Eric Thompson (basketball)

Eric Thompson

Thompson during The Basketball Tournament 2019
Free agent
Position	Center
Personal information
Born	(1993-08-04) August 4, 1993 (age 32)
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	241 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school	Clawson (Clawson, Michigan)
College	Lake Michigan (2011–2012) Saddleback (2013–2014) Pacific (2014–2016)
NBA draft	2016: undrafted
Playing career	2016–present
Career history
2016–2017	ETB Schwarz-Weiß
2017–2018	Swiss Central
2018	Hefei Yuanchuang
2018–2019	Hiroshima Dragonflies
2019	Kagawa Five Arrows
2019–2020	Hapoel Eilat
2020–2021	Incheon Electroland Elephants
2021	Hapoel Be'er Sheva
2021–2023	CSO Voluntari
2023	Dorados de Chihuahua
2023–2024	Iwate Big Bulls
2024	Cocodrilos de Caracas
Career highlights
Romanian Cup winner (2022)

Eric Thompson (born August 4, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Cocodrilos de Caracas. He played college basketball for Lake Michigan, Saddleback and the University of the Pacific before playing professionally in Germany, Switzerland, China, Japan and Israel.

Early life and college career

Thompson attended Pontiac High School in Pontiac, Michigan. He started his college basketball career at Lake Michigan College, where he averaged 9.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field for the Red Hawks. ^[1]

Thompson transferred to Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California after redshirting in the 2012–13 season. Thompson led Saddleback to 24 wins, leading the team with 12.7 points and 8.6 rebounds (15th in state) per game. Thompson went on to play his final two years of college at the University of the Pacific, where he averaged 9.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1 block per game in his senior year. ^[1]

Professional career

2016–17 season

On July 4, 2016, Thompson started his professional career with ETB Schwarz-Weiß of the German ProA. ^[2] In 30 games played during the 2016–17 season, he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds per game.

2017–18 season

On September 5, 2017, Thompson signed a one-year deal with Swiss Central Basket Luzern of the Swiss Basketball League. On March 4, 2018, Thompson recorded a double-double with a season-high 27 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 10-of-13 from the field, in a 75–83 loss to SAM Basket Massagno. ^[3] In 25 games played for Luzern, he averaged a double-double of 16.2 points and 11.2 rebounds, while shooting 63.3 percent from the field.

On June 13, 2018, Thompson signed with Hefei Yuanchuang of the Chinese NBL for the 2018 season. ^[4] On July 11, 2018, Thompson recorded a career-high 42 points, shooting 16-of-24 from the field, along with 23 rebounds and three blocks in a 119–150 loss to Hebei Xianglan. ^[5] In 25 games played for Hefei, he averaged an impressive 23 points and 20 rebounds per game, while shooting 69.6 percent from the field.

2018–19 season

On September 18, 2019, Thompson signed with the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japanese B.League. ^[6] On February 10, 2019, Thompson parted ways with the Dragonflies to join the Kagawa Five Arrows for the rest of the season. ^[7] On March 2, 2019, Thompson recorded a double-double of 24 points and 21 rebounds for 45 PIR, leading the Arrows to an 82–65 win over the Shinshu Brave Warriors. ^[8] He was subsequently named the B.League Round 44 Best Performer. ^[9] In 17 games played for the Arrows, he averaged 16.1 points and 14.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

2019–20 season

On August 28, 2019, Thompson signed a one-year deal with Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Premier League. ^[10] Thompson averaged 11.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. ^[11]

2020–21 season

On July 8, Thompson signed with Incheon Electroland Elephants of the Korean Basketball League. ^[11]

2021–22 season

On August 4, 2021, he has signed with CSO Voluntari of the Liga Națională. ^[12] On February 17, 2022, Voluntari won the Romanian Cup after a final in which Thompson scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. ^[13]

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game	FG%	Field goal percentage
3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high		Led the league

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	ETB Wohnbau Baskets	ProA	30	23.8	.529	.000	.626	8.0	.8	.8	.9	10.0
2017–18	Swiss Central Basket	Swiss League	23	29.4	.649	.000	.605	11.0	.9	.8	1.0	15.9
2017–18	Hefei Yuanchuang	NBL-China	25	42.2	.685	.000	.653	20.0	1.6	.8	1.2	23.0
2018–19	Hiroshima / Kagawa	B.League	47	31.8	.603	.000	.568	11.8	2.0	.8	.5	13.4
2019–20	Hapoel Eilat	IPL	21	28.9	.525	.000	.589	9.3	1.1	.8	.7	11.6
Career		All Leagues	146	31.1	.611	.000	.607	11.9	1.4	.8	.8	14.5

Awards and accomplishments

Voluntari

• Romanian Cup: (2022)

References

1. "Eric Thompson – University of the Pacific". PacificTigers.com. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
2. "Eric Thompson neuer Big Man für Essen". 2BasketballBundesliga.de (in German). July 4, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
3. "Swiss Central Basket Luzern 75 at SAM Basket Massagno 83". RealGM.com. March 4, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
4. "Eric Thompson spielt in der chinesischen NBL". Swiss.Basketball (in German). June 13, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
5. "Regular Season Round 14: Hebei X. – Hefei 150–119". Eurobasket.com. July 11, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
6. "Eric Thompson agreed terms with Hiroshima Dragonflies". Eurobasket.com. September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
7. "Eric Thompson agreed terms with Kagawa Five Arrows". Eurobasket.com. February 10, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
8. "Regular Season Round 44: Shinshu BW – Kagawa FA 65–82". Eurobasket.com. March 2, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
9. "Japanese B2 League round 44 best performance: Eric Thompson (by Interperformances)". Eurobasket.com. March 3, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
10. "Hapoel Eilat lands Eric Thompson". Sportando. August 28, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
11. "Henry Sims, Eric Thompson officially sign with Incheon ET Land Elephants". Sportando. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
12. "Eric Thompson is a newcomer at Voluntari". Eurobasket. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
13. "SCMU Craiova 75 – 89 CSO Voluntari". www.frbaschet.ro. Federatia Romana de Baschet.

External links

• Pacific Tigers bio
• RealGM profile