William Stansbury Thompson (born December 1, 1963) 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 played 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 ...

and other leagues. He spent a 5-year career with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and

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

, and registered one minute of court time with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in late 1991.

High school and college

Thompson played basketball at Camden High School in New Jersey, where he was a two-time high school All-American. During his time with the team, Camden took the group IV state championship in 1982. Thompson was considered the number one high school prospect in the land. He elected to play college basketball for

Denny Crum Denzel Edwin Crum (March 2, 1937 – May 9, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Fi ...

at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. His team reached the semi-finals of the national championship his freshman year, where they lost to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. In his junior year he led the Cardinals in scoring, rebounding and assists. His senior season the Cardinals won the 1986 NCAA national championship.

NBA

In the

1986 NBA draft The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986. Overview and aftermath This draft holds the record for the most players (out of prospects chosen) who later debuted in the NBA, with 66. Drug and health issues involving drafted players There were ...

he was selected 19th overall by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. In a draft-day trade he was sent to the

. He was a reserve on the Lakers teams that won back-to-back NBA championships in 1986–87 and 1987–88. He is one of only five players to have won an NCAA championship and an NBA championship in back-to-back seasons, the other four being

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played Center (basketball), center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was t ...

( University of San Francisco 1956, Boston Celtics 1957),

Henry Bibby Charles Henry Bibby (born November 24, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He ...

( UCLA 1972, New York Knicks 1973),

Earvin Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers in ...

( Michigan State 1979, Los Angeles Lakers 1980), and

Christian Braun Christian Nicolas Braun ( ; born April 17, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Kansas native, Braun won Mr. Kansas Basketball in 2019 and played collegiat ...

( Kansas 2022, Denver Nuggets 2023). After an injury-riddled sophomore season with the Lakers, he was then left unprotected in the 1988 NBA

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

and was selected by the

, where he was a starter for the Heat's inaugural game and averaged 10.8 points per game in Miami's expansion season. As a part-time starter in 1989–90, Thompson averaged 11 points per game. He also appeared in the 1990

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

, where he finished seventh out of eight participants.

CBA

Thompson played for the

Rapid City Thrillers The Rapid City Thrillers were a semi-professional basketball team in Rapid City, South Dakota, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) beginning in the 1987 season. They were reincarnated in 1998 as an International Basket ...

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) during the 1993–94 season. He was selected to the All-CBA Second Team.

Play abroad

In 1994 Thompson went to play professional basketball in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

for Fenerbahçe. He then played in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...

from 1994 to 1997. Along with Israeli star Adi Gordon, Thompson led Hapoel to two State Cup titles for the first time in Israeli history, defeating Israeli and European powerhouse

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

both times. Thompson is one of the most favored foreign basketball players ever to play in Israel.

Personal life

Thompson is a born-again Christian and presently pastors Jesus People Proclaim International Church in

Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the Broward County# ...

with his wife, Cynthia. They have 5 children and 7 grandchildren, as well as 2 great-grandchildren.

References

External links

College & NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com * http://www.jpproclaim.org/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Billy 1963 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Basketball players from Camden, New Jersey Camden High School (New Jersey) alumni Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Golden State Warriors players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Los Angeles Lakers players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Miami Heat expansion draft picks Miami Heat players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Peñarol de Mar del Plata basketball players Rapid City Thrillers players Small forwards Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Philippine Basketball Association imports San Miguel Beermen players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen