Lance Thomas

While playing for Danny Hurley, former Seton Hall point guard and brother of former Duke point guard Bobby Hurley, at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School from 2004 to 2006, he led the school to two Prep A Division New Jersey State titles with 56-3 record in his final two seasons while averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game his senior year. In 2005, Thomas played at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival where he helped the Blue Team win the silver medal with record 3-1.^[1] He was named to the 2006 McDonald's All-American team, which scored nine points and two steals.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Thomas was listed as the No. 13 small forward and the No. 42 player in the nation in 2006.^[2]

After committed to Duke University on April 5, 2006, he played for US National Basketball team Under-18 in FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship during June 28-July 2, 2006 held in San Antonio, Texas. The USA team earned a gold medal winning by 92-66 victory over Canada for the final. With total of 4 rebounds, 2 points and 2 steals from Thomas along with teammate Jerryd Bayless, Michael Beasley, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Spencer Hawes. Dominating opponents by an average of 29.7 points per game and result of 4-0.^[3]

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Lance Thomas F	Brooklyn, NY	Scotch Plains-Fanwood(NJ)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Apr 5, 2006
Lance Thomas F	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (PF) Rivals: 42, 13(F)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Duke Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2006 Duke Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2006 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

High school awards and honors

McDonald's All-American (2006)
USA Basketball U18 Championship team (2006)
Second-team Parade All-American (2006)
Prep-School State Player of the Year by the Newark-Star Ledger (2006)^[4]
USA Basketball Youth Development Festival Blue Team (2005)
Led high school team to two New Jersey state titles and a 56-3 record over final two seasons.

College career

2006–07 season

Thomas guarded Craig Brackins of Iowa State Cyclones

In his freshman year, in 31 games (18 starts), averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting .568 from the field.

2007–08 season

In his sophomore year, in 32 games (28 starts), Thomas averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game. He posted a .505 field goal percentage and recorded at least five rebounds 12 times, including eight of Duke’s 16 ACC games.

Thomas was known as Duke's energizer coming off the bench, banging against bigger opponents in the paint, getting offensive rebounds, and sprinting down the court every possession. But it can't be denied that Thomas was more of an offensive presence in his second season.

Dukes Blue Devils at Duquesne Dukes

Thomas' career-high in points came on November 28, 2008, when he scored 21 against Duquesne Dukes, the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His new career high broke his previous record of 15 points set Nov. 20, 2006.^[5]

A career-high 21 points of 8-for-8 shooting, six rebounds, made a steal, had a block, did not commit a turnover and was simply straight the court. And that brought Thomas well deserved two times standing ovation from the Duke faithful inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“"Best game offensively I've played in a Duke uniform. I feel like I've played better games for this team, not including having 21 points. I mean, my game is not defined by how many points I have. But if I can bring a mix of both, and it would be great."”

—Lance Thomas on his career-high in points with 21 pts, 8/8shooting, 6 rebounds against Duquesne Dukes on Nov 28, 2008

Thomas' ability to finish shots has been a big staple of his improvement. If he gets the ball within three feet of the basket, chances are he's going to put the ball in the hoop — regardless of whether he's fouled.^[5]

2008–09 season

Thomas felt that the biggest difference between this year's Duke team and the ones from the last two years, was experience.^[6]^[7]

In his junior year, with 37 games (16 starts), averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting .626 from the field. Scored in double figures on six occasions. Averaged 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while going 7-of-8 from the field in three NCAA Tournament games.^[4]

2009–10 season: NCAA championship

ACC Men's Basketball Tournament 2010, Miami Vs. Duke

In his senior year, Thomas and All-American point guard Jon Scheyer were co-captains of Duke’s team. In January 2010, Thomas had a career-high 12 rebounds against NC State Wolfpack. On February 10, 2010, the eighth-ranked Blue Devils held on for a 64-54 victory against rival North Carolina Tar Heels. But in this game, he was injured with a bone bruise to his right knee early with about 17 minutes left in the second half, causing him to miss the next game against University of Maryland.^[8]

Co-captains Thomas and Jon Scheyer were members of Duke’s 2010 NCAA tournament team. Along with forward Kyle Singler, center Brian Zoubek, reserve forward Mason Plumlee, point guard Nolan Smith, power forward Ryan Kelly, forward Miles Plumlee and point guard Seth Curry, the team coached by Mike Krzyzewski won Duke's 4th National Championship since 1991 (Duke also won in 1992 and 2001).^[9]

In the 2010 NCAA championship game, Duke faced unsung Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team. The team from Butler University, a 4,200-student private school in Indianapolis, Indiana, led by head coach Brad Stevens, and featuring Small forward / Shooting guard Gordon Hayward, defeated Michigan State 52–50 to advance to the final.

