Etan Thomas

Etan Thomas
Player information
Full name	Dedrick Etan Thomas
birthday	April 1, 1978
place of birth	Harlem , United States
size	208 cm
position	Power Forward Center
college	Syracuse
NBA draft	2000 , 12th pick, Dallas Mavericks
Clubs as active
2001–2009 Washington Wizards 2009–2010 Oklahoma City Thunder 2010–2011 Atlanta Hawks
1 As of January 31, 2011

Dedrick Etan Thomas (born April 1, 1978 in Harlem , New York City ) is a retired American basketball player .

His height is 208 cm and his body weight is 117 kg. From 1996 to 2000 he played at Syracuse University . From 2000 to 2011 Thomas was active in the NBA .

High school

Thomas attended Booker T. Washington High School in his hometown of Tulsa . The high school is known for its good basketball program and has produced NBA players like Wayman Tisdale . Thomas himself played for the high school basketball team, the Hornets . There he played with Ryan Humphrey , another future NBA player, and the later NFL players De'mond Parker and RW McQuarters in one team. With this team he won the State Championship in 1995 . He was overshadowed by Ryan Humphrey, who was named McDonald's High School All-American . The following year he finished high school and went to Syracuse University .

college

From 1996 to 2000 Thomas played at Syracuse University on the basketball team for the Syracuse Orangemen . In his first year he was hardly used because he had to give way to other players. When they left the university the following year, he was immediately a starter and became a top performer in the Orangemen team. He drew attention to himself especially through his defensive performances and blocked 138 throws throughout the season. The Orangemen reached the NCAA Sweet 16 with him and Thomas was voted Big East's Most Improved Player of the Year at the end of the season . Together with the future NBA player Jason Hart , he completed two more years for the Orangemen. During this time he reached the Sweet 16 again and was voted Big East Defensive Player of the Year in his senior year .

NBA

The Dallas Mavericks selected him in the 2000 NBA Draft in 12th place. He never played a game for the Mavericks and was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2001 . He was also initially not used with the Wizards and played his first NBA game in the 2001/02 season . At the Wizards, he could never prevail and was more likely to have problems with his teammate Brendan Haywood . Statistically speaking, Thomas completed his best season in 2003/04 and reached the second play-off round with the Wizards in the following season. For the 2009/10 season he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder and played for this one season in which he reached the playoffs with the team. Then he was given in an exchange deal to the Atlanta Hawks .

Others

Thomas was born in Harlem and grew up with a younger brother in Tulsa , Oklahoma. Through the influence of his mother, a teacher, he became involved with the American civil rights movement , politics, and particularly the 1960s. He writes poems which he published under the title More Than An Athlete . In 2008 he supported Barack Obama in his candidacy as US President and appeared as a speaker.

literature

• More Than An Athlete . Moore Black Press, Atlanta 2004, ISBN 0-9658308-9-6

Web links

Commons : Etan Thomas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Etan Thomas - player profile on NBA.com
• Etan Thomas - player profile on basketball-reference.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Etan Thomas In: The Huffington Post
2. ↑ Thomas' speech ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)