Nate Thurmond

Nate the Great: Hall of Fame center, first to record a quadruple-double, and Warriors legend.

Nathaniel Thurmond (July 25, 1941 – July 16, 2016) was an American professional basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the center and power forward positions. Thurmond was a seven-time All-Star and the first player in NBA history to record an official quadruple-double. In 1965, he grabbed 42 rebounds in a game; only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell recorded more rebounds in an NBA game. Thurmond was named a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Known to fans as 'Nate the Great', Thurmond had his No. 42 jersey retired by both the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Quick Facts

Born: 25 July 1941
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Died: 16 July 2016
Place of death: San Francisco, California, U.S.
High school: Central (Akron, Ohio)
College: Bowling Green (1960–1963)
Draft round: 1
Draft pick: 3

Lore & Background

Thurmond started at Akron's Central High School, where he played alongside fellow future NBA star Gus Johnson. Passing up a scholarship offer from Ohio State to avoid becoming a backup to Jerry Lucas, a high school rival, Thurmond chose to play college basketball at Bowling Green. He led the Mid-American Conference in rebounds during all three of his varsity seasons (with a college career average of 17.0 rebounds per game), and was named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News in 1963.

In Thurmond's last two years with Bowling Green, he helped lead the team into the NCAA Tournament and he set a school record with 31 rebounds in his final college game. Thurmond was drafted 3rd overall by the San Francisco Warriors in the 1963 NBA draft. As a rookie, he mainly played a supporting role alongside Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain. After Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the next season, Thurmond blossomed into a highly productive starting center for the Warriors.

He set a regular-season record for rebounds in a quarter with 18, and averaged 21.3 and 22.0 rebounds per game in the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons. Thurmond placed second to Chamberlain in the MVP balloting in the 1966–67 season, averaged over 20 points per game each season from 1967–68 through 1971–72, and played in seven NBA All-Star Games as a member of the Warriors. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Thurmond the toughest defender he ever faced during his 20-season professional career.

NBA player Bob Rule recalled Thurmond blocking six of his seven shots during the first half of their first encounter. The Warriors reached the 1967 NBA Finals, but lost to Chamberlain's 76ers. A 33-year-old Thurmond was acquired by the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Clifford Ray and $100,000 prior to the 1974–75 season on September 3, 1974. On October 18, 1974, against the Atlanta Hawks, in his debut as a Bull, he recorded 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots, becoming the first player in NBA history to officially record a quadruple-double.

Thirteen games into the 1975–76 season, Thurmond was traded along with Rowland Garrett to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Steve Patterson and Eric Fernsten on November 27, 1975.

Reader's Guide

After retirement, Thurmond returned to San Francisco and opened a restaurant, Big Nate's BBQ. He sold the restaurant after 20 years, while living in San Francisco with his wife, Marci. As of 2019, the Chase Center, home venue for the Golden State Warriors, features a Big Nate's BBQ kiosk with dishes that pay homage to his career. He was given the title 'Warriors Legend & Ambassador' by the Warriors organization. Thurmond died on July 16, 2016, nine days away from his 75th birthday, after a short battle with leukemia. During the 2016–17 season, the Warriors paid homage to Thurmond by patching his number to their jerseys.