Thomas Doane Chambers (born June 21, 1959) 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. From 1981 to 1997 he 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 ...

as well as internationally. Playing

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

in the NBA. Chambers was selected to four

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

s and was a two-time

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

member during his career. In December 2021, Chambers was nominated for 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 ...

but did not advance to the list of finalists.

Early life

Thomas Doane Chambers was born on June 21, 1959 in

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

. Chambers starred at Fairview High School in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. Hailing from an athletic family, Chambers was a promising 6-2 guard at the end of his sophomore year. Suddenly, he grew six inches during the next six months. As a junior, teammates marveled that he had not lost any coordination with his growth. A broken wrist as a senior forced him to use his left hand more, improving his game. An all-Colorado high school player, he was hotly recruited and enrolled at Utah.

College career

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, Chambers played center with star forward Danny Vranes. The two led successful teams in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

. He ran the floor well and had good shooting range. On Feb. 5, 2022, Chambers' jersey and number, 42, were retired during the Utes' game against Oregon. At the NBA level he moved to power forward.

Professional career

San Diego Clippers (1981–1983)

Chambers was drafted by the San Diego Clippers (now the

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

) with the 8th pick in the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 NBA season, 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the NBA ...

. After signing a $1.5 million four-year contract, he played at forward for the first time after being a center in college. On the injury-riddled young Clippers roster his rookie year, Chambers ended up the team's top scorer at 17.2 points per game, and he made 52.5% of his shots. On April 15, 1982, he set a then-career-high points total of 39 points in a 129–123 win against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. The next season, on October 29, 1982, Chambers scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in San Diego's home opener, a loss to the Phoenix Suns. In the same season, the team had drafted power forward Terry Cummings, who was the Rookie of the Year that year, and the club felt it had to choose between the two young prospects. They traded Chambers and Al Wood for James Donaldson, Greg Kelser, Mark Radford, a 1984 first-round draft pick (

Michael Cage Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Basketball career A 6'9" power forward/ center from San Diego State, he is the Az ...

was later selected) and a 1985 2nd round draft pick ( Calvin Duncan was later selected).

Seattle SuperSonics (1983–1988)

Teaming with center Jack Sikma and guard Gus Williams, Chambers became a key piece to a winning team in his third NBA season. He played all 82 games and averaged 18.1 points per game. In 1983, though, Williams was traded, and the point guard who starred was Gerald Henderson. After posting a team-high 21.5 points per game the season before, Chambers fell to third-most on the team in shot attempts, taking only 28 more shots more than Henderson that season. He still led the team at 18.5 points per game, but felt he was being passed around in the offense. 1986–87, however, was a big season for Chambers. Rookie Nate McMillan took over Henderson's spot and Chambers became one of three key scorers for the Sonics. He posted 23.3 points per game to reach All-Star status for the first time. Chambers made 85% of 630 free throw tries that season. He also again played all 82 games. He was the star of the 1987 NBA All-Star Game, played in Seattle. He scored 34 points on 13 of 25 shooting and was named Game's Most Valuable Player. With the SuperSonics, he averaged 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.

Phoenix Suns (1988–1993)

An avid hunter and horseback rider, Chambers had no interest in playing outside of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. He accepted a then-very pricey offer to join the Phoenix Suns in June 1988. Seattle declined to match the offer. He made three All-Star appearances as a Suns player. In Phoenix, coach Cotton Fitzsimmons expected Chambers to shoot the ball. In 1988–89 Chambers scored 25.7 points per game. In 1989–90 his total rose to 27.2 points per game. Just as his scoring hit new highs his team also improved. Point guard Kevin Johnson was the passer Chambers had long-awaited, and the duo became an outstanding NBA tandem. On March 24, 1990, Chambers scored a Suns-franchise-record 60 points during a win over his former team the Sonics, while playing through a hamstring injury. Former Seattle teammate, Xavier McDaniel, joined the team in 1990–91, and the now 31-year-old Chambers again accepted a more team-oriented role for the Suns. His scoring, and the team's success, declined. He had been twice named All-NBA Second Team, but now just tried to fit in. In 1992–93, the fifth and final season in Phoenix,

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

arrived to give the team the rebounder the team had long needed to truly contend. The now 33-year-old Chambers accepted a role as

sixth man The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starting lineup, starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in, and the first to be used against the other team's subst ...

, while Barkley and Dan Majerle were the team's key scorers. That team made it to the 1993 NBA Finals, where they lost 4 games to 2 to

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 ...

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 ...

. In the last game of the series, and in what would be the last game of his Suns tenure, Chambers scored 12 points in a 99–98 Game 6 loss.

Utah Jazz

Chambers still felt he had more to contribute, and accepted an offer to join the Utah Jazz in August 1993. He backed up star

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

, and re-teamed with Jeff Hornacek from the Suns. The Jazz improved immediately and made it to the 1994 Western Conference Finals. Now age 35, Chambers had one more year to give before ending his first stint in the NBA as a 20,024-point NBA scorer.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (1995–1996)

Chambers joined Maccabi Tel Aviv 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 a season of play in the Israeli Super League and the FIBA EuroLeague, during the 1995–96 season. In the Israeli Super League, Chambers averaged 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He also won the Israeli League championship that season with Maccabi. In the FIBA EuroLeague's 1995–96 season, Chambers averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.7 steals per game, in 32.8 minutes per game.

Charlotte Hornets (1997)

After his stint in Israel, Chambers signed a contract with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. He played twelve games with the Hornets but was waived.

