The NBA is mourning the loss of one of their own.
NBA legend and Hall of Famer Nathaniel “Nate” Thurmond has died. He was 74.
According to the NBA, the 7-time All Star passed away in San Francisco on Friday, July 15 after a brief battle with leukemia. Thurmond, who spent the majority of his 14-year NBA career during the 1960s and ’70s with the Golden State Warriors, averaged 15 points along with 15 rebounds a game.
The dominant defensive player went on to play his final three seasons with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was selected for the NBA’s first or second all-defensive team five times. In 1974, Thurmond set an NBA milestone when he became the first player to record an official quadruple double with points, rebounds, assists and blocks.
In 1985, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Standing 6 feet 11 inches, Thurmond battled it out on the court with the likes of Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed and Wilt Chamberlain, his onetime teammate. “The toughest center for me to play against is Nate Thurmond,” Abdul-Jabbar once remarked.
“He played with unbelievable intensity and was simply a man among boys on most nights, especially on the defensive end,” Jerry West, the Hall of Fame guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and a member of the Warriors’ executive board, said Saturday, July 16 on the team’s website.
LeBron James, Thurmond’s fellow Akron, Ohio native, also addressed the center/power forward’s death via Twitter: “Knowing u played in the same rec league as me growing up gave me hope of making it out! Thanks!”
Meanwhile, Joe Lacob, president of the Warriors, released a statement saying, “We’ve lost one of the most iconic figures in the history of not only our organization, but the NBA in general.”
Rest in peace, Thurmond. Share your condolences in the comment section below.
