NB70s: Nate Thurmond

Nate Thurmond also gained a fearsome defensive reputation in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Thurmond the toughest defender he ever faced during his 20-season professional career. NBA All-Star center Bob Rule recalled Thurmond blocking six of his seven shots during the first half of their first encounter. After his coach urged him to "Keep putting ’em up. He can’t block ’em all," Rule responded "Yeah, well if I hadn’t made that layup it would have been all of ’em.”

A 33 year-old Thurmond was acquired by the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Clifford Ray and $100,000 prior to the 1974–75 season on September 3, 1974. The Bulls had felt a need for one starting center rather than continue with a three-man rotation of Ray, Tom Boerwinkle and Dennis Awtrey. The Warriors added more fiscal stability when completing the deal.[12] On October 18, 1974 against the Atlanta Hawks, in his debut as a Bull, he recorded 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots, becoming the first player in NBA history to officially record a quadruple-double (blocked shots were not counted before 1973–74).

Thirteen games into the 1975–76 season, Thurmond was traded along with Rowland Garrett to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Steve Patterson and Eric Fernsten on November 27, 1975. Thurmond's mobility on the court failed to mesh with an offense built for a more stationary center, resulting in diminished playing time on a team enduring a nine-game losing streak at the time of the deal. In Cleveland, the now 35-year-old Thurmond came off the bench for the injured Jim Chones to lead Cleveland's "Miracle at Richfield" team to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals before the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in 1976.

A role player reduced to limited minutes and mid-single digit scoring and rebounds, Thurmond retired at the end of the 1976-77 season.

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