21.5 points and 19.7 rebounds and was named to the All-Defensive 1st team. The ‘68 Warriors won 43 games and lost 4-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers in Western Division Finals, while the ‘69 version won 41 games and lost again to the Lakers, this time in six games in the Western Division Semis. Thurmond corralled 28 rebounds in Game 2 of that series and had 15 boards in Game 4. He averaged 19.5 rebounds to Chamberlain’s 23.5. 

The 1970-71 season was the Warriors’ last in San Francisco, and Thurmond played all 82 games and averaged 40.9 minutes per night. He averaged 20.0 points and 13.8 rebounds and made the All-Defensive 1st team for the 41-win squad, though the team lost in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Milwaukee Bucks. Thurmond averaged 17.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in the series. His draft-mate Lucas led the team with 17.8 points per game. 

Thurmond played three more seasons for the Warriors, and was an all-star for two of them. 

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Nate Thurmond’s Last 3 Seasons as a Warrior 

1971-72: 21.4 points, 16.1 rebounds, 43.2% FG, 43.1 minutes, 78 games, All-Defensive 2nd team

1972-73: 17.1 points, 17.1 rebounds, 44.6% FG, 43.3 minutes, 79 games, All-Star, All-Defensive 2nd team 

1973-74: 13.0 points, 14.2 rebounds, 44.4% FG, 39.7 minutes, 62 games, All-Star, All-Defensive 2nd team

From 1970-1974, he had four top-10 MVP finishes (8th, 8th, 9th, 8th)

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On September 3, 1974, Thurmond was dealt to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for center Clifford Ray and $100,000. Ray became a key player on the Warriors’ title team of ‘75, the center becoming one of Barry’s trusted and valued teammates, and lifelong friend. Thurmond in Chicago joined a team that was loaded with talent, with Bob Love, Chet Walker, Norm Van Lier, and Jerry Sloan. Love’s 22.0 points per game led the team in scoring while Thurmond averaged 7.9 points and a team-leading 11.3 rebounds.

The ‘74-‘75 Bulls won 47 games and defeated the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals before losing to the Warriors four games to three in the Western Conference Finals. 

Thurmond’s minutes declined in ‘75-‘76 to just 20.0 minutes in 13 games with the Bulls. After those thirteen games, Thurmond was dealt, along with forward Rowland Garrett, to the Cleveland Cavaliers for centers Steve Patterson and Eric Fernsten. Although Thurmond played in just 93 games for the Bulls (7.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 32.4 minutes), he stamped his time there by making history on October 18, 1974 against the Atlanta Hawks when he became the first player in NBA history to register a quadruple-double in a game. Thurmond put up 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks in the 120-115 overtime Bulls’ win. He played 45 minutes in the game and was 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line. Only David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Alvin Robertson have posted quadruple doubles in an NBA game in addition to Thurmond. 

In Cleveland with the Cavaliers, Thurmond played 114 games and averaged 5.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. 

Nate the Great’s career averages of 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds - in 37.2 minutes per game in 964 games - are not indicative of his scoring or rebounding prowess. In his best days with the Warriors, he averaged 17.4 points per game and 16.9 rebounds in 40.6 minutes per game. He shot 42.1% from the field for his career and 42.5% as a Warrior and was a capable free-throw shooter for a center at 66.7% - he produced four straight seasons ('69-'73) of over 70% from the stripe, with 75.4%, 73.0%, 74.3%, and 71.8%. In his career, the 7-time all-star made five All-Defensive teams (two 1st team) and if not for Chamberlain and Russell would have had multiple rebounding titles - from his second season through to 1970, Thurmond never averaged less than 17.7 boards per game. In ‘66-‘67, he averaged 21.3 and in ‘67-‘68 averaged 22.0 boards. 

Thurmond was a player who competed at the highest level with Chamberlain and Russell - the chiseled No. 42 the third best pivot in the game during the Golden Age of Big Men. Later in his career, too, he went head-to-head with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Said Chamberlain, former Thurmond teammate and long time opponent, at one time:

”He's probably the toughest center of all for me to play against. Tougher than either Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Bill Russell.”

Thurmond was deemed that important and good by the Warriors, too, who paid him $250,000 in 1973, the same figure that Chamberlain earned in his final 76ers’ season six years earlier. Thurmond also had an offer in the early 70s from the ABA’s Carolina Cougars, who approached him with a five-year contract worth $2 million. Thurmond's Rolls Royce, equipped with a “Nate-42” license plate, was a representation of his worth.

Like Chamberlain, Barry, in 1967 speaking to the publication Popular Sports All-Pro Basketball, had praise for his Warrior teammate: 

“Nate was the key, he averaged 18 points and 20 rebounds a game and played tremendous defense. All of us could gamble on stealing the ball on defense because we knew that if we lost our man, Nate would be there clogging up the middle.”

In 1975, Thurmond was inducted into the Bowling Green State Athletics Hall of Fame. On November 19, 1977, his No. 42 was retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. On March 8, 1978, the Warriors retired No. 42 too in honor of Thurmond. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985. 

Thurmond passed away at the age of 74 on July 16, 2016 after a battle with leukemia. 

On this day, we remember him.