Billy Thomas (born December 23, 1975) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who competed in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) and several other leagues. A tall

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from

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, he last played with the Maine Red Claws of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. Thomas is now the basketball head coach of Rockhurst High School.

College career

In his college career, Thomas set a KU record making 269 3-point field goals (that record was later broken by Jeff Boschee). He also holds the school record for 3-point field goals made in a conference game, connecting on eight of them in a game against

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

on January 10, 1998.

Professional career

Thomas went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after graduating from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1998. In 2001, Thomas averaged 27.6 points in 10 games for the Tanduay Rhum Masters under coach Derick Pumaren in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

. In 2002–03, Thomas won the NBDL Sportsmanship Award while playing for the Greenville Groove. He played for the Dakota Wizards of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) and was named the CBA Newcomer of the Year and a member of the All-CBA First Team in 2005. He began his

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

career during the 2004–2005 season by signing a 10-day contract with the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

on January 20, 2005. Thomas later signed a second 10-day contract and eventually was signed for the remainder of the season. He appeared in 25 games that year and averaged 3.7 points per game. On March 3, 2006, he signed a 10-day contract with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. He played in 17 games and averaged 2.2 points per game. Thomas began the 2007–2008 season with the

Colorado 14ers Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, ...

of the D-League. In 27 games (27 starts), prior to his second NBA call-up, Thomas averaged 15.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Thomas was selected to play in the 2008 D-League All-Star Game. On December 24, 2007, Thomas was signed to a ten-day contract with the

. He played in four games with the Nets, scoring a total of two points. On February 22, 2008, Thomas was signed to a ten-day contract by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

so they would have enough players to face the Washington Wizards that night, due to a depleted roster because of a blockbuster trade the day prior. Thomas saw his first action as a Cavalier that very night, playing 19 minutes and scoring 9 points on three three-point shots. Thomas hoisted 11 three-point field goal attempts, his career high. On March 3, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Thomas to a second ten-day contract. His contract expired on March 13, 2008, allowing him to become a free agent. On March 20, 2008, Thomas returned to the Colorado 14ers. On April 16, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Thomas for the remainder of the season and the 2008 playoffs. He played in seven regular-season games for the Cavaliers scoring 12 total points (on four three-point field goals made) grabbed two rebounds and made one steal. Thomas logged eight minutes over three playoff games. He scored three points (on a three-point field goal) and had a rebound, an assist and a steal. Thomas played for the Cavaliers' 2008

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

team in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He started both games that he played and averaged five points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal and a half a block per game. Thomas has played in numerous other leagues during his professional basketball career: the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

, the CBA, the IBL, the D-League, the Argentine League, the Italian League, the

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer o ...

, the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

, the Greek League and the

ULEB Cup EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

. On September 2, 2009, Thomas was drafted by the Maine Red Claws in the third round of the NBA Development League Expansion Draft.

Coaching career

Thomas is the owner of the "Billy Thomas Hoops Academy", located in Kansas City, Missouri. Beginning in the 2010–2011 season, Thomas was the head coach of the boy's varsity basketball team at The Barstow School in Kansas City, Missouri. In the 2015–2016 season, the Barstow boys' basketball team was ranked first in the small school category by the

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

. In 2021, he became the head coach for the Rockhurst High School basketball team.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 25 , , 0 , , 14.2 , , .362 , , .304 , , .778 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" ,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .325 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .5 , , .6 , , .1 , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 4.9 , , .286 , , .308 , , .000 , , .3 , , .0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 53 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .338 , , .304 , , .846 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 2.7

Playoffs

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2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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, 2 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="left" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , - , align="left" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .500 , , .500 , , .000 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 8 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .100 , , .167 , , .500 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , .6

Notes

External links

*
kuathletics.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Billy 1975 births Living people ABA League players American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Serbia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Shreveport, Louisiana Cincinnati Stuff players CBA All-Star Game players Cleveland Cavaliers players Colorado 14ers players Greek Basket League players Greenville Groove players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Kavala B.C. players KK Crvena zvezda players Maine Red Claws players New Jersey Nets players Pallacanestro Trieste players Philippine Basketball Association imports Regatas Corrientes basketball players Shooting guards Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players Tanduay Rhum Masters players Undrafted NBA players Washington Wizards players 20th-century American sportsmen