It was one of the most memorable finals in NCAA tournament history.^[9] Duke was led by Kyle Singler, who scored 19 points, as Brian Zoubek rebounded and Thomas played defense. The Bulldogs had a chance to win with 3.6 seconds left. When Gordon Hayward's half-court shot at the buzzer went flying, thudded off the backboard and rim, and out and most of the crowd of 70,390 gasped, that was very close, but he missed.

That memorable Monday night Duke defeated Butler 61-59, ending with the winner of the Blue Devils. But both team played a great game and it was one of the best game in the NCAA tournament history. "We just came up a bounce short," Butler coach Brad Stevens said.^[10]

In this memorable game, Thomas was on the floor for 35 minutes, shooting 3–5 from the field.^[11]

Thomas was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for 2010 and finished his college basketball career 10th in offensive rebounds(255) on Duke's all-time list.

Accomplishments

17–0 at home^[12]
13–0 on neutral courts
NIT Season Tip-Off Champions
ACC Regular season Co-Champions
ACC Tournament Champions, two in a row and 9 out of the last 12
15th consecutive NCAA tournament
NCAA Champions, fourth in school history
National Titles in three straight decades
Mike Krzyzewski ties Adolph Rupp of Kentucky for second most NCAA titles by a Division I head coach^[13]
Played in national championship game 4 of the last 12 seasons
15th Final Four appearance and 10th out of the last 23 years
35 victories is tied for third most in Duke history
65 victories the past two seasons, most in the NCAA

Team highs

Most Points Scored: 114 vs. Pennsylvania, 12/31
Highest Point Differential: 59 vs. Pennsylvania, 12/31
Most Field Goals Made: 43 vs. Gardner-Webb, 12/15
Most Three Point Field Goals: 18 vs Radford, 11/21
Most Rebounds: 56 vs. University of Connecticut, 11/27
Most Assists: 27 vs. Gardner-Webb, 12/15
Highest Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 3.33 vs. West Virginia, 4/3 (Elite Eight; 20 assists to 6 turnovers)
Most Blocks: 10 vs. Long Beach State, 12/29

The Blue Devils won with defense. Thomas said:

"The last 30 seconds seemed like 10 minutes. When the ball bounced off, confetti came down. I looked up at the confetti, and the next thing I know I'm on my back. Jon (Scheyer) tackled me. At that point, it hit home that we were national champions."^[11]

Coach Mike Krzyzewski talked about Thomas, “All of a sudden someone’s going to really like Lance, whether they draft him or bring him to camp and keep him because he’s almost 6-9, he’s got great energy. He’s really improved offensively. He’s a glue guy and he can play defense and he can defend multiple positions. I think he’s our most versatile defender. We have him guarding from centers to point guards.”^[14]

In year 2010 Duke was the sixth-most effective team in the country at rebounding. And Thomas ended his college career with 10th on Duke's all-time list in offensive rebounds (255).^[15] In his successful senior year 2009–10 season, in 40 games (39 starts), he averaged 4.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game. And he was also voted to the 2010 ACC All-Defensive team.

College achievement and honors

Co-captain and member of Duke’s NCAA Championship team (2010)
NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team (2010)
Voted to the Atlantic Coast Conference ACC ACC All-Defensive Team (2010)
10th on Duke’s all-time list of offensive rebounds (255)

Professional career

Austin Toros (2010–2011)

Lance Thomas went undrafted after his senior year (2010). Thomas joined the New Jersey Nets in the 2010 NBA Summer League. On November 1, 2010, he was drafted 2nd round (3rd pick) selected by the Austin Toros.^[16]

New Orleans Hornets (2011–2012)

In November 2011, he was re-acquired by the Austin Toros. On December 9, 2011, he signed with the New Orleans Hornets to the training camp.^[17]

In 42 games (10 starts), averaged 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15.0 minutes with New Orleans. He scored in double figures on four occasions, including a career-high 18 points on March 9, 2012. Then he signed by New Orleans as a free agent on December 9, 2011 and waived on December 31, 2011.^[18]

On January 4, 2012, he was re-acquired by the Austin Toros.^[19] In 46 games (46 starts), averaged 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 29.8 minutes with Austin. And selected to participate in the NBA Development League All-Star Game in that year.^[20]^[21]

He was re-signed by New Orleans with 10-day contracts on February 6, 2012^[22] and the extended second 10-day contracts on February 16, 2012.^[23] And signed by New Orleans Hornets for the remainder of the season on February 27, 2012.^[24]

In June 2012, United States men's national basketball team announced that Thomas have been added to the select team of young players that will train against the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. Along with rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, Jeremy Lin, John Wall, Kawhi Leonard, DeJuan Blair, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Taj Gibson and Klay Thompson.^[25]

New Orleans Pelicans (2012–2013)

Thomas with New Orleans Hornets at Washington Wizards on March 15, 2013

In July 2012, Thomas joined the New Orleans Hornets for the 2012 NBA Summer League.^[26]

In regular season 2012–13, he played 59 games for the Hornets, averaging 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.^[27] In April 2013, the New Orleans Hornets were renamed the New Orleans Pelicans.

