Nate Thurmond 1941-2016

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Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#1 » by porcerel » Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:55 pm

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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#2 » by E-Balla » Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:01 pm

The greatest man on man defending big ever. RIP.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#3 » by Roscoe Sheed » Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:15 pm

Sad to hear of his passing. There were many great big men in the 60s and 70s. It frustrates me to no end when people degrade wilt and Kareem's accomplishments by saying there were no good big men back then for them to compete against
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#4 » by Little Digger » Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:21 pm

I remember as a kid watching an old Nate playing for Chicago in the Western Conference Finals vs Golden State at the Cow Palace..Felt sad for him then because he had put in all those years with the Warriors only to be traded the summer before the team became NBA champs.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#5 » by Little Digger » Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:23 pm

Roscoe Sheed wrote:Sad to hear of his passing. There were many great big men in the 60s and 70s. It frustrates me to no end when people degrade wilt and Kareem's accomplishments by saying there were no good big men back then for them to compete against
That ignorant realgm youngsters mouthing off again...There were plenty of stud big men during that era..Thurmond, Lanier, Reed , Cowens ect..
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#6 » by Ignitowsky » Sat Jul 16, 2016 6:35 pm

A great basketball player and a great human being. Condolences to his family.

RIP
All in all he's just another prick with no wall
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#7 » by Brooklyn_34 » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:03 pm

Little Digger wrote:
Roscoe Sheed wrote:Sad to hear of his passing. There were many great big men in the 60s and 70s. It frustrates me to no end when people degrade wilt and Kareem's accomplishments by saying there were no good big men back then for them to compete against
That ignorant realgm youngsters mouthing off again...There were plenty of stud big men during that era..Thurmond, Lanier, Reed , Cowens ect..


I agree, but not all of the youngsters feel that way.

He was a pain in the neck to go up against.

R.I.P
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#8 » by Dipper 13 » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:14 pm

RIP. The best man defensive center with terrific footwork.

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=1464836


Image



Teamate Walt Hazard:

"Night in and night out you can depend on him doing his job. His statistics aren't overwhelming, but his presence on the court is unbelievable.. As for blocking shots, I've seen guys get offensive rebounds and then go back 15 feet to make sure they can get a shot off. They know Nate is there."

By now Abdul-Jabbar had been in the NBA for three seasons, and Chamberlain for a decade longer. It was an era of supercenters, big men who could dominate games by scoring nearly at will, and by defending with long arms, quick reflexes, and sheer intimidation. Thurmond, while never reaching the rarefied level of Chamberlain or Abdul-Jabbar, was nevertheless one of the elites of his era.

But not everyone felt that way. It was a source of considerable anguish to Thurmond that some fans and and members of the media often overlooked him because he wasn't flashy and didn't produce huge offensive numbers.

"I'm just not a tricky basketball player," he once told Sport magazine. "Being flashy takes unnecessary effort. Once I got cute and tore up a leg muscle that kept me off the court for four weeks.. I suppose I could make a reputation for myself by dunking the ball and other stuff. But what would it get me?"

He took solace in the fact that his opponents respected him, which meant more to him anyway. "The other players think I'm the best defensive big man in professional basketball," Thurmond added. "They're always coming up to me and saying that. I get the same reaction from other players that Bill Russell used to get."

Both Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain have gone on record saying they felt Thurmond was their toughest adversary. "He plays me better than anybody ever has," Abdul-Jabbar told Basketball Digest when he was in his prime. "He's tall, has real long arms, and most of all he's agile and strong." In an article in Sport, Abdul-Jabbar also said, "When I score on Nate, I know I've done something. He sweats and he wants you to sweat, too."
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#9 » by Brooklyn_34 » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:22 pm

Dipper 13 wrote:RIP. The best man defensive center with terrific footwork.


Dipper,

I've been trying for years now to find some footage of him from the 1960s (more than just a minute).

Have anything you can post?

Thanks.

If I haven't said so, I've enjoyed your posts over the years.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#10 » by tsherkin » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:24 pm

Don't make this a 'young fans vs old fans' thread, people.

Sad. 74 is younger than I expected.

Great defender, strong rebounder. Seemed a decent dude, too.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#11 » by Dipper 13 » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:34 pm

Brooklyn_34 wrote:Dipper,

I've been trying for years now to find some footage of him from the 1960s (more than just a minute).

Have anything you can post?

Thanks.

