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

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.

Early life and high school career

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

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

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 Licey in the Dominican Republic and a one-game stint with Gladiadores de Anzoategui 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 Spor Genclik Bursa 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

  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; 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. 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Elijah Thomas". eurobasket.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Elijah Thomas signs with BC Kyiv-Basket". Sportando. January 2, 2021. 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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