Elijah Thomas

Elijah Thomas (born October 10, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli National League. He played college basketball for the Clemson Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies.

Elijah Thomas
Thomas with Clemson in 2018
No. 2 – Bnei Herzliya
PositionPower forward
LeagueIsraeli National League
Personal information
Born (1996-10-10) October 10, 1996
Dallas, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020Larisa
2020–2021Steaua București
2021Kyiv-Basket
2021–presentBnei Herzliya
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× ACC All-Defensive Team (2018, 2019)

Early life and high school career

Thomas grew up in South Dallas and befriended Jordan Mickey in elementary school. When Deion Sanders opened Prime Prep Academy, both Mickey and Thomas decided to join.[1] Prior to his junior season, Thomas transferred to Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Texas.[2] In the final game of the regular season, he had 39 points and 20 rebounds as Lancaster defeated MacArthur High School 87-66.[3] Thomas was named District 15-4A most valuable player as a junior.[4] As a senior, he helped the team win the Class 5A state championship and averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds per game.[5][6] Ranked the No. 29 recruit in his class according to ESPN, he committed to Texas A&M, the first school to offer him a scholarship, on October 21, 2014. Thomas chose the Aggies over offers from Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma State and SMU.[7]

College career

Thomas averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, but saw his minutes decline due to the emergence of Tyler Davis.[8] On January 6, 2016, he announced he was transferring to Clemson after taking visits to Nebraska and Arizona.[9] As a sophomore, Thomas averaged 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[10] On November 24, 2017, he posted career-highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds in an 84-77 victory over Texas Southern.[11] He averaged 10.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game as a junior, shooting 56 percent from the floor. Thomas was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team.[12] He had nine double-doubles and helped the Tigers reach to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997.[13] As a senior, Thomas averaged 13 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.[14] He was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the second straight season, as well as Honorable Mention All-ACC.[15] He was the seventh Clemson player to compile 900 points, 600 rebounds and 150 blocks.[16]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Thomas joined the Charlotte Hornets for NBA Summer League.[17] On July 18, 2019, he signed his first professional contract with Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League.[18] He did not appear in a game for the team. On January 12, 2020, Thomas signed with Larisa of the Greek Basket League.[19] In five games, he averaged 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[20]

On January 2, 2021, he has signed with Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague.[21]

On January 22, 2021, he has signed with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli National League.[22]

References
  1. Rosetta, Randy (August 10, 2014). "Strong bond with Mickey gives LSU a chance with Dallas-area big man Elijah Thomas". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  2. Murphree, Marcus (February 27, 2014). "Elijah Thomas' 6-9 frame turned out to be missing puzzle piece for Lancaster's 2014 team". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  3. Holland, E.J. (February 14, 2014). "5-star Lancaster big man Elijah Thomas talks monster game, recruiting". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  4. "Results, summaries, honors, polls, schedules". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 15, 2014. p. C6. Retrieved October 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Wixon, Matt (December 17, 2015). "Former Lancaster basketball star Elijah Thomas leaving Texas A&M; former Rockwall star Austin Grandstaff leaving Ohio State". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  6. "Tigers Add Elijah Thomas". Clemson Tigers. January 7, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  7. Borzello, Jeff (October 24, 2014). "Texas A&M lands Elijah Thomas". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  8. Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (December 14, 2015). "Former top-50 recruit Elijah Thomas to transfer from Texas A&M". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  9. Goodman, Jeff (January 6, 2016). "Elijah Thomas transferring from Texas A&M to Clemson". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  10. O'Brien, Patrick (November 9, 2017). "College Basketball Preview: Clemson Tigers". ESPN. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  11. "Clemson beats Texas Southern 84-77 behind Thomas, DeVoe". ESPN. Associated Press. November 24, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  12. Cook, Joe (March 30, 2018). "Elijah Thomas To Return To Clemson Basketball". WLTX. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  13. Keepfer, Scott (June 17, 2018). "Former Clemson standout Trevor Booker sees big things ahead for Elijah Thomas, Tigers". The Greenville News. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  14. Yanity, Pete (July 18, 2019). "Former Clemson big man Thomas to play in Korea". WSPA. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  15. "Clemson's Reed Named to All-ACC Third Team; Thomas to All-Defensive Team". Live 5 News. March 11, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  16. Crumpton, Tony (July 18, 2019). "Elijah Thomas signs internationally with DB Promy". TigerNet.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  17. Sullivan, Sanders (June 22, 2019). "Elijah Thomas gets Summer League shot". Clemson Sports Talk. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  18. Skerletic, Dario (July 18, 2019). "Elijah Thomas signs with DB Promy". Sportando. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  19. "Ο Elijah Thomas στην Λάρισα…". Larissanet (in Greek). January 12, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  20. "Elijah Thomas International Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  21. "Elijah Thomas signs with BC Kyiv-Basket". Sportando. January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  22. "Bnei Herzliya sign Elijah Thomas". Sportando. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
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