Melvin Thomas

Nationality: USA/AUS
Date of Birth: 25/02/68
Place of Birth: Demopolis, Alabama (USA)
Position: FRD
Height (CM): 200
Weight (KG): 98
Junior Assoc: None
College: Texas - Pan American

NBL DEBUT: 4/04/92
AGE AT DEBUT: 24
LAST NBL GAME: 17/02/06
AGE AT LAST GAME: 38
NBL History: Illawarra 1992-95, 2000-03 | Sydney 1996-97 | Canberra 1998-99 | Cairns 2004-06
Championships: 1
Wollongong (2001)

NICKNAME/S: Melly Mel

BIO: Melvin Thomas was born in Demopolis, Alabama (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Melvin Thomas made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 24 years of age. He scored 17 points in his first game.

In 1996 Thomas averaged 20.9 points and 9.3 rebounds, and helped guide the Kings to a fifth place finish in the regular season with a 16-10 record.

In 1997 Thomas averaged 18.9 points and 10.7 rebounds, and helped guide the Kings to a ninth-place finish during the regular season with a 12-18 record.

1998 saw Thomas average 18.2 points and 8.9 rebounds and play a key role in helping the Cannons to a seventh-place finish during the regular season with a 14-16 record.

During the 1998/99 season Thomas averaged 21.1 points and 9.5 rebounds but the Cannons struggled to be competitive and finished the year with a record of 8-18 .

At 33, Thomas had played in just 12 playoff games in his nine-year NBL career for only two wins and so he returned to the team where it all started for the 1999/00 season, somewhere his career 22.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game would be better appreciated. Thomas averaged 19.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, and helped guide the Hawks to a eighth place finish in the regular season with a 11-17 record.

Prior to the start of the 2000/01 season, coach Brendan Joyce turned over almost half his roster, adding Axel Dench, Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, and Grant Kruger. Thomas added 18.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists for the season as the team finished fourth in the regular season with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games. Wollongong would upset Perth in game one of the qualifying finals behind a 22 point, 13 rebound effort from Melvin Thomas, a 19 point effort from Damon Lowery and 10 points and 5 rebounds from Campbell to win at home 97–90

The Hawks fell short in game two in Perth, 95–106 with Dench struggling to get going offensively, he finished with only 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. This set up a Game 3, held in Perth, where the Hawks won a major upset thanks to a 26 point, 16 rebound performance from Glen Saville and 20 point game from Lowery. Campbell also added 6 points and 3 rebounds with the Hawks winning 98–88.

This set up a semi-final matchup with the Adelaide 36ers and their stars Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks. Campbell added 10 points and big games from Hawks stars Melvin Thomas (18 points and 13 rebounds) and Charles Thomas (17 points and 6 rebounds) saw the team able to squeak out a narrow 84-83 game win in the series opener. The Hawks would return to Wollongong but lose game two 100–111 with Campbell contributing 14 points in the loss. Then, in the deciding game the Hawks would win game three in a nail biter at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre when Damon Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock, propelling the team into the 2001 NBL Grand Final to face the Townsville Crocodiles. Dench also added 10 points and 3 rebounds in the deciding game

The Hawks went on to face the Townsville Crocodiles in the 2001 NBL Grand Final, winning game one at home 104-101 with Melvin Thomas continuing to lead the way, contributing 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists. Campbell also added 19 points. Then, the series would shift to Townsville for games two and three and the Crocodiles rebounded at home winning the second game 114–97 after shutting down the Hawks offensively with Campbell only able to score four points. game three was a gruelling matchup, played the very next day where the blue-collar Hawks snuck out the three-point victory 97-94, Charles Thomas top scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, Melvin Thomas scoring 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds, and Glen Saville collecting 18 points and 12 rebounds to claim the NBL Finals MVP. Campbell was also a big part of the win, scoring 10 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. The Hawks 2–1 victory saw them become the first New South Wales club to win a NBL championship.

Prior to the start of the 2000/01 season, coach Brendan Joyce changed almost half his roster, adding Charles Thomas, Damon Lowery, Grant Kruger, Matt Shanahan and Axel Dench. In 2000/01, Melvin was a man on a mission and while leading the team in scoring (18.5 points per game) and finishing second in rebounding (9.5 per game).

After finishing the regular season in fourth with a club-best 21 wins from 28 games, Wollongong upset Perth in game one of the qualifying finals behind a 22 point, 13 rebound effort from Melvin Thomas, a 19 point effort from Damon Lowery and 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists from Charles Thomas to win at home 97–90

The Hawks fell short in game two in Perth, 95–106 with Thomas struggling to get going. He finished with only 6 points and 7 rebounds. This set up a Game 3, held in Perth, where the Hawks won a major upset thanks to a 26 point, 16 rebound performance from Glen Saville, a 20 point game from Lowery and 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists from Charles Thomas to win 98–88. Melvin was again stifled by the Wildcat’s defence, having his worst shooting game for the season (2 from 9 field goals) and finished with 9 points.

This set up a semi-final matchup with the Adelaide 36ers and their stars Darnell Mee and Kevin Brooks. Melvin Thomas returned to his regular form and notched up 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists while Charles Thomas added 17 points and 6 rebounds as the Hawks squeaked out a narrow 84-83 game win over the 36ers in the series opener. The Hawks would return to Wollongong but lose Game 2, 100–111 despite another great game from Melvin Thomas (22 points and 11 rebounds) and then in the deciding game the Hawks won game three in a nail biter at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre when Damon Lowery sunk three free throws with no time on the clock, propelling the team into the 2001 NBL Grand Final to face the Townsville Crocodiles. Thomas was huge in the deciding game, delivering one of his best games of the season, finishing with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

The Hawks went on to face the Townsville Crocodiles in the 2001 NBL Grand Final, winning game one at home 104-101 with Thomas continuing to lead the way, contributing 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 assists. The series would shift to Townsville for games two and three and the Crocodiles rebounded at home winning the second game 114–97 as they suceeded in slowing down Melvin Thomas who finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds on the box score. game three was a gruelling matchup, played the very next day where the blue-collar Hawks snuck out the three-point victory 97-94, Charles Thomas top scoring with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, Melvin Thomas scoring 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds as Glen Saville contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds to claim the NBL Finals MVP. The Hawks 2–1 victory saw them become the first New South Wales club to win a NBL championship.

Melvin Thomas played fifteen seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Illawarra Hawks, Canberra Cannons, Wollongong Hawks, Sydney Kings and Cairns Taipans. He averaged 18.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 433 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 36th in total games played.
– 15th in total points
– 9th in total rebounds
– 35th in total assists
– 22nd in total steals
– 8th in total blocks

Dan Boyce (827 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.

NBL TOTAL STATISTICS

SEASON	AGE	TEAM	TEAM RECORD	GP	MINS	PTS	REB	