Tim Thomas

Timothy Mark Thomas (born February 26, 1977) is an American basketball coach and former professional player.

He was a highly ranked prospect while playing at Paterson Catholic High School in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey.

He was ranked as the no. 2 recruit in the nation behind only Kobe Bryant whom almost joined him at Villanova after the two both played in the 1996 High School McDonald's All-American game, the All-Star Magic Johnson Roundball Classic game, as well as AAU which they dominated together.

Thomas considered making the jump straight to the NBA from high school, waiting to declare his decision to attend college at Villanova until just days before the deadline to enter the NBA draft.

Thomas made his mark in his one season of college basketball at Villanova University.

Joining a future NBA talent-laden team with Alvin Williams, Jason Lawson, John Celestand and Malik Allen, he filled the void of former Big East Player of the Year Kerry Kittles from the year before and helped lead the Wildcats to a Big East regular season title under head coach Steve Lappas.

Villanova took second place in the Big East tournament, while Thomas was named to both All-Big East and All-Big East Tournament teams as well as win Big East Rookie of the Year award while averaging 17 points and 6 rebounds per game.

Thomas played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats and declared for the 1997 NBA draft after his freshman season.

He spent thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks.

Thomas serves as the head coach of the boys basketball team at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey.

A versatile 6ft 10in forward with a soft shooting touch, Thomas was tabbed as a future NBA star when he was still in high school, and was selected to the McDonald's All-American team after averaging 25.3 points and 14.5 rebounds per game as a senior at Paterson Catholic High School.

Villanova would make the 1997 NCAA tournament but lost in second round to California, which featured future NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.

Following his freshman year at Villanova, he was drafted seventh overall by the New Jersey Nets in the 1997 NBA draft and was immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the 76ers' draft pick (Keith Van Horn).

Thomas enjoyed a solid rookie season, averaging 11 points per game, and was named to the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team.

The trade also sent Keith Van Horn, whom Thomas was also traded for during the 1997 draft, from the Knicks to the Bucks, Nazr Mohammed from the Hawks to the Knicks, Joel Przybilla from the Bucks to the Hawks, and Michael Doleac from the Knicks to the Hawks.

During game 1 of the Knicks' first-round playoff series against the Nets, Thomas suffered an injury that kept him out of the remainder of the playoffs, when he was fouled by Jason Collins and taken out of the game on a stretcher.

The incident started a long feud with Nets forward Kenyon Martin, who Thomas called a fake tough guy, that continued past both players' playing careers.

On February 14, 1998, in possibly the best game of his rookie season, Thomas scored 27 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a loss against the Nets.

The 76ers would grow impatient with a sophomore slump from Thomas, though, and in 1999 he and Scott Williams were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Jerald Honeycutt and Tyrone Hill.

Milwaukee was enamored with Thomas's raw talent and versatility, and hoped he could blossom into a star with more seasoning.

On May 13, 1999, in the deciding game of Milwaukee's first round series versus the Indiana Pacers, Thomas scored 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 99-91 loss.

On March 2, 2000, Thomas scored 26 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in a loss against the Knicks.

During the 2000–01 season, he averaged a career-high 13.4 ppg for the Bucks.

On January 5, 2001, Thomas connected on eight three-point field goals in the second half of Milwaukee's 119–115 loss to Portland in which he finished with a career-high 39 points.

During that year's postseason, on April 28, Thomas scored 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a Game 4 win against Tracy McGrady and the Orlando Magic.

The Bucks would ultimately come up short against that season's MVP, Allen Iverson, in a tightly contested Eastern Conference Finals against the 76ers, Thomas' former team.

Nevertheless, after a strong playoff performance that year, Thomas signed a new deal with the Bucks worth roughly $66 million over six years, despite being offered more money by Chicago.

Upon signing the deal, Bucks owner Herb Kohl said "Tim is a very vital part of this team, and we were willing to take any steps we needed to keep him in town.″ On January 11, 2002, Thomas scored 25 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a 105-86 win against the Washington Wizards. Four days later, Thomas again scored 25 points, this time in a 106-102 win over the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks would miss that season's playoffs, their first postseason miss during Thomas' tenure.

On December 9, 2002, Thomas scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in a 140-133 double overtime win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On April 19, 2003, Thomas scored a playoff career-high 25 points in a Game 1 loss versus the New Jersey Nets.

The Bucks would go on to lose the series in 6 games.

During his time with the Bucks, then-teammate Ray Allen was quoted as saying, "If he wanted to, Tim Thomas could be the best player in the league."

While on the Bucks, Thomas was known to wear a customized version of his own jersey that said "Notorious T.I.M."

on the back while making public appearances at events.

On February 16, 2004, Thomas was traded to the New York Knicks in a three-team trade that also included the Atlanta Hawks.

Prior to the 2005–06 season, Thomas was traded to the Chicago Bulls, along with Jermaine Jackson, Mike Sweetney, a 2006 1st-round draft pick, a 2007 1st-round draft pick, a 2007 2nd-round draft pick and a 2009 2nd-round draft pick, in exchange for Eddy Curry, Antonio Davis and a 2007 1st-round draft pick.

In 2017, Thomas rehashed their feud on an episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.

Thomas told Brandon Scoop B Robinson that he'd like to settle his feud with Martin once and for all with a boxing match.

The proceeds would go to the charity of their choice.

Martin declined.