Rodney King Thorn (born May 23, 1941) is an American basketball executive and a former professional player and coach, Olympic Committee Chairman, with a career spanning over 50 years. In 2018, Thorn was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Early life

Thorn attracted nationwide attention after a high school

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 ...

career at Princeton High School in his hometown of Princeton, West Virginia that saw him average more than 30 points per game as a senior. He was a three-time all-state selection and was a two-time High School All-American. Thorn was also a highly regarded high school

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player, before a head injury took him away from the sport for a time. Thorn was looking at colleges, including

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, when the West Virginia State Legislature passed a resolution designating Thorn as a state Natural Resource. This in order to persuade him to emulate native Jerry West and attend West Virginia University. Thorn did just that.

College career

Thorn attended West Virginia University. He wore #44, the same number as Jerry West, who had just graduated. At WVU, he was an All-American guard in basketball, as well as playing three seasons on the WVU baseball team. In 1960–61, as a sophomore (freshmen could not play varsity in his era), Thorn averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists for Coach George King and the 23–4

West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball competition. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. WV ...

team. Thorn improved and West Virginia finished 24–6 in 1961–62. The Mountaineers were invited to the 1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, where they lost to Villanova 90–75. Thorn averaged 23.7 points and 12.1 rebounds. He was the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American selection, beside John Havlicek of Ohio State University, among others. In 1962–63, Thorn averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds as a senior. West Virginia finished 23–8 and qualified for the 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament. In the NCAA's, they defeated Connecticut 77–71, as Thorn had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Thorn was outstanding in the Mountaineers' 97–88 loss to St. Josephs, scoring 44 points in the defeat. He then scored 33 points with 9 rebounds in a 83–73 win over New York University in the East Region third place game, his final collegiate game. Thorn was again selected as a Second Team All-American beside Bill Bradley, among others. Overall, Thorn averaged 21.8 points and 11.1 rebounds in 81 games during his three seasons at West Virginia.

NBA playing career

Baltimore Bullets

Thorn was the No. 2 overall pick of the 1963 NBA draft, drafted by the Baltimore Bullets. In his rookie season 1963–64, Thorn was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team averaging 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Bullets under Hall of Fame Coach Slick Leonard.

Detroit Pistons

Following his first season, Thorn was traded on June 18, 1964. Baltimore traded Thorn, with Terry Dischinger and Don Kojis to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for Bob Ferry, future Hall of Famer Bailey Howell, Les Hunter, Wali Jones and Don Ohl. In 1964–65, Thorn averaged 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the Pistons. The team did not make the playoffs under Charles Wolf (2–9) and 24-year-old player/coach Dave DeBusschere (29–40).

St. Louis Hawks

Detroit, with Thorn averaging 13.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists, traded him on December 24, 1965. The Pistons sent Thorn to the St. Louis Hawks for John Tresvant and Chico Vaughn. Thorn averaged 8.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 46 games with the Hawks as a reserve. Playing alongside Future Hall of Famers Richie Guerin (player/coach), Zelmo Beaty,

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, fi ...

and

Cliff Hagan Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9, 1931) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6′ 4″ forward who excelled with the hook shot, Hagan, nicknamed "Li’l Abner", played his entire 10-year National Basketball Association, ...

, as well as Joe Caldwell, Paul Silas and Bill Bridges, Thorn saw his minutes reduced. The Hawks lost the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Division Finals 4–3 after having beaten Baltimore 3–0 to advance. In 1966–67, Thorn averaged 8.8 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Hawks as they added Lou Hudson and finished 39–42. The Hawks defeated the expansion

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

3–0 in the playoffs, before losing to the San Francisco Warriors with

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

and Nate Thurmond 4–2 in the Western Division finals. Thorn averaged 10.2 points in the series.

Seattle SuperSonics

On May 1, 1967, Thorn was drafted by the expansion Seattle SuperSonics from the St. Louis Hawks in the NBA expansion draft. He concluded his career as a player with the Seattle SuperSonics (1967–1971). Thorn averaged a career high 15.2 points with 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, in 1967–68, as the expansion SuperSonics finished 23–58 under Coach

Al Bianchi Alfred A. Bianchi (March 26, 1932 – October 28, 2019) was an American professional basketball player, coach, general manager, consultant, and scout. Early years Nicknamed "Blinky", he attended P.S. 4 elementary school and graduated from Long ...

