Retired - Retired after 2012 season
- Birthdate: 09/08/1975
- Drafted (NBA): 25th pick, 1997
- Pre-draft team: Minnesota
- Country: USA
- Hand: Right
- Agent: -
October 1, 2010
John Thomas may have five years of NBA experience, but he's also 35 years old. He hasn't played in the NBA for five years, and in the five years he has played in the NBA, he was not good. Thomas is not a scorer (8.9pp36m for his career), nor a rebounder (6.9rp36m career), nor a shotblocker (0.8bp36m) or a passer (1.0ap36m), and his defense is hampered by the constant threat of the foul (6.1fp36m). He's not a jumpshooter, he's not a foul shooter, and he's only 6'9 while playing the centre spot. What he is is a hard arse, an aggressive post defender and a monster of a man, who might not produce much on an NBA court but who is a seriously good practice player. That's why he's here; once training camp starts, you can't practice unless you have a contract. Thomas is here to provide tough, physical, fearless play on the interior, to be a coach's favourite and an opponent's nuisance that will help the team prepare for the season. However, while it's a genuine virtue that has got him to this point after such a lengthy hiatus, it's also what means he won't be here long. And perhaps the biggest thing working against John Thomas is the fact that in my country, his name is a slang term for "penis," as ably demonstrated by Eric Idle in the following video.
That's unfortunate.
[...] Thomas's presence is a token gesture. He may have once defied the odds when he returned to the NBA in 2004 after a four year absence, but he wasn't much of a player then, and he's definitely not going to be one now at 35. He's a good player to have in practice, yet it won't be enough for him to make the team.
May 12, 2010
- John Thomas
Ex-NBA centre John Thomas is 34 years old, and still going strong. It has been difficult for him to find regular work since his unexpected NBA redux in the 2004-05 season, but this year he's spent the whole campaign in Israel with Hapoel Holon. Thomas has averaged 12.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Those assists numbers are fine from a centre; for comparison's sake, Holon's starting point guard Lior Lipshits averages only 2.4 per game.
And yes, his name really is Lior Lipshits.