Otis Thorpe

Last updated

Otis Thorpe
Otis Thorpe 1986-87.jpg
Thorpe, circa 1986
Personal information
Born (1962-08-05) August 5, 1962 (age 62)
Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight248 lb (112 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 career1984–2001
Position Power forward / center
Number33, 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
1998–1999 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  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Otis Henry Thorpe (born August 5, 1962) is an American former 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.

Contents

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/Sacramento Kings

Thorpe was drafted by the Kansas City Kings as the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft. In 1985, the Kings relocated to Sacramento. During the 1987-88 NBA season, Thorpe averaged career-highs of 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. [2] That year, in perhaps his best game of the season, Thorpe nearly missed a triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. [3] Thorpe was traded to the Houston Rockets for Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen in October 1988.

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. [4]

On December 7, 1993, Thorpe scored a career-high 40 points in a win over the Charlotte Hornets. [5] That season, Thorpe was an integral part of the Houston Rockets' trip to the 1994 NBA Finals and subsequent first NBA Championship.

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 and Tracy Murray. He holds the Rockets' all-time record for the highest field goal accuracy (55.9%).

Portland Trail Blazers

Thorpe would only play 34 games for the Blazers before moving on to occupy the starting front court for the Detroit Pistons (who acquired him in a package for Randolph Childress and Bill Curley) for the next two years.

Vancouver Grizzlies

Before the start of the 1997–98 season, the Pistons dealt Thorpe to the Vancouver Grizzlies for a conditional first-round draft pick which eventually conveyed to the Pistons as the second pick in the 2003 draft, Darko Miličić. [6] [7]

Thorpe would play 47 games with the Grizzlies before returning to the Kings in a trade that sent Bobby Hurley and Michael Smith to Vancouver. (Chris Robinson was also traded to the Kings as part of the deal.)

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 signed with the Miami Heat in 1999 and was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, along with Rodney Buford, P.J. Brown, Jamal Mashburn, and Tim James in a deal for Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis, Dale Ellis, and Eddie Jones. 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 finished his career with over 17,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in the NBA.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started 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
 † Won an NBA championship  * Led the league

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1984–85 Kansas City 822323.4.600.000.6206.81.4.4.512.8
1985–86 Sacramento 751822.3.587-.6615.61.1.5.59.9
1986–87 Sacramento 828236.0.540.000.76110.02.5.6.718.9
1987–88 Sacramento 828237.5.507.000.75510.23.2.8.720.8
1988–89 Houston 828238.2.542.000.7299.62.51.0.516.7
1989–90 Houston 828235.9.548.000.6889.03.2.8.317.1
1990–91 Houston 828237.1.556.429.69610.32.4.9.217.5
1991–92 Houston 828237.3.592.000.65710.53.0.6.517.3
1992–93 Houston 726932.7.558.000.5988.22.5.6.312.8
1993–94† Houston 828235.5.561.000.65710.62.3.8.314.0
1994–95 Houston 363533.0.563.000.5288.91.6.6.413.3
1994–95 Portland 34026.7.568.000.6496.91.6.6.413.5
1995–96 Detroit 8282*34.6.530.000.7108.41.9.6.514.2
1996–97 Detroit 797933.7.532.000.6537.91.7.7.213.1
1997–98 Vancouver 474633.5.477.000.6947.93.4.6.511.2
1997–98 Sacramento 272023.1.459.000.6576.12.3.7.38.3
1998–99 Washington 493831.4.545.000.6986.82.1.9.411.3
1999–00 Miami 51115.2.514.000.6043.3.6.5.25.5
2000–01 Charlotte 49413.2.450-.8333.0.6.2.12.8
Career1,25798931.7.546.047.6878.22.2.7.414.0
All-Star104.01.000------2.0

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1986 Sacramento 3011.7.231-.4624.0.0.0.34.0
1989 Houston 4438.0.649-.7625.03.01.3.316.0
1990 Houston 4441.0.600-.6848.31.81.3.020.0
1991 Houston 3338.7.579-.5008.32.7.7.015.7
1993 Houston 121234.9.635-.6518.62.6.5.114.5
1994† Houston 232337.1.572.500.5679.92.3.6.411.3
1995 Portland 3022.0.571-.7004.3.7.0.010.3
1996 Detroit 3333.7.542-.75011.72.3.0.011.7
1997 Detroit 5530.4.512-.7786.4.8.4.09.8
2000 Miami 10013.6.481.000.5002.9.3.0.23.3
2001 Charlotte 807.1.222--2.1.0.0.0.5
Career785428.9.569.333.6317.01.6.4.210.1

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References

  1. ↑ "Providence College Bio". Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Otis Thorpe Per Game Averages"
  3. ↑ "Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento Kings Box Score, December 15, 1987"
  4. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Thorpe's Streak to End (Published 1992)". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Otis Thorpe Career High 40 Points"
  6. ↑ Treadway, Dan. "Here's Your Annual Reminder of How Oh So Close the Grizzlies Were to Drafting LeBron James". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ Windhorst, Brian (June 23, 2013). "2003 NBA Draft oral history". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
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