. The SuperSonics improved to 30–52 in 1968–69, with Thorn averaging 11.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists at age 27. Thorn's teammate from St. Louis, Lenny Wilkens became the player/Coach of the SuperSonics in 1969–70 and the team improved to 36–46, in Wilkens' first Coaching season. Wilkens would lead the SuperSonics to the NBA Championship in 1979, and would coach in the NBA until 2005, winning 1332 games in 32 seasons. Injured, Thorn averaged 2.9 points in 19 games. In 1970–71, Thorn finished his playing career, playing in 63 games off the bench, averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 assists for the 38–44 SuperSonics. Overall, in eight NBA seasons, Thorn averaged 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 466 games.

Coaching career

In 1971–72, Thorn joined his former teammate and coach Lenny Wilkens as an assistant with the SuperSonics and the team finished 47–35. In 1973, former teammate

Kevin Loughery Kevin Michael "Murph" Loughery (born March 28, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Loughery coached both Julius Erving and Michael Jordan, and gave Phil Jackson his first NBA coaching job. Early life Loughe ...

was head coach and hired Thorn as assistant coach of the

New York 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 ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

for $15,000. The Nets then won the 1974 ABA championship, led by

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

. Thorn was hired the head coach of the Spirits of St. Louis with then-star Marvin Barnes for the 1975–76 ABA season. The Spirits' roster also included Hall of Famer Moses Malone, Caldwell Jones, Mike D'Antoni, Gus Gerard, Maurice Lucas,

Ron Boone Ronald Bruce Boone (born September 6, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 13-year career in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Boone set a record for most consecut ...

, M.L. Carr and Don Chaney, but after a 20–27 start he was fired in December, 1975 and replaced by Joe Mullaney. Thorn had discipline issues with Barnes. "Marvin would come late for everything,” Thorn said years later. "You couldn't depend on him. He'd say, 'I'm giving you 24 and 12 every night. You better talk to the others.' He'd come late on purpose to show, 'You don't control me. I'm in charge.'" Thorn returned to the New York Nets and Loughery as an assistant coach when the franchise joined the NBA in 1976–77. The team had been forced to move Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers and was playing with a depleted roster. Thorn left the position after the 1977–78 season to move to the front office in Chicago.

Basketball executive career

Chicago Bulls

In 1978, Thorn became the general manager of the

and served in that role until March 1985. Thorn hired Jerry Sloan as Head Coach, drafted Reggie Theus and had Artis Gilmore in the middle. Thorn replaced Sloan on the bench to finish the 1981–82 season (15–15). Thorn hired

, his former teammate and coach with Nets, as head coach in 1983. In 1984, he famously oversaw team's selection of

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

with the No. 3 pick of the 1984 NBA draft. (he also selected track star Carl Lewis, with the draft on the eve of the 1984 Olympic Games, simply for patriotic publicity purposes). Thorn negated numerous trade offers for the Bulls' No. 3 pick in 1984. There was maneuvering for Jordan to go to Philadelphia where North Carolina star Billy Cunningham was the 76ers coach. There was further speculation Thorn might select Jordan's North Carolina's teammate Sam Perkins, (who was drafted at No. 4), because the Bulls had recently selected shooting guards in previous drafts and Thorn had just traded All-Star Reggie Theus. However, Thorn drafted Jordan, and the Bulls' foundation was in place. Thorn left the Bulls when he and Loughery were fired in March 1985 and new owner Jerry Reinsdorf hired Jerry Krause as G.M.

