Melvin Thomas (born February 25, 1968) 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 15 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia between 1992 and 2006.

Early life

Thomas was born in the U.S. state of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

College career

Thomas played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at the

University of Texas–Pan American The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) was a public university in Edinburg, Texas. Founded in 1927, it was a component institution of the University of Texas System. The university served the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley a ...

for the Texas–Pan American Broncs between 1987 and 1990. He earned All-

American South Conference The American South Conference was an NCAA Division I athletic conference that existed from 1987–88 to 1990–91. The charter members were Arkansas State University, Lamar University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of New Orleans, the ...

Third Team honors in 1988–98 and All-American South Conference Second Team honors in 1989–90. He was also the UTPA Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 1989–90, and in December 1989, he was named the Jowers Jamboree tournament MVP. Thomas amassed 1,306 points in three seasons and as of 2022, his total ranks ninth all time in school history.

Professional career

Thomas made his debut in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

with the Illawarra Hawks. Alongside

Doug Overton Douglas M. Overton (born August 3, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. Playing career Prior to his NBA career, Overton spent a season with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL. He credits his experience ...

, the pair were one of the Hawks' all-time greatest import duos. Thomas played four seasons for the Hawks before joining the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. After two seasons for the Kings, he played for the Canberra Cannons in the

1998 NBL season The 1998 NBL season was the 20th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contest the league. This season marked the NBL's final winter season. The Illawarra Hawks were renamed the Wollongong Hawks. Regular se ...

and

1998–99 NBL season The 1998–99 NBL season was the 21st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. This season marked the first summer season for the NBL. The Townsville Suns were renamed the Townsville Croco ...

. He returned to the Hawks, now known as Wollongong, for the 1999–2000 season. In the 2000–01 season, he averaged a team-high 18.8 points to lead the Hawks to the NBL championship. After another four seasons with the Hawks, Thomas joined the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

for the 2003–04 NBL season. On December 31, 2003, in a game against the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

, Thomas suffered a season-ending achilles injury. He returned to the Taipans for the 2004–05 season and played his final NBL season with the Taipans in 2005–06. Thomas was named to the

All-NBL Team The All-NBL Team is an annual National Basketball League (NBL) honour bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBL season. The team has been selected in every season since the league's second year in 1980. The All-NBL Team h ...

seven times, including first team in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

; second team in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

; and third team in 1992, 1996,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, and 2001. In October 2013, the Illawarra Hawks retired his number 33 jersey.

Personal life

Thomas and his wife have a son named Noah. Noah grew up in Australia and played college basketball in the United States. In February 2003, Thomas' brother died after being shot at his home in Detroit. As of October 2013, Thomas was working as a

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

baggage handler in Sydney.

References

External links

NBL profile (2001)NBL profile (2004)NBL profile (2005)andthefoul.net profileNBL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Melvin 1968 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Alabama Cairns Taipans players Canberra Cannons players Centers (basketball) Forwards (basketball) Illawarra Hawks players Sydney Kings players Texas–Pan American Broncs men's basketball players Wollongong Hawks players 20th-century American sportsmen