Philadelphia 76ers (1997)

Chambers played in one more NBA game, with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

, during the 1997–98 regular season before retiring. In the last game of his career which was against 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 ...

, played on November 26, 1997, he had six points. He also had two rebounds, and two steals for the 76ers, in his only appearance with the team.

Player profile

Chambers appeared in 16 NBA seasons as a member of the San Diego Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics,

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

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

, and

."Chambers, Tom." ''2005–06 Official NBA Player Register''. 2005. 338–339. He scored 20,049 total points in the NBA for a career average of 18.1 points per game. His career high was a 60-point performance with the Suns against the Sonics on March 24, 1990. He appeared in four

s during his career (1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991), earning game MVP honors in 1987 after scoring 34 points. He also played in the 1993 NBA Finals as a member of the Suns, but the team lost to the

. He is one of just two players (alongside Antawn Jamison) currently eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame who have scored 20,000 points and who have not been inducted.

Legacy

Chambers was inducted into the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor in April 1999 and became the first inductee since the Ring of Honor was installed at America West Arena (now Footprint Center). As part of the induction ceremony, he received a bronze statue by artist Sam Wickey recreating his 1989 dunk over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

guard Mark Jackson. Chambers was also honored by being inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 81 , , 58 , , 33.1 , , .525 , , .000 , , .620 , , 6.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 33.7 , , .472 , , .000 , , .723 , , 6.6 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 17.6 , - , , 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 ...

, 82 , , 44 , , 31.3 , , .499 , , .000 , , .800 , , 6.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 60 , , 36.1 , , .483 , , .273 , , .832 , , 7.1 , , 2.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 26 , , 30.6 , , .466 , , .271 , , .836 , , 6.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.8 , , .456 , , .372 , , .849 , , 6.6 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 23.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 32.7 , , .448 , , .303 , , .807 , , 6.0 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 20.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 81 , , 81 , , 37.1 , , .471 , , .326 , , .851 , , 8.4 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 25.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 81 , , 81 , , 37.6 , , .501 , , .279 , , .861 , , 7.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 27.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 76 , , 75 , , 32.6 , , .437 , , .274 , , .826 , , 6.4 , , 2.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 69 , , 66 , , 28.2 , , .431 , , .367 , , .830 , , 5.8 , , 2.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 73 , , 0 , , 23.6 , , .447 , , .393 , , .837 , , 4.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 0 , , 23.0 , , .440 , , .311 , , .786 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 4 , , 15.3 , , .457 , , .167 , , .807 , , 2.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 12 , , 5 , , 6.9 , , .226 , , .667 , , .750 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 1.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , 1.000 , , — , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,107 , , 734 , , 30.6 , , .468 , , .307 , , .807 , , 6.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 18.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 4 , , 1 , , 21.0 , , .518 , , .400 , , .773 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 19.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , —, , 38.2, , .475, , .000, , .667, , 6.6, , 1.6, , 1.0, , 0.6, , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 14, , 14, , 35.6, , .449, , .333, , .808, , 6.4, , 2.3, , 0.9, , 0.9, , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 5, , 33.6, , .549, , .000, , .829, , 6.2, , 2.2, , 0.6, , 0.2, , 25.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 12, , 12, , 41.3, , .459, , .409, , .859, , 10.9, , 3.8, , 1.1, , 1.3, , 26.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 16, , 16, , 38.3, , .425, , .263, , .879, , 6.7, , 1.9, , 0.4, , 0.4, , 22.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 4, , 4, , 35.5, , .409, , .000, , .737, , 5.8, , 2.5, , 1.8, , 1.3, , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 7, , 0, , 27.7, , .459, , .571, , .844, , 4.4, , 2.7, , 0.3, , 0.7, , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 24, , 1, , 15.7, , .388, , .400, , .815, , 2.7, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 0.4, , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16, , 0, , 20.3, , .361, , .000, , .793, , 2.8, , 0.8, , 0.3, , 0.6, , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5, , 0, , 12.0, , .500, , .333, , .692, , 2.6, , 0.4, , 0.4, , 0.0, , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 108 , , 52 , , 28.3 , , .440 , , .303 , , .827 , , 5.3 , , 1.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 15.4

Personal life

After his playing career ended, Chambers bought a ranch in North Ogden south of

Brigham City, Utah Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 19,650 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 17,899. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It l ...

for himself and his family which became known as Shooting Star Ranch. Soon after that, he became a community relations representative for the Suns, sold his ranch in Ogden, and moved permanently to

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

with his family. He won a Rocky Mountain Emmy alongside senior editor Tommy Arguelles for their work on ''Sunderella Suns'', a film commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1975–76 Phoenix Suns season and the impact that the season had on the state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

overall.

References

External links

NBA.com Historical Player InfoIsraeli Super League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Tom 1959 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from Utah Charlotte Hornets players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players NBA All-Stars NBA players with retired numbers Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns announcers Phoenix Suns players Power forwards San Diego Clippers draft picks San Diego Clippers players Seattle SuperSonics players Sportspeople from Ogden, Utah Utah Jazz players Utah Utes men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

College career

Professional career

San Diego Clippers (1981–1983)

Seattle SuperSonics (1983–1988)

Phoenix Suns (1988–1993)

Utah Jazz

Maccabi Tel Aviv (1995–1996)

Charlotte Hornets (1997)

Philadelphia 76ers (1997)

Player profile

Legacy

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links