Sedale Eugene Threatt (born September 10, 1961) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player in the

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

(NBA). Born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, Threatt played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

West Virginia Institute of Technology West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 1895 ...

from 1979 to 1983. Nicknamed "The Thief" for his ability to steal the basketball, Threatt has the distinction of being the last sixth round pick to play in the NBA (the NBA draft was shortened to the now-current two rounds in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

), played in the NBA from 1983–1997 and finished his basketball career overseas.

Professional career

Threatt was drafted by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

in the sixth round of the 1983 NBA draft, and is the only player from

West Virginia Tech West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University. History The college was founded in 189 ...

to have ever played in the NBA. During the

1986 NBA playoffs The 1986 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1985–86 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rock ...

, Threatt played a key role for the 76ers, averaging then career-highs of 13.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. During the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Bucks, Threatt led all scorers with 28 points during the series deciding game seven, but Philadelphia lost by one point, 113-112. In total, Threatt played for four seasons with the 76ers and was traded to the

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

in 1986. In 1988, he was traded to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

for Sam Vincent. He played for Seattle for four seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on October 2, 1991, in exchange for three second round draft picks. Threatt was expected to play a backup role to

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in th ...

. However, after Johnson's sudden retirement for medical reasons (he announced that he was

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

positive), Threatt became the starting point guard. Threatt's ability to steal the ball earned him the nickname "The Thief" from Lakers commentators

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid ...

and

Stu Lantz Stuart Burrell Lantz (born July 13, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Spectrum SportsNet. He played college baske ...

. Threatt led the Lakers in assists, steals and minutes played each in his first two seasons. In 1992-93, he became the second player in Lakers franchise history (after Johnson) to lead the Lakers in scoring (15.1), assists (6.9), and steals (1.7). He scored a career high 42 points against the New York Knicks on March 10, 1992, and scored a career playoff high 35 points in Game 1 of the 1993 Western Conference Quarterfinals against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

. He retired from the NBA after the 1996-97 season and went on to play basketball with the

Gymnastikos S. Larissas Gymnastikos Syllogos Larissas 1928 B.C. ( Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Λάρισας 1928 K.A.E.), commonly known as Gymnastikos S. Larissas, G.S. Larissas, or G.S.L., is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in Lar ...

(Greece) before retiring in 2002.

Personal life

Threatt is thought to have fathered at least fourteen children, and been married twice. He married his first wife, Nicole Plotzker, in 1992. She later left him for

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

; his second marriage was to Britt Johnson. In 2000, Threatt was sentenced to six months in prison for failing to pay child support. Threatt had a plea deal with prosecutors, who recommended five months of probation, but U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf rejected the agreement and sentenced him to prison. Wolf also ordered Threatt to comply with five other outstanding child-support orders for children in other jurisdictions. Threatt currently lives in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia, working alongside his eldest son, Sedale Threatt Jr., in his company, Australian Basketball Development (AUBD). Threatt has another son also named Sedale Threatt Jr., who attended college at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Ep ...

and played quarterback on the football team. This Sedale Jr. later went into acting.

References

External links

Player Statistics
at Basketball-Reference.com
Historical Player Profile
at NBA.com
College and NBA statistics
at basketballreference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Threatt, Sedale 1961 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland American men's basketball players Basketball players from Atlanta Chicago Bulls players Greek Basket League players Gymnastikos S. Larissas B.C. players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers players Paris Racing Basket players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Seattle SuperSonics players West Virginia Tech Golden Bears men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople