Tom LaGarde

Last updated

Tom LaGarde
Tom LaGarde.jpeg
LaGarde, circa 1976
Personal information
Born (1955-02-10) February 10, 1955 (age 69)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Detroit Catholic Central
(Detroit, Michigan)
College North Carolina (1973–1977)
NBA draft 1977: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career1977–1984
Position Center / power forward
Number45, 23, 25, 34
Career history
1977–1978 Denver Nuggets
19781980 Seattle SuperSonics
19801982 Dallas Mavericks
1982–1984 Ginnastica Goriziana
1984 New Jersey Nets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 2,376 (7.6 ppg)
Rebounds 1,593 (5.1 rpg)
Assists 456 (1.5 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1976 Montreal Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1975 Mexico City Team competition

Thomas Joseph LaGarde (born February 10, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1985. LaGarde earned a gold medal as a member of Team USA in the 1976 Olympics, and an NBA Championship in 1979 with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Contents

Basketball career

After playing collegiately at the University of North Carolina, LaGarde was selected 9th overall in the first round of the 1977 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.

At 6'10" and 220 lb, LaGarde played forward and center in the NBA. After spending his rookie season with the Nuggets, LaGarde spent the following two seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics, winning an NBA Championship with the Sonics in 1979.

In 1980, he was selected by the expansion Dallas Mavericks that offseason in the 1980 expansion draft. LaGarde was the only team member who played all 82 games for the Mavericks in their inaugural 1980–81 season, [1] finishing second on the team in points to Jim Spanarkel and leading the team in rebounds and block shots.

LaGarde saw his playing time diminish the following season, averaging just 19 minutes per game in 47 games for the Mavericks. He played the two following seasons overseas.

LaGarde returned to the NBA in 1984, playing for the New Jersey Nets. But he appeared in only one game with them before suffering a season-ending calf injury.

Personal life

In 2008, he created a video parody of McCain-Palin called the Original Mavericks for Truth [2]

Tom and his wife, Heather, live in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, with their two children. Together, they redeveloped an old mill, which is now a 700-person music venue, called the Haw River Ballroom.

Notes

  1. Ex-Mavs center Ralph Drollinger is now living by the book, dallasnews.com, posted August 8, 2005
  2. "Original Mavericks for Truth on YouTube". Archived from the original on December 14, 2021.

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