If I haven't said so, I've enjoyed your posts over the years.


As far as I know, the only available game footage of him (not highlights) from the 1960s is the following:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti2Ncll2K64[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-qjW-DfFKk[/youtube]
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#12 » by 510TWSS » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:52 pm

Damn, shocking he looked good! Can't believe he's passed. Sad day but a great player and better individual.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#13 » by Ganji » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:57 pm

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyPYVp9f4Ag[/youtube]
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#14 » by ThaRegul8r » Sat Jul 16, 2016 10:46 pm

Oh, wow. R.I.P.
I remember your posts from the RPOY project, you consistently brought it. Please continue to do so, sir. This board needs guys like you to counteract ... worthless posters


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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#15 » by WangZhiZhiRules » Sun Jul 17, 2016 9:45 am

Nate was a straight up beast.

He's living proof that basketball players haven't "evolved", just the amount of training each player does is more these days. Nate was ripped!

R.I.P. Nate, you'll be missed!
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#16 » by PizzaSteve » Sun Jul 17, 2016 4:24 pm

One of my favorite players of all time. Deserves more recognition for his greatness IMHO, as one of the greatest defensive centers/PF of all time. Saw him shut down many of the greatest big men. First player to ever record a quadruple double. A gentle and much loved presence post career.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2652427-warriors-legend-nate-thurmond-dies-at-74

Rest in Peace Big Guy

Please read about his career if you are not familiar with his play.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Thurmond

"Thurmond was selected by the Warriors as the third overall pick in the 1963 N.B.A. draft and was named to the league’s all-rookie team in his first season, when he played at power forward, alongside Chamberlain. He emerged as a star after Chamberlain was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1964-65 season.

Thurmond’s Warriors went to the N.B.A. finals twice, losing to the Boston Celtics in 1964 and to the 76ers in 1967, when the Warriors were also led by the scoring of Rick Barry.

Thurmond was traded to the Bulls before the 1974-75 season and was dealt by them to the Cavaliers early in the next season. He helped take the Cavaliers to a berth in the 1976 Eastern Conference finals, in what became known as their “miracle” season, but they were ousted by the Celtics....

Thurmond became the first player to record an official quadruple-double when he made his debut with the Bulls, scoring 22 points along with 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 18, 1974.

In November 1965, he hauled down 42 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons, the best single-game rebounding effort of his career. He had set an N.B.A. one-quarter rebounding record with 18 against the Baltimore Bullets that February."


If they counted blocked shots during his early career, he might hold several records. Wish there was more footage of his early battles with Wilt, Russell, etc. To make all star team as a big 7 times in his era of dominant big men says a lot. His BBQ restaurant should be a must visit for NBA fans.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#17 » by Johnlac1 » Sun Jul 17, 2016 11:27 pm

Little Digger wrote:
Roscoe Sheed wrote:Sad to hear of his passing. There were many great big men in the 60s and 70s. It frustrates me to no end when people degrade wilt and Kareem's accomplishments by saying there were no good big men back then for them to compete against
That ignorant realgm youngsters mouthing off again...There were plenty of stud big men during that era..Thurmond, Lanier, Reed , Cowens ect..

I'm always amused when younguns today denigrate the athleticism of older era players when you have the likes of "speedsters" Pekovic and Pachulia playing well in the league today. Zaza would have been considered slow even back in the sixties. Dirk today doesn't exactly remind you of a whippet either.
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Re: Nate Thurmond 1941-2016 

Post#18 » by montestewart » Mon Jul 18, 2016 1:38 am

Dipper 13 wrote:
Brooklyn_34 wrote:Dipper,

I've been trying for years now to find some footage of him from the 1960s (more than just a minute).

Have anything you can post?

Thanks.

If I haven't said so, I've enjoyed your posts over the years.


As far as I know, the only available game footage of him (not highlights) from the 1960s is the following:

Spoiler:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti2Ncll2K64[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-qjW-DfFKk[/youtube]

Thanks for the clips.

This looks like the full version of "1 of 3" above, with Spanish language announcers
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK1z1LsnoFo[/youtube]

And a brief clip with Thurmond scoring over Wilt @ about 0:40
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVKpcKT4Kig[/youtube]

This is definitely a highlight film (with a jazzed up score) of the 73-74 Warriors, Thurmond's last year in Golden State.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nlxcCFvp-E[/youtube]

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