Nate “The Great” Thurmond

Before Steph, before Barry's sweep, there was a 6 foot 11 center from Akron who made San Francisco proud to have a basketball team. Nate Thurmond was the Warriors for eleven seasons, and the best big men of his time said he was the hardest guy they ever had to play.

He was born July 25, 1941, in Akron, Ohio, and played high school ball with Gus Johnson. He turned down Ohio State so he wouldn't sit behind Jerry Lucas and went to Bowling Green, where he led the conference in rebounding all three varsity years.

The San Francisco Warriors drafted him third overall in 1963. As a rookie he backed up Wilt Chamberlain, made the All Rookie team, and the Warriors went to the 1964 Finals. Midway through the next season the Warriors traded Wilt, and the middle was all Nate's.

He went off. On February 28, 1965, at Baltimore, he pulled down 18 rebounds in one quarter, an NBA record that still stands. On November 9, 1965, he grabbed 42 against Detroit. Only Wilt, Bill Russell and Jerry Lucas ever had 40 in a game.

In 1966/67 he averaged 21.3 rebounds and finished second to Chamberlain in MVP voting, and he and Rick Barry took the Warriors back to the Finals against Wilt's 76ers. He averaged 23.1 rebounds in those playoffs. In Game 6 he crashed into the basket support chasing a layup and had to leave, and the Warriors lost by three.

Then he became a scorer too, averaging more than 20 points a game for five straight seasons from 1967/68 through 1971/72. His best year was 1968/69, at 21.5 points and 19.7 rebounds. He played in seven All Star Games as a Warrior and made the All Defensive team five times.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar called him the toughest defender he ever faced. Thurmond knew people overlooked him because he wasn't flashy. He didn't care much. He said he never wanted to walk off a court where his opponent didn't respect him.

In September 1974 the Warriors traded him to Chicago for Clifford Ray. In his first game as a Bull he had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks, the first official quadruple double in NBA history. That spring, the Warriors beat his Bulls in Game 7 of the West finals on the way to the 1975 title.

He finished his career in Cleveland, where he helped the 1976 Cavaliers, the Miracle of Richfield team, reach the conference finals. He retired after 1976/77 with career averages of 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds.

The Warriors retired number 42 on March 8, 1978, and the Cavaliers retired it too. He went into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

He never left San Francisco. He opened Big Nate's BBQ and ran it for 20 years, served the Warriors as a legend and ambassador, and rode in the 2015 championship parade. He died of leukemia on July 16, 2016, nine days before his 75th birthday, and the Warriors wore his number on their jerseys that season.

Thurmond's clutch was the other team's best player having a bad night. Kareem said when he scored on Nate, he knew he'd done something. Walt Hazzard said guys would grab an offensive rebound and back out 15 feet just to get a shot off, because they knew Nate was there.

He was at his best when the season was on the line. In the 1967 playoffs he averaged 23.1 rebounds over 15 games, against Wilt in the Finals. In the 1972 playoffs against Milwaukee and a young Kareem, he averaged 25.4 points and 17.8 rebounds.

Even at the end, when he was 34 and coming off the bench, he gave Cleveland the lift that turned a 6 and 11 team into the Miracle of Richfield. Big games found Nate Thurmond, and he answered.