Thomas Joseph LaGarde (born February 10, 1955) 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. 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 ...

(NBA) from 1977 to 1985 before a recurring knee issue cut short his career. He earned a gold medal as a member of

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in the 1976 Olympics. LaGarde also was a member of an NBA championship team with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

three years later, although torn right knee ligaments forced him to sit out the final five months of the season.

Basketball career

After playing collegiately at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, LaGarde was selected 9th overall in the first round of the

1977 NBA draft The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1977, before the 1977–78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. At 6'10" and 220 lb, LaGarde played

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

at the pro level. In June, 1979, shortly after his rookie season with the Nuggets, LaGarde was traded to the

in return for a first-round draft choice. LaGarde was selected by the expansion

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in the 1980

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 ...

. He was the only team member who played all 82 games for the Mavericks in their inaugural 1980–81 season, finishing second on the team in points to

Jim Spanarkel James Gerard Spanarkel (born June 28, 1957) is an American television analyst for College Basketball on CBS and Fox College Hoops. He is a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. He played co ...

and leading the team in rebounds and blocked shots. LaGarde saw his playing time diminish the following season, averaging just 19 minutes per game in 47 games for the Mavericks. He played the two following seasons overseas. In November 1984, LaGarde returned briefly to the NBA with the

New Jersey 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 ...

as a replacement for the injured

Darryl Dawkins Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, althoug ...

. But the comeback lasted only one game before a calf injury ended his season and career.

Personal life

In 2008, LaGarde created a video parody of McCain-Palin called the Original Mavericks for Truth. LaGarde and his wife, Heather, live in

Saxapahaw, North Carolina Saxapahaw ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Collection ...

, with their two children. Together, they redeveloped an old mill, which is now a 700-person music venue, called the Haw River Ballroom.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 77 , , , , 11.3 , , .405 , , , , .760 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , 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 ...

, 23 , , , , 25.0 , , .541 , , , , .600 , , 8.3 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .8 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , , , 14.2 , , .477 , , – , , .657 , , 3.8 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .4 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 32.6 , , .470 , , – , , .649 , , 8.1 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .5 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 47 , , 28 , , 19.3 , , .420 , , .000 , , .518 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .4 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .000 , , – , , .500 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 312 , , 110 , , 19.9 , , .462 , , .000 , , .640 , , 5.1 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .4 , , 7.6

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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

, 9 , , 8.6 , , .526 , , , , .714 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , .2 , , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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

, 14 , , 11.6 , , .370 , , – , , .818 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .1 , , .0 , , 3.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 23 , , 10.4 , , .415 , , – , , .778 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.0

Notes

External links

Career statisticsHaw River Ballroom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagarde, Tom 1955 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Detroit Centers (basketball) Dallas Mavericks expansion draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Detroit Catholic Central High School alumni Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics New Jersey Nets players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Nuova Pallacanestro Gorizia players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Seattle SuperSonics players Sportspeople from Alamance County, North Carolina United States men's national basketball team players