Otis Thorpe
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Boynton Beach, Florida | August 5, 1962
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Lake Worth Community (Lake Worth, Florida) |
College | Providence (1980–1984) |
NBA draft | 1984: 1st round, 9th overall pick |
Selected by the Kansas City Kings | |
Playing career | 1984–2001 |
Position | Power forward / Center |
Number | 33, 24, 50, 10, 52 |
Career history | |
1984–1988 | Kansas City / Sacramento Kings |
1988–1995 | Houston Rockets |
1995 | Portland Trail Blazers |
1995–1997 | Detroit Pistons |
1997–1998 | Vancouver Grizzlies |
1998 | Sacramento Kings |
1999 | Washington Wizards |
1999–2000 | Miami Heat |
2000–2001 | Charlotte Hornets |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career statistics | |
Points | 17,600 (14.0 ppg) |
Rebounds | 10,370 (8.2 rpg) |
Assists | 2,730 (2.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
Otis Henry Thorpe (born August 5, 1962) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Early years
Thorpe graduated in 1980 from Lake Worth Community High School in Florida. He played college ball at Providence College. He had the longest NBA career of any former Friars player. He ranks seventh all-time at the school in rebounds and was the school's first First-Team Big East player. During his tenure at Providence College he was also a two-time Honorable Mention All-America selection.[1]
NBA career
Kansas City Kings
Thorpe was drafted by the Kansas City Kings as the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft and played seventeen seasons in the NBA, seven and a half of which were played with the Houston Rockets.
Houston Rockets
While with the Rockets, Thorpe made an All-Star appearance in 1992. Thorpe played in 542 consecutive games between 1986 and 1992 and, at one time, held the longest streak of consecutive games played in the NBA.[2]
In 1994, Thorpe was an integral part of the Houston Rockets' first NBA Championship. He also holds the Rockets' all-time record for the highest field goal accuracy (55.9%).
Halfway through the next season, the Rockets realized that they were struggling and needed a change. The team sent Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal for Clyde Drexler.
Portland Trail Blazers
Halfway through the next season, the Rockets realized that they were struggling and needed a change. The team sent Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal for Clyde Drexler.He would only play 34 games for the Blazers before moving on to occupy the starting front court for the Detroit Pistons with Grant Hill for the next two years.
Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies
Before the start of the 1997–98 season, the Pistons dealt Thorpe to the Vancouver Grizzlies for a future first-round draft pick. This deal came back to haunt the franchise during the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery when they would have received the second pick and had their choice of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade, but they were forced to hand the pick over to the Pistons because they had yet to honor the trade. (The Pistons used the pick to choose Darko Miličić.)
Thorpe would play 47 games with the Grizzlies before returning to the Kings.
Bouncing around the league and career endings
In the offseason, he was traded (along with Mitch Richmond) to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber. He would finish his last two seasons with the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets. When Thorpe finished his last game in 2001, he was the last remaining member of the Kansas City Kings to retire.
Thorpe holds career averages of 14.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He retired from the Charlotte Hornets in 2001, finishing his career with over 17,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in the NBA.
Personal life
Thorpe is married to Donella Thorpe and lives in the Austin, Texas area. The couple have two children, one of whom is Daniel, who also plays basketball, at Lake Travis High School.
