#42 Nate Thurmond 1941-2016

[I'mWithDan]

What is the story of Cleveland retiring his number?

I wasn't born when he played and I was kind of shocked to see he only logged 114 games with the Cavs, averaging 5 points and 7 rebounds.

Was this done once he was elected to the Hall of Fame? Or what was the general consensus on why they did it?

 

[2 For The Brew]

Bells for sure. I see your point on the other 3 but make no mistake, all 3 played the center position in addition to the big forward. They just didn't have the body style that you describe with Wilt, Jabbar, Lanier, etc.. Thurmond was strong enough to battle the big boys and agile enough to stay with the combo guys like Pettit, Hayes and McAdoo.

One other center has to be mentioned - Walton. For the brief time he was healthy, he was without question a dominant talent. We were robbed of seeing years of battles between him and Kareem.

It's amazing just how many good centers played in the sixties and seventies. Different game in the pre-three era.

 

[Phills14]

One other center has to be mentioned - Walton. For the brief time he was healthy, he was without question a dominant talent. We were robbed of seeing years of battles between him and Kareem.

It's amazing just how many good centers played in the sixties and seventies. Different game in the pre-three era.

You are right, the NBA is a different game now thanks to the 3 point shot. The NBA instituted the 3 point line for the 79-80 season. Prior to that season the NBA MVP was a center 19 out of 24 years. Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson were the only guards to ever win it while Bob Pettit x2 and Bob McAdoo both PFs who could play center won the other 3 awards. Since the 79-80 season only 6 times has a Center won the award in 37 years. 8 times if you count Tim Duncan as a Center.

Kareem: 79-80
Moses Malone: 81-82 and 82-83
Hakeem: 93-94
David Robinson 94-95
Shaq: 99-00
Duncan: 01-02 and 02-03

 

[bigfoot5415]

What is the story of Cleveland retiring his number?

I wasn't born when he played and I was kind of shocked to see he only logged 114 games with the Cavs, averaging 5 points and 7 rebounds.

Was this done once he was elected to the Hall of Fame? Or what was the general consensus on why they did it?

It was all about franchise impact. Nothing really showed up in the box scores, but Thurmond set a ton. I found an article on NBA.com, that explains a lot of it.

Also, not sure why but the team shop had a a few Thurmond jerseys about a month ago. I never saw them advertised on Cavs.com, but they had them in store.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/feature/where_thurmond_120828.html

This quote alone explains it:
"Thurmond gave Bill Fitch’s young squad something they were desperately missing – a veteran leader and a seasoned big man in the middle. Thurmond not only changed the complexion of the team on the floor, he gave them the confidence to complete a “miracle.”"

 

[bigfoot5415]

It was all about franchise impact. Nothing really showed up in the box scores, but Thurmond set a ton. I found an article on NBA.com, that explains a lot of it.

Also, not sure why but the team shop had a a few Thurmond jerseys about a month ago. I never saw them advertised on Cavs.com, but they had them in store.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/feature/where_thurmond_120828.html

This quote alone explains it:
"Thurmond gave Bill Fitch’s young squad something they were desperately missing – a veteran leader and a seasoned big man in the middle. Thurmond not only changed the complexion of the team on the floor, he gave them the confidence to complete a “miracle.”"

Just to follow up on my own point. I would really like to see World B Free's number retired here. Without him, I have little faith that Cleveland keeps a basketball team. Same could be said for LBJ.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ho-saved-professional-basketball-in-cleveland