Elijah Thomas
American basketball player (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elijah Reshard Thomas (born October 10, 1996)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Al Ahli Manama of the FIBA West Asia Super League. He played college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies and Clemson Tigers.
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Thomas with Clemson in 2018 | |
| No. 2 – Al Ahli Manama | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| League | FIBA West Asia Super League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 10, 1996 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College | |
| NBA draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020 | Larisa |
| 2020 | Steaua București |
| 2021 | Bnei Herzliya |
| 2021 | Grises de Humacao |
| 2021 | Windy City Bulls |
| 2022 | Taoyuan Leopards |
| 2022 | Titanes del Distrito Nacional |
| 2022 | Gladiadores de Anzoátegui |
| 2022 | Earthfriends Tokyo Z |
| 2023 | Kaohsiung Aquas |
| 2023 | Pioneros de Los Mochis |
| 2023 | Final Gençlik |
| 2023 | Wellington Saints |
| 2023 | Sagesse Club |
| 2024 | Çayırova Belediyesi |
| 2024 | Nalaikh Bison |
| 2024–present | Al Ahli Manama |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Early life
Thomas grew up in South Dallas and befriended Jordan Mickey in elementary school. When Deion Sanders opened Prime Prep Academy, both Mickey and Thomas decided to join.[2] Prior to his junior season, Thomas transferred to Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Texas.[3] In the final game of the regular season, he had 39 points and 20 rebounds as Lancaster defeated MacArthur High School 87–66.[4] Thomas was named District 15-4A most valuable player as a junior.[5] As a senior, he helped the team win the Class 5A state championship and averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds per game.[6][7] Ranked the No. 29 recruit in his class according to ESPN, he committed to Texas A&M, the first school to offer him a scholarship, on October 21, 2014. Thomas chose the Aggies over offers from Illinois, LSU, Oklahoma State and SMU.[8]
College career
Thomas averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, but saw his minutes decline due to the emergence of Tyler Davis.[9] On January 6, 2016, he announced he was transferring to Clemson after taking visits to Nebraska and Arizona.[10] As a sophomore, Thomas averaged 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[11] On November 24, 2017, he posted career highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds in an 84–77 victory over Texas Southern.[12] He averaged 10.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game as a junior, shooting 56 percent from the floor. Thomas was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team.[13] He had nine double-doubles and helped the Tigers reach to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997.[14] As a senior, Thomas averaged 13 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.[15] He was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the second straight season, as well as Honorable Mention All-ACC.[16] He was the seventh Clemson player to compile 900 points, 600 rebounds and 150 blocks.[17]
Professional career
After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Thomas joined the Charlotte Hornets for NBA Summer League.[18] On July 18, 2019, he signed his first professional contract with Wonju DB Promy of the Korean Basketball League.[19] On October 3, he was replaced by Chinanu Onuaku due to injury.[20] On January 12, 2020, Thomas signed with Larisa of the Greek Basket League.[21] In five games, he averaged 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[22]
Thomas started the 2020–21 season in Romania with Steaua București.[23] In January 2021, after initially signing with Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague,[24] he joined Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League for the rest of the season.[25]
In August and September 2021, Thomas had a four-game stint in Puerto Rico with Grises de Humacao.[23]
In October 2021, Thomas joined the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League after a successful tryout.[26] He was waived on December 25, 2021.[27] On February 18, 2022, he signed with Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League for the rest of the 2021–22 season.[28]
In July 2022, Thomas had a two-game stint with Titanes del Distrito Nacional in the Dominican Republic and a one-game stint with Gladiadores de Anzoátegui in Venezuela.[23][29]
In August 2022, Thomas signed with Earthfriends Tokyo Z.[30] In November 2022, his contract was terminated.[31] He returned to Taiwan in January 2023 and joined Kaohsiung Aquas.[32] He was released from his contract in March.[33] After a one-game stint with Pioneros de Los Mochis in Mexico, he joined Turkish team Final Gençlik in April 2023.[23]
On June 22, 2023, Thomas signed with the Wellington Saints for the rest of the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.[34]
In November 2023, Thomas had a two-game stint with Sagesse Club of the Lebanese Basketball League.[23]