NBA career statistics
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Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984–85 | Kansas City | 82 | 23 | 23.4 | .600 | .000 | .620 | 6.8 | 1.4 | .4 | .5 | 12.8 |
1985–86 | Sacramento | 75 | 18 | 22.3 | .587 | – | .661 | 5.6 | 1.1 | .5 | .5 | 9.9 |
1986–87 | Sacramento | 82 | 82 | 36.0 | .540 | .000 | .761 | 10.0 | 2.5 | .6 | .7 | 18.9 |
1987–88 | Sacramento | 82 | 82 | 37.5 | .507 | .000 | .755 | 10.2 | 3.2 | .8 | .7 | 20.8 |
1988–89 | Houston | 82 | 82 | 38.2 | .542 | .000 | .729 | 9.6 | 2.5 | 1.0 | .5 | 16.7 |
1989–90 | Houston | 82 | 82 | 35.9 | .548 | .000 | .688 | 9.0 | 3.2 | .8 | .3 | 17.1 |
1990–91 | Houston | 82 | 82 | 37.1 | .556 | .429 | .696 | 10.3 | 2.4 | .9 | .2 | 17.5 |
1991–92 | Houston | 82 | 82 | 37.3 | .592 | .000 | .657 | 10.5 | 3.0 | .6 | .5 | 17.3 |
1992–93 | Houston | 72 | 69 | 32.7 | .558 | .000 | .598 | 8.2 | 2.5 | .6 | .3 | 12.8 |
1993–94† | Houston | 82 | 82 | 35.5 | .561 | .000 | .657 | 10.6 | 2.3 | .8 | .3 | 14.0 |
1994–95 | Houston | 36 | 35 | 33.0 | .563 | .000 | .528 | 8.9 | 1.6 | .6 | .4 | 13.3 |
1994–95 | Portland | 34 | 0 | 26.7 | .568 | .000 | .649 | 6.9 | 1.6 | .6 | .4 | 13.5 |
1995–96 | Detroit | 82 | 82 | 34.6 | .530 | .000 | .710 | 8.4 | 1.9 | .6 | .5 | 14.2 |
1996–97 | Detroit | 79 | 79 | 33.7 | .532 | .000 | .653 | 7.9 | 1.7 | .7 | .2 | 13.1 |
1997–98 | Vancouver | 47 | 46 | 33.5 | .477 | .000 | .694 | 7.9 | 3.4 | .6 | .5 | 11.2 |
1997–98 | Sacramento | 27 | 20 | 23.1 | .459 | .000 | .657 | 6.1 | 2.3 | .7 | .3 | 8.3 |
1998–99 | Washington | 49 | 38 | 31.4 | .545 | .000 | .698 | 6.8 | 2.1 | .9 | .4 | 11.3 |
1999–2000 | Miami | 51 | 1 | 15.2 | .514 | .000 | .604 | 3.3 | .6 | .5 | .2 | 5.5 |
2000–01 | Charlotte | 49 | 4 | 13.2 | .450 | – | .833 | 3.0 | .6 | .2 | .1 | 2.8 |
All-Star | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | 1.000 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2.0 | |
Career | 1,257 | 989 | 31.7 | .546 | .047 | .687 | 8.2 | 2.2 | .7 | .4 | 14.0 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | Sacramento | 3 | 0 | 11.7 | .231 | – | .462 | 4.0 | .0 | .0 | .3 | 4.0 |
1989 | Houston | 4 | 4 | 38.0 | .649 | – | .762 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .3 | 16.0 |
1990 | Houston | 4 | 4 | 41.0 | .600 | – | .684 | 8.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | .0 | 20.0 |
1991 | Houston | 3 | 3 | 38.7 | .579 | – | .500 | 8.3 | 2.7 | .7 | .0 | 15.7 |
1993 | Houston | 12 | 12 | 34.9 | .635 | – | .651 | 8.6 | 2.6 | .5 | .1 | 14.5 |
1994† | Houston | 23 | 23 | 37.1 | .572 | .500 | .567 | 9.9 | 2.3 | .6 | .4 | 11.3 |
1995 | Portland | 3 | 0 | 22.0 | .571 | – | .700 | 4.3 | .7 | .0 | .0 | 10.3 |
1996 | Detroit | 3 | 3 | 33.7 | .542 | – | .750 | 11.7 | 2.3 | .0 | .0 | 11.7 |
1997 | Detroit | 5 | 5 | 30.4 | .512 | – | .778 | 6.4 | .8 | .4 | .0 | 9.8 |
2000 | Miami | 10 | 0 | 13.6 | .481 | .000 | .500 | 2.9 | .3 | .0 | .2 | 3.3 |
2001 | Charlotte | 8 | 0 | 7.1 | .222 | – | – | 2.1 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .5 |
Career | 78 | 54 | 28.9 | .569 | .333 | .631 | 7.0 | 1.6 | .4 | .2 | 10.1 |
See also
- List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
- List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career minutes played leaders
References
External links
- 1962 births
- Living people
- African-American basketball players
- American expatriate basketball people in Canada
- Basketball players from Florida
- Centers (basketball)
- Charlotte Hornets players
- Detroit Pistons players
- Houston Rockets players
- Kansas City Kings draft picks
- Kansas City Kings players
- Miami Heat players
- National Basketball Association All-Stars
- Portland Trail Blazers players
- Power forwards (basketball)
- Providence Friars men's basketball players
- Sacramento Kings players
- Sportspeople from Boynton Beach, Florida
- Vancouver Grizzlies players