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Ask most any Spurs player for a thumbnail assessment of his newest teammate, and two adjectives will pop up most often.
Kurt Thomas is tough. Kurt Thomas is smart.
If you ask Thomas, becoming both of the above was easy. All he had to do was break both his ankles a total of four times over a two-year span.
A freak rash of injuries forced him to the sidelines in 1997-98, some thought for good. He became a basketball oddity: a Dallas Mavericks assistant coach at the ripe age of 25.
"A lot of people thought my career was coming to an end," recalled Thomas, now a 35-year-old journeyman. "But I always felt that as soon as I was healthy I'd get back out there again."
To get back on the floor, Thomas was forced to fight. And he was forced to learn.
Thomas, acquired last week from Seattle in a deadline trade for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a draft pick, is expected to make his Spurs debut tonight against Atlanta.
A 6-foot-9 banger, Thomas affords the Spurs a physical presence on the front line, a savvy rebounder and defender who won't mind playing bodyguard off the bench for All-Star big man Tim Duncan.
"He's a total professional," coach Gregg Popovich said, offering perhaps the highest praise in his personal lexicon.
Looking back, Thomas doesn't think he'd be here — in San Antonio, poised to help the defending NBA champions during their stretch run — had his ankles not betrayed him in Dallas.
"I definitely look at that as a blessing," said Thomas, a 12-year NBA veteran. "Not a negative."
The injuries made him tougher.
Playing on two reconstructed ankles has robbed Thomas of the physical gifts that made him a collegiate star at TCU, where in 1994-95 he became one of three players in history to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding.
Instead, he has learned to get by in the NBA on a combination of guile and guts.
Thomas has made a living by relentlessly attacking rebounds, and by sculpting himself into a superior interior defender capable of pestering players larger than him (just ask Duncan, who found himself grappling with Thomas in last year's Western Conference semifinals series against Phoenix).
"He's a tough player," guard Manu Ginobili said. "And we all like that."
Thomas, who owns career averages of 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds, brings more than beef to the Spurs' front line. His game is as much a product of brains as brawn.
This is where his brief stint as the NBA's youngest assistant comes in.
Thomas saw action in just five games during his short-lived Mavericks playing career. When it became clear that his ankles weren't going to allow him to finish the 1997-98 season, Dallas general manager Don Nelson made Thomas an assistant coach.
The job changed his approach to the game, as well as the course of his career.
"It really showed me what the coaches are thinking," Thomas said. "I got to see the game plan from the other side. It was definitely big, showing me how coaches break down film, how they draw up plays and how they prepare for the opposing team."
When Thomas resumed his playing career a year later in New York, he was a different player. He was smarter.
Drawn to his rare blend of toughness and intelligence, the Spurs coveted Thomas for years before finally landing him.
"He sees the game like a guard," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said.
As such, the Spurs don't believe Thomas will have much trouble acclimating to a new offensive system. On Sunday, after his first practice with the Spurs, Thomas spent an extra half-hour running through the offense with assistant Mike Budenholzer.
"It's going to take me a little while to get used to all the plays, the new system and get used to playing with my new teammates," Thomas said. "But I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity."
The Spurs, meanwhile, look forward to getting their newest acquisition acclimated. After all, there is always room in a playoff run for smart and tough.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...SA.0225.2008.bkn-spurs-thomas.EN.38323c7.html
Kurt Thomas is tough. Kurt Thomas is smart.
If you ask Thomas, becoming both of the above was easy. All he had to do was break both his ankles a total of four times over a two-year span.
A freak rash of injuries forced him to the sidelines in 1997-98, some thought for good. He became a basketball oddity: a Dallas Mavericks assistant coach at the ripe age of 25.
"A lot of people thought my career was coming to an end," recalled Thomas, now a 35-year-old journeyman. "But I always felt that as soon as I was healthy I'd get back out there again."
To get back on the floor, Thomas was forced to fight. And he was forced to learn.
Thomas, acquired last week from Seattle in a deadline trade for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a draft pick, is expected to make his Spurs debut tonight against Atlanta.
A 6-foot-9 banger, Thomas affords the Spurs a physical presence on the front line, a savvy rebounder and defender who won't mind playing bodyguard off the bench for All-Star big man Tim Duncan.
"He's a total professional," coach Gregg Popovich said, offering perhaps the highest praise in his personal lexicon.
Looking back, Thomas doesn't think he'd be here — in San Antonio, poised to help the defending NBA champions during their stretch run — had his ankles not betrayed him in Dallas.
"I definitely look at that as a blessing," said Thomas, a 12-year NBA veteran. "Not a negative."
The injuries made him tougher.
Playing on two reconstructed ankles has robbed Thomas of the physical gifts that made him a collegiate star at TCU, where in 1994-95 he became one of three players in history to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding.
Instead, he has learned to get by in the NBA on a combination of guile and guts.
Thomas has made a living by relentlessly attacking rebounds, and by sculpting himself into a superior interior defender capable of pestering players larger than him (just ask Duncan, who found himself grappling with Thomas in last year's Western Conference semifinals series against Phoenix).
"He's a tough player," guard Manu Ginobili said. "And we all like that."
Thomas, who owns career averages of 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds, brings more than beef to the Spurs' front line. His game is as much a product of brains as brawn.
This is where his brief stint as the NBA's youngest assistant comes in.
Thomas saw action in just five games during his short-lived Mavericks playing career. When it became clear that his ankles weren't going to allow him to finish the 1997-98 season, Dallas general manager Don Nelson made Thomas an assistant coach.
The job changed his approach to the game, as well as the course of his career.
"It really showed me what the coaches are thinking," Thomas said. "I got to see the game plan from the other side. It was definitely big, showing me how coaches break down film, how they draw up plays and how they prepare for the opposing team."
When Thomas resumed his playing career a year later in New York, he was a different player. He was smarter.
Drawn to his rare blend of toughness and intelligence, the Spurs coveted Thomas for years before finally landing him.
"He sees the game like a guard," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said.
As such, the Spurs don't believe Thomas will have much trouble acclimating to a new offensive system. On Sunday, after his first practice with the Spurs, Thomas spent an extra half-hour running through the offense with assistant Mike Budenholzer.
"It's going to take me a little while to get used to all the plays, the new system and get used to playing with my new teammates," Thomas said. "But I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity."
The Spurs, meanwhile, look forward to getting their newest acquisition acclimated. After all, there is always room in a playoff run for smart and tough.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...SA.0225.2008.bkn-spurs-thomas.EN.38323c7.html