NBA/Dream Team/Nets/76ers

From 1986 to 2000 Thorn was the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, serving as the league's chief disciplinarian. Thorn chaired the

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

Men's National Team Selection Committee in 1992, 1996 and 2000. The " Dream Team" for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

(Barcelona) was assembled and the committee put together the Olympic gold-medal USA teams in 1996 and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Thorn rejoined the Nets organization on June 2, 2000, and he was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2002 after the Nets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. During the 2010 offseason, Rod Thorn announced he would step down from the Nets' organization. On August 11, 2010, Thorn was hired as president of the 76ers, taking over the title from Ed Stefanski, who remained with the team as the general manager. On October 18, 2011, prior to a press conference introducing the 76ers' new ownership group, it was announced that Stefanski was leaving the organization and Thorn would be both president and general manager. In 2012, Tony DiLeo was named the team's general manager, but Thorn retained his title as president. On July 10, 2013, 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 ...

announced that Rod Thorn had been named President of Basketball Operations, effective August 1, after Stu Jackson decided to step down. On April 26, 2014, Thorn, on behalf of the NBA, suspended Wizard Nene Hilario from game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. In 2015, Thorn briefly retired from the NBA. In 2015, Thorn, semi-retired, became a Special Consultant for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Of his career, “I’ve been unbelievably fortunate to be in the right place so many times,” said Thorn. "To come from a place with 7,000 people sometimes you pinch yourself and think, 'Wow, how fortunate I've been.' When I played we got $8 in meal money. We were like a barnstorming league. I can remember playing 16 straight days in preseason in one little high school after the next. You couldn't tell me the NBA would end up where it is and I would be a first hand witness to so many great things. That's one of the things I'm proudest of, just being on the scene and sometimes having a little something to do with what transpired. It's been a lot of fun."

Personal life

He graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

with a degree in political science while playing and coaching for the SuperSonics. Thorn and his wife, Peggy, have a son, Jonathan, and twin daughters, Amanda and Jessica. "I'm not sure there are any others who have the hard earned understanding of the game," former NBA commissioner David Stern said about Thorn. "People forget he drafted Michael Jordan, forget the Nets (under Thorn) were in the Finals two years in a row (after he pulled off the

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

trade), forget he was with the 76ers when they beat the Bulls in the playoffs as an eighth seed. He has a unique background and a unique personal approach."

Honors

* Thorn was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. * On September 7, 2018, Thorn was enshrined in the

as a contributor. * On February 29, 2020, Thorn's number 44 was retired by West Virginia University.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

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Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 74 , , , , 23.9 , , .427 , , , , .724 , , 3.6 , , 2.2 , , , , , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , , , 30.2 , , .417 , , , , .732 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , , , , , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", St. Louis , 46 , , , , 20.1 , , .423 , , , , .690 , , 2.4 , , 1.8 , , , , , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", St. Louis , 67 , , , , 17.4 , , .445 , , , , .727 , , 2.4 , , 1.8 , , , , , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 66 , , , , 25.3 , , .451 , , , , .737 , , 4.0 , , 3.5 , , , , , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , , , 19.6 , , .463 , , , , .732 , , 2.9 , , 2.8 , , , , , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , , , 5.5 , , .444 , , , , .625 , , .8 , , .9 , , , , , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , , , 12.2 , , .472 , , , , .676 , , 1.6 , , 2.9 , , , , , , 5.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 466 , , , , 22.3 , , .433 , , , , .723 , , 3.1 , , 2.6 , , , , , , 10.8

Playoffs

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1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, style="text-align:left;", St. Louis , 10 , , , , 11.9 , , .308 , , , , .778 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , , , , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, style="text-align:left;", St. Louis , 9 , , , , 17.3 , , .429 , , , , .926 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , , , , , 10.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 19 , , , , 14.5 , , .388 , , , , .867 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , , , , , 6.8

References

External links

*The West Virginia & Regional History Center at West Virginia University
Rod Thorn collection

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorn, Rod 1941 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball coaches from West Virginia Basketball players from West Virginia Chicago Bulls head coaches Chicago Bulls executives Detroit Pistons players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA league office executives New Jersey Nets executives Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Princeton, West Virginia Philadelphia 76ers executives Point guards Seattle SuperSonics expansion draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Spirits of St. Louis coaches St. Louis Hawks players University of Washington alumni West Virginia Mountaineers baseball players West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball players