Billy Thomas

Infobox Euroleague Player
name = Billy Thomas
nickname =


caption =
league = Greek League
height_ft = 6
height_in = 5
weight_lb = 220
position = Shooting guard
birth_date = birth date and age|1975|12|23
birth_place = Shreveport, Louisiana
highschool =
college = University of Kansas
team = Kavala-Panorama
number =
nationality = USA
highschool = Loyola College Prep
draft = Undrafted
career_start = 1999
career_end =
former_teams = Regatas (1998–99)
Cincinnati Stuff (2000–01)
Kansas Cagerz (2001, 2003, 2007)
Greenville Groove (2001–2003)
Coop Nordest Trieste (2003–04)
Dakota Wizards (2005, 2006)
New Jersey Nets (2005, 2008)
Washington Wizards (2006)
Sioux Falls Skyforce (2006)
Red Star Belgrade (2006–07)
Colorado 14ers (2007–08)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2008)
awards =

Billy Thomas (born December 23, 1975 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American professional basketball player. He is a 6'5" (1.96 m) tall shooting guard. He last played in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

College career

Thomas' college career was an unlikely one. While scouting another player, the University of Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team head coach Roy Williams kept noticing Thomas making long jump shots. Thomas had not been a highly recruited player, but Williams saw something special in him and offered Thomas a scholarship. In his college career, Thomas set a KU record making 269 3-point field goals (that record was later broken by Jeff Boschee). He also holds the school record for 3-point field goals made in a conference game, connecting on eight of them in a game against Texas on January 10th, 1998.

Professional career

He went undrafted after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1998 and began his NBA career during the 2004-2005 season by signing a 10-day contract with the New Jersey Nets on January 20th, 2005. Thomas later signed a second 10-day contract and eventually was signed for the remainder of the season. He appeared in 25 games that year and averaged 3.7 points per game.

On March 3rd, 2006, he signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards. He played in 17 games and averaged 2.2 points per game.

Thomas has played in numerous leagues during his professional basketball career: the NBA, the USBL, the CBA, the IBL, the D-League, the Argentine League, the Italian League, the Serbian League, the Adriatic League, and the ULEB Cup. His ability, unselfishness, and fun-loving attitude have made him a fan favorite throughout his career.

2007-2008 season

Thomas began the 2007-2008 season with the Colorado 14ers of the D-League. In 27 games (27 starts), prior to his second NBA call-up, Thomas averaged 15.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Thomas was selected to play in the 2008 D-League All-Star Game.

On December 24th, 2007, Thomas was signed to a ten-day contract with the New Jersey Nets. He played in four games with the Nets, scoring a total of two points.

On February 22, 2008, Thomas was signed to a ten-day contract by the Cleveland Cavaliers so they would have enough players to face the Washington Wizards that night, due to a depleted roster because of a blockbuster trade the day prior. [ [http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/15874817.html Cavs sign minor-leaguers.] ] Thomas saw his first action as a Cavalier that very night, playing 19 minutes and scoring 9 points on three three-point shots. Thomas hoisted 11 three point field goals attempts, his career high. [ [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/billy_thomas/game_by_game_stats.html Billy Thomas Profile.] ]

On March 3rd, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Thomas to a second ten-day contract. [ [http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/dickens_thomas_080303.html Cavaliers Sign Dickens, Thomas To Second 10-Day Contracts.] ] His contract expired on March 13th, 2008, allowing him to become a free agent.

On March 20th, 2008, Thomas returned to the Colorado 14ers. In his first game back with the 14ers, Thomas put up 14 points.

On April 16th, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Thomas for the remainder of the season and the 2008 playoffs. [ [http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/thomas_signs_080416.html Cavaliers Sign Billy Thomas.] ] He played in seven regular season games for the Cavaliers scoring 12 total points (on four three-point field goals made) grabbed two rebounds and made one steal.

Thomas logged eight minutes over three playoff games. He scored three points (on a three point field goal) and had a rebound, an assist and a steal.

2008 NBA Summer League

Thomas played for the Cavaliers' NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas. He started both games that he played and averaged five points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal and a half a block per game. [ [http://www.nba.com/summerleague2008/players/index.jsp?player=billy_thomas Billy Thomas Summer League Statistics.] ]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | New Jersey
25 || 0 || 14.2 || .362 || .304 || .778 || 1.4 || .7 || .6 || .0 || 3.7
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Washington
17 || 0 || 7.7 || .325 || .333 || 1.000 || .8 || .5 || .6 || .1 || 2.2
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | New Jersey
4 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || 1.000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Cleveland
7 || 0 || 4.9 || .286 || .308 || .000 || .3 || .0 || .1 || .0 || 1.7
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
53 || 0 || 10.0 || .338 || .304 || .846 || 1.0 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 2.7
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Playoffs

-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | New Jersey
2 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Washington
3 || 0 || 4.7 || .000 || .000 || .500 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .7
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Cleveland
3 || 0 || 2.7 || .500 || .500 || .000 || .3 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 1.0
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
8 || 0 || 3.0 || .100 || .167 || .500 || .3 || .1 || .1 || .0 || .6
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/billy_thomas/ NBA.com Profile - Billy Thomas]
* [http://basketpedya.com/Acc002InfJug.php?idjug=8070&idioma=3 Basketpedya.com Player Profile]