Etan Thomas

infobox NBA Player
name = Etan Thomas


position = Center
height_ft = 6
height_in = 10
weight_lbs = 260
nickname =
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1978|4|1
birth_place = Harlem, New York
league = NBA
team = Washington Wizards
number = 36
college = Syracuse University
draft = 12th overall
draft_year = 2000
draft_team = Dallas Mavericks
career_start = 2001
career_end =
former_teams =
awards =

Dedreck Etan Thomas, commonly referred to as Etan Thomas (born April 1 1978 in Harlem, New York), is an American professional basketball player in the NBA with the Washington Wizards.

College

Etan Thomas played college basketball at Syracuse University from 1996-2000, where he averaged 11 points per game and almost 7 rebounds per game. His senior year he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. At the end of his Syracuse career, Thomas was drafted 12th overall in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Without ever playing a game for the Mavericks, he was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2001 and has averaged 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds throughout his career.

Personal life

In 2005, Thomas released a book of poetry titled "More Than an Athlete: Poems by Etan Thomas" which included works critical of former Wizards head coach Doug Collins. Thomas is known as an articulate writer and has contributed articles to various magazines and websites.

In September 2005, Thomas was one of several celebrities to speak at the anti-war rally in Washington D.C.. He has since posted on Huffington Post.

He also spoke out at the September 15, 2007 anti-war protest in Washington D.C.] . [ [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/etan-thomas/in-defense-of-barack-obam_b_70922.html Etan Thomas: In Defense of Barack Obama] ]

Thomas has actively supported Senator Barack Obama's campaign for president. On August 16, 2008, he appeared with Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean at stops in northern Virginia as part of the Democratic National Committee's "Register for Change" bus tour to encourage local voter registration drives. Thomas gave speeches at two stops in Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria. [ [http://www.democrats.org/a/2008/08/howard_dean_pub.php Publicity release on DNC schedule for August 2008 bus tour] ]

Feud with Brendan Haywood

In 2006 he beat out Brendan Haywood to become the starting center for the Washington Wizards, but Haywood regained the starting job by the spring of 2007. Throughout the 2006-2007 season, both Haywood and Thomas got into several physical altercations. They showed a visible dislike for one another at games, going as far as refusing to acknowledge one another during games. Prior to the 2007-2008 season, Haywood claims the fighting has ceased, "I told somebody that Ali and Frazier only fought three times so that has to be the end of it for me and Etan. At the end of the day, we both have a mutual respect for each other and we realize that we embarrass ourselves, our team and our families every time we go out there and act silly. You can always talk things out before you fight. Besides, he's a peace activist so he can't do that anyway." [ [http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/10/02/brendan-haywood-no-more-fights-with-etan/ Brendan Haywood: No More Fights with Etan - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog ] ]

Health concerns

During the Wizards' training camp for the 2007-08 NBA season, Thomas found out in a routine physical examination that he had a cardiac irregularity. On October 11, 2007 Thomas successfully underwent open heart surgery, he is currently participating in full contact practice with the Wizards, and is expected to return sometime during April 2008. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3060515 ESPN - Return to NBA not ruled out for Thomas after heart surgery Unfortunately Thomas was not able to return. He is expected to be back for the 2008-09 season.- NBA ] ]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 2001–02
align="left" | Washington
47 || 0 || 13.1 || .536 || .000 || .554 || 3.9 || .1 || .4 || .7 || 4.3
-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Washington
38 || 0 || 13.5 || .492 || .000 || .638 || 4.3 || .1 || .2 || .6 || 4.8
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Washington
79 || 15 || 24.1 || .489 || .000 || .647 || 6.7 || .9 || .5 || 1.6 || 8.9
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Washington
47 || 10 || 20.8 || .502 || .000 || .528 || 5.2 || .4 || .4 || 1.1 || 7.1
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Washington
71 || 9 || 15.8 || .533 || .000 || .600 || 3.9 || .2 || .3 || 1.0 || 4.7
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Washington
65 || 32 || 19.2 || .574 || .000 || .558 || 5.8 || .4 || .3 || 1.4 || 6.1
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
347 || 66 || 18.4 || .517 || .000 || .598 || 5.1 || .4 || .3 || 1.1 || 6.2
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Playoffs

-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Washington
8 || 0 || 15.8 || .655 || .000 || .455 || 4.5 || .3 || .0 || .9 || 6.0
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Washington
3 || 0 || 6.0 || .400 || .000 || .500 || 2.0 || .0 || .7 || .7 || 2.0
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Washington
4 || 4 || 21.0 || .412 || .000 || .667 || 5.5 || .3 || .5 || .8 || 5.0
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
15 || 4 || 15.2 || .549 || .000 || .514 || 4.3 || .2 || .3 || .8 || 4.9
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/etan_thomas/ NBA.com Profile - Etan Thomas]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3411 ESPN.com Profile - Etan Thomas]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomaet01.html Basketball-Reference Profile - Etan Thomas]
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/etan-thomas/ Etan Thomas on Huffington Post]
* [http://www.orangehoops.org/EThomas.htm/ OrangeHoops Profile on Etan Thomas]
* [http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0927-20.htm The Speech Everyone Is Talking About: Etan Thomas Electrifies Anti-War Washington] Dave Zirin, Commondreams.org, Sept 27, 2005.