In July 2013, Thomas joined the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2013 NBA Summer League team.^[28] And was waived on July 10, 2013.^[29] And then, he was re-signed with the New Orleans Pelicans on August 22, 2013,^[30] and was waived on November 12, 2013.^[31] He appeared in 106 games for the now-Pelicans over three seasons, averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds.^[32]

Foshan Dralions of China (2013–2014)

In December 2013, Thomas signed with the Foshan Dralions of China for the rest of the 2013–14 CBA season. Which the regular season ended on February 16, 2014.^[33]

He was a starter with average 42.4 minutes per game, 26.1 points per game as 2013–14 Guangdong Foshan Franchise Career Point Leaders of the Year 2014, follow with 11.2 rebound and 1.8 assist per game.^[34] “China was a good and competitive league. It gave me the chance to get more confidence back from my offensive game and work on the things I needed to do to get back to the NBA.” He said.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2014–2015)

In July 2014, Thomas joined the Chicago Bulls for the 2014 NBA Summer League. And on September 29, 2014, after joined the OKC Thunder training camp with Michael Jenkins, Richard Soloman and Talib Zanna. Thomas took the spot to be one of Oklahoma City Thunder's roster.^[35] Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said of Thomas: “Lance is a hard worker. He’s a player that can guard multiple positions. He gives you everything he has and that’s what you want.”^[36]

After a strong showing in the pre-season. He started at the outset of the season because of many main roster's injuries, averaging 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 20.5 minutes over 22 games, including 13 starts. And later, when the team got healthy, Thomas lost his spot in the rotation and the team traded him to the New York Knicks.

New York Knicks (2015–present)

On January 5, 2015, he was traded to the New York Knicks in a three-team trade that also involved the Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition to Thomas, the Knicks received Alex Kirk, Lou Amundson, and a second round pick in the 2019 NBA draft, while Cleveland received Iman Shumpert and J. R. Smith from the Knicks and a first round pick in the 2015 NBA draft from the Thunder, and Cleveland sent Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City.^[37] Then Knicks waived him on January 7, 2015.^[38]

3 Days later, Thomas signed a 10-day contract with Knicks again.^[39] And continued a second 10-day contract with the Knicks on January 21.^[40] After that, in January 31, he signed with the Knicks for remainder of the season^[41] being effective player in the Triangle Offense.^[42]

On January 15, he was also be a part of NBA Global Games schedule for the 2014-15 season host by the United Kingdom, feature a game between the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks at The O2 Arena. (Knicks 79 - Bucks 95) Along with the on court action, and also will feature a variety of off-the-court activities, including NBA Cares community programs and interactive fan events. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said,"While London have their own unique culture, they have rich sports traditions and share a great passion for the NBA. These regular-season games will bring the excitement and incredible competition of our league to more fans in Europe and global."^[43]

After that, on Sunday, March 22, 2015 New York Knicks lost to Toronto Raptors 106-89 at Air Canada Centre. Thomas scoring a career-high 24 points, including a pair of three-point field goals — his first connections from beyond the arc in his career.

On July 10, 2015, Thomas re-signed with the Knicks.^[44] On December 21, in a loss to the Orlando Magic, Thomas tied his career-high of 24 points on 9-of-9 from the field, 3-of-3 from three-point range, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.^[45]

Career achievement and honors

Guangdong Foshan(China) Franchise's Career Point Leaders of the Year, average 42.4 minutes per game, 26.1 points per game (2014)
the select team of young players that will train against the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team (2012)^[25]
NBA D-League All-Star Game (2012)
USA Pan American Games Team (2011)
The Austin Toros selected Thomas in Round 2 with Pick 3 in the 2010 Annual NBA Development League Draft (2010)^[16]

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games 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

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2006–07	Duke	31	18	14.9	.568	0.0	.593	2.5	0.0	1.80	.10	4.0
2007–08	Duke	32	28	18.5	.505	0.0	.521	3.3	1.7	1.70	.38	4.3
2008–09	Duke	37	16	18.6	.626	0.0	.553	3.6	1.7	0.46	.38	5.3
2009–10	Duke	40	39	25.3	.439	0.0	.743	4.9	0.9	1.48	.20	4.8
Career		140	101	19.7	.525	0.0	.600	3.6	0.9	0.55	.24	4.6

