Personal information | |
---|---|
Born |
Chicago, Illinois |
February 24, 1971
Nationality | American / Israeli |
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
Listed weight | 238 lb (108 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Simeon (Chicago, Illinois) |
College | Illinois (1990–1994) |
NBA draft | 1994 / Round: 2 / Pick: 28th overall |
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks | |
Playing career | 1994–2008 |
Position | Forward |
Career history | |
1994–1995 | Bàsquet Manresa |
1995–1996 | Girona |
1996–1997 | Unicaja Málaga |
1997–1998 | Caja San Fernando |
1998–1999 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
1999–2001 | Gran Canaria |
2001–2003 | Cáceres |
2003 | Türk Telekom |
2003–2005 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
2005–2006 | Gymnastikos S. Larissas |
2006 | CSKA Sofia |
2006–2007 | Maccabi Giv'at Shmuel |
2007–2008 | Maccabi Haifa |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Deon La velle Thomas (born February 24, 1971) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. As a high school player, he led his team to the Chicago Public League title, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball. As a college player at the University of Illinois, he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history. Selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 28th selection of the 1994 NBA Draft, he opted to play professional basketball in Europe and Israel.
Thomas was a star basketball player at Chicago's Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, graduating in 1989. As a junior in 1988, he led the Wolverines to the Chicago Public League title. As a senior, he was named Illinois Mr. Basketball and played in the McDonald's All-American Game, which also featured future NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.
Thomas played college basketball at the University of Illinois. Thomas finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history, with 2129 career points scored and an 18.0 points per game scoring average. Thomas is the only men's basketball player in Illinois history to score at least 2000 career points. Thomas was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.