Wikipedia

Elijah Thomas

Elijah Reshard Thomas (born October 10, 1996)[1] is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies and Clemson Tigers.

Elijah Thomas
Thomas with Clemson in 2018
Nalaikh Bison
PositionPower forward
Personal information
Born (1996-10-10) October 10, 1996 (age 28)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020Larisa
2020Steaua București
2021Bnei Herzliya
2021Grises de Humacao
2021Windy City Bulls
2022Taoyuan Leopards
2022Titanes del Distrito Nacional
2022Gladiadores de Anzoátegui
2022Earth Friends Tokyo Z
2023Kaohsiung Aquas
2023Pioneros de Los Mochis
2023Final Gençlik
2023Wellington Saints
2023Sagesse Club
2024Çayırova Belediyesi
2024Nalaikh Bison
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× ACC All-Defensive Team (2018, 2019)

Early life

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Thomas grew up in South Dallas and befriended Jordan Mickey in elementary school. When Deion Sanders opened Prime Prep Academy, both Mickey and Thomas decided to join.[2] Prior to his junior season, Thomas transferred to Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Texas.[3] In the final game of the regular season, he had 39 points and 20 rebounds as Lancaster defeated MacArthur High School 87–66.[4] Thomas was named District 15-4A most valuable player as a junior.[5] As a senior, he helped the team win the Class 5A state championship and averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds per game.[6][7] Ranked the No. 29 recruit in his class according to ESPN, he committed to Texas A&M, the first school to offer him a scholarship, on October 21, 2014. Thomas chose the Aggies over offers from Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma State and SMU.[8]

College career

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Thomas averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, but saw his minutes decline due to the emergence of Tyler Davis.[9] On January 6, 2016, he announced he was transferring to Clemson after taking visits to Nebraska and Arizona.[10] As a sophomore, Thomas averaged 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[11] On November 24, 2017, he posted career highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds in an 84–77 victory over Texas Southern.[12] He averaged 10.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game as a junior, shooting 56 percent from the floor. Thomas was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team.[13] He had nine double-doubles and helped the Tigers reach to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997.[14] As a senior, Thomas averaged 13 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.[15] He was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the second straight season, as well as Honorable Mention All-ACC.[16] He was the seventh Clemson player to compile 900 points, 600 rebounds and 150 blocks.[17]

Professional career

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After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Thomas joined the Charlotte Hornets for NBA Summer League.[18] On July 18, 2019, he signed his first professional contract with Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League.[19] He did not appear in a game for the team. On January 12, 2020, Thomas signed with Larisa of the Greek Basket League.[20] In five games, he averaged 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[21]

Thomas started the 2020–21 season in Romania with Steaua București.[22] In January 2021, after initially signing with Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague,[23] he joined Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League for the rest of the season.[24]

In August and September 2021, Thomas had a four-game stint in Puerto Rico with Grises de Humacao.[22]

In October 2021, Thomas joined the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League after a successful tryout.[25] He was waived on December 25, 2021.[26] On February 18, 2022, he signed with Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League for the rest of the 2021–22 season.[27]

In July 2022, Thomas had a two-game stint with Titanes del Distrito Nacional in the Dominican Republic and a one-game stint with Gladiadores de Anzoátegui in Venezuela.[22][28]

Thomas started the 2022–23 season in Japan with Earth Friends Tokyo Z.[22] He returned to Taiwan in January 2023 and joined Kaohsiung Aquas.[29] He was released from his contract in March.[30] After a one-game stint with Pioneros de Los Mochis in Mexico, he joined Turkish team Final Gençlik in April 2023.[22]

On June 22, 2023, Thomas signed with the Wellington Saints for the rest of the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.[31]

In November 2023, Thomas had a two-game stint with Sagesse Club of the Lebanese Basketball League.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Elijah Reshard Thomas". FIBA. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Rosetta, Randy (August 10, 2014). "Strong bond with Mickey gives LSU a chance with Dallas-area big man Elijah Thomas". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Murphree, Marcus (February 27, 2014). "Elijah Thomas' 6-9 frame turned out to be missing puzzle piece for Lancaster's 2014 team". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Holland, E.J. (February 14, 2014). "5-star Lancaster big man Elijah Thomas talks monster game, recruiting". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Results, summaries, honors, polls, schedules". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 15, 2014. p. C6. Retrieved October 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Wixon, Matt (December 17, 2015). "Former Lancaster basketball star Elijah Thomas leaving Texas A&M; former Rockwall star Austin Grandstaff leaving Ohio State". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Tigers Add Elijah Thomas". Clemson Tigers. January 7, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Borzello, Jeff (October 24, 2014). "Texas A&M lands Elijah Thomas". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Goodman, Jeff and Borzello, Jeff (December 14, 2015). "Former top-50 recruit Elijah Thomas to transfer from Texas A&M". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Goodman, Jeff (January 6, 2016). "Elijah Thomas transferring from Texas A&M to Clemson". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  11. ^ O'Brien, Patrick (November 9, 2017). "College Basketball Preview: Clemson Tigers". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "Clemson beats Texas Southern 84-77 behind Thomas, DeVoe". ESPN. Associated Press. November 24, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  13. ^ Cook, Joe (March 30, 2018). "Elijah Thomas To Return To Clemson Basketball". WLTX. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  14. ^ Keepfer, Scott (June 17, 2018). "Former Clemson standout Trevor Booker sees big things ahead for Elijah Thomas, Tigers". The Greenville News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  15. ^ Yanity, Pete (July 18, 2019). "Former Clemson big man Thomas to play in Korea". WSPA. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "Clemson's Reed Named to All-ACC Third Team; Thomas to All-Defensive Team". Live 5 News. March 11, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  17. ^ Crumpton, Tony (July 18, 2019). "Elijah Thomas signs internationally with DB Promy". TigerNet.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Sanders (June 22, 2019). "Elijah Thomas gets Summer League shot". Clemson Sports Talk. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  19. ^ Skerletic, Dario (July 18, 2019). "Elijah Thomas signs with DB Promy". Sportando. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ο Elijah Thomas στην Λάρισα…". Larissanet (in Greek). January 12, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  21. ^ "Elijah Thomas International Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  22. ^ a b c d e f "Elijah Thomas". eurobasket.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  23. ^ Lupo, Nicola (January 2, 2021). "Elijah Thomas signs with BC Kyiv-Basket". Sportando. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  24. ^ "Bnei Herzliya sign Elijah Thomas". Sportando. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  25. ^ Brown, Kyle (October 25, 2021). "Windy City Bulls Announce Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "2021-2022 G League Transactions". realgm.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  27. ^ "雲豹再簽發展聯盟戰將 攜手戴維斯組建雙塔". United Daily News. February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  28. ^ "Gladiators is reinforced with Elijah Thomas". liderendeportes.com. July 14, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  29. ^ "海神簽上季效力雲豹的湯瑪斯 強化禁區戰力". Liberty Times Net. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  30. ^ "考慮球隊磨合與定位 海神與外籍長人湯馬斯解約". NOWnews. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  31. ^ "Wellington Saints Sign Elijah Thomas". saints.co.nz. June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
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