International

Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Foshan Dralions	16	15	42.4	.564	0.0	.721	10.75	1.0	1.62	.56	26.06
Career		16	15	42.4	.564	0.0	.721	10.75	1.0	1.62	.56	26.06

NBA D League

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011–12	Austin Toros	46	46	29.8	.500	.083	.703	5.50	1.13	0.67	.28	12.63
2012–13	Austin Toros	19	19	32.5	.500	.000	.727	7.74	1.63	0.74	.37	15.05
Career		65	65	30.6	.514	.083	.711	6.15	1.28	0.69	.31	13.34

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011–12	New Orleans	42	10	15.0	.452	.000	.839	3.0	.3	.2	.2	4.0
2012–13	New Orleans	59	9	10.9	.500	.000	.729	1.9	.3	.2	.1	2.5
2013–14	New Orleans	5	0	8.4	.222	.000	.500	1.4	.6	.0	.0	1.2
2014–15	Oklahoma City	22	13	20.5	.357	.000	.697	3.4	.9	.5	.0	5.1
2014–15	New York	40	24	26.0	.434	.333	.742	3.0	1.2	.7	.2	8.3
Career		168	56	16.7	.430	.304	.754	2.6	.6	.3	.1	4.5

Personal life

He is son of Lily Irvin. His favorite athlete is Jermaine O’Neal. Thomas was an honor roll student in high school, and a two-year member of the Student Leadership Conference at Duke University. He has also participated in the Role Model Speaker Series at the Emily K Center.^[46]

Off the court

Beside a career of professional basketball player, he is an artist and enjoys drawing. He graduated with a visual arts major (same major as his Duke's teammate, Kyle Singler.) Thomas said, "It's another side of me, a side people don't know about as much, and I kind of like that." He was found his talent early. An avid doodler, he has honed his talents and has become a meticulous sketch artist. One of his designs sits on his right biceps—a complex tattoo of his home state of New Jersey.^[47]

Back in 2009, he spent summer months working as a graphic designer in the Duke Athletic Department. And for his capstone—a thesis-type project required of all seniors—Thomas designed custom posters for each of his senior classmates. Using Photoshop, he made each one particular to his classmate—Scheyer's, for example, showed the Chicago skyline in the background. And on senior night, the posters were displayed on the scoreboard as each senior was introduced.^[48]

Settled a lawsuit and cleared of all wrongdoing

In September 2012, Thomas settled a lawsuit with a New York City jeweler who said he was owed a remaining balance of $67,800 for purchased items with a $30,000 down payment in December 2009. And according to an invoice, Thomas was supposed to have paid the rest of the bill within 15 days of the down payment.

The lawsuit launched an NCAA investigation into the transaction^[49]^[50] to determine if Thomas had received extra benefits because of his status as an athlete.

In April 2013, Thomas was cleared of all wrongdoing, along with the university, by the NCAA. A university statement released by associate athletic director Jon Jackson

"The NCAA concluded its investigation and found no evidence of a rule violation in this situation based on the information available, and both the NCAA and Duke consider the matter closed. Thomas and Rafaello and Co. settled the lawsuit on Sept. 18. Terms were confidential."^[51]

Experts pointed out that pursuing an investigation into potential NCAA rules violations was made difficult by both the jeweler’s and Thomas’ refusal to speak with the NCAA.

Social support

In October 2012, Thomas participated with students at Estelle Elementary in the school's Bee-Fit Field Day.^[52] In June 2013, Thomas joined NOLA FOR LIFE, the New Orleans' Comprehensive Murder Reduction Strategy. Midnight Basketball was opened to males over the age of 16 along with providing mentorship and educational support.^[53]

On December 13, 2014, Thomas joined the Thunder Youth Basketball Holiday Camp to help develop and train the young kids.^[54]

References

External links

Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
Duke bio

New York Knicks current roster

1 Séraphin 2 Galloway 3 Calderón 4 Afflalo 5 Wroten 6 Porziņģis 7 Anthony 8 Lopez 9 O'Quinn 11 Early 13 Grant 17 Amundson 18 Vujačić 23 Williams 42 Thomas

Head coach: Rambis (Interim) Assistant coaches: Cleamons Hazzard Keefe Longstaff

Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball 2009–10 NCAA Champions

2 Nolan Smith 5 Mason Plumlee 12 Kyle Singler (MOP) 20 Andre Dawkins 21 Miles Plumlee 30 Jon Scheyer 34 Ryan Kelly 42 Lance Thomas 55 Brian Zoubek Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski Assistant Coaches Chris Collins Steve Wojciechowski Nate James

United States squad – 2011 Pan American Games – Bronze medal

Ahearn Butch Dentmon Dyson Ehambe Lewis Lyons Major Sloan Stiemsma Sumpter Thomas Coach: Tibbetts

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