Nate Thurmond Dead: Warriors ‘Iconic’ Player Passes Away At 74


Nate Thurmond, a former San Francisco Warriors center and a member of the Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 74.

According to a press release by the Warriors, Thurmond was pronounced dead in San Francisco on Saturday. He had been battling with leukemia.

Thurmond, who was a seven-time NBA All-Star, played in the 60s and 70s for the Warriors, and later for the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to NBA.com. He is considered one of the best-ever NBA centers and was voted among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history.

Thurmond, who played basketball professionally for 14 seasons, had an average 15 points and 15 rebounds in each game. In recognition of his contributions on the court, both the Warriors and Cavaliers retired Thurmond’s jersey number (42) after his retirement.

Following the announcement that Thurmond is dead, there has been an outpouring of condolences.

https://twitter.com/WeAreDubNation_/status/754367612658802689

“We’ve lost one of the most iconic figures in the history of not only our organization, but the NBA in general, with the passing of Nate Thurmond. Nate represented this franchise with class, dignity and humility as both a player and community relations ambassador for over 40 years,” the owner of the Warriors, Joe Jacob, said.

The Cavs have also released a statement mourning Thurmond’s death, according to Fox 8.

“We are very saddened by the loss of Nate Thurmond. Nate’s jersey hangs in the rafters at The Q because of the unselfish way the Akron native and Hall of Famers approached the game we all love, the teammate that he was, his profound impact on one of the most special seasons in Cavaliers history, and the way that all translated on and off the court to reflect the ‘All for One. One for All.’ code,” the statement said.

Thurmond was born in 1941 in Akron, Ohio. He attended Akron’s Central Hower High School and later Bowling Green State University where he honed his basketball skills, according to NBA.com.

Thurmond was selected as the third overall pick by the Warriors in the 1963 NBA Draft. He played with the team for 11 seasons. Thurmond was a contemporary of Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and both players have admitted that it was tough to play against him.

Thurmond was traded to the Bulls at the end of the 1973-1974 season, a few years after the Warriors became known as the Golden State Warriors. In his debut match for the Bulls against the Atlanta Hawks in the 1974-1975 season, Thurmond etched his name in NBA history after getting a quadruple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13, assists, and 12 blocks, Cheat Sheet reported. Thurmond was the first NBA player in history to make a quadruple-double in a game. He is one of only five NBA players to have achieved this feat to date.

Thurmond was traded to the Cavaliers after just one season with the Bulls. In the 1975-1976 season, Thurmond’s first season with the Cavaliers, he led the team to secure the Central Division title and participate in the playoffs for the first time.

Thurmond once reflected on what it meant to help the Cavaliers reach the playoffs in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“To come back home and to have the team reach the playoffs for the first time, to have 20,000 people jammed in there screaming your name…What could compare to it?” he stated.

Nate Thurmond
Nate Thurmond waves during a halftime ceremony in Oakland, Calif. (Photo by Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)

Thurmond played for one more season with the Cavaliers before he retired. After his retirement, he worked as an ambassador for the Warriors and ran a barbecue restaurant called Big Nate’s in San Francisco.

Thurmond was married to Marci. According to the Los Angeles Times, Thurmond had been married since 1993. His wife is named Marci. He also has a 39-year-old son named Adam.

There has been no announcement about the funerary preparations for Nate Thurmond’s burial.

[Photo by AP]

Share this article: Nate Thurmond Dead: Warriors ‘Iconic’ Player Passes Away At 74
More from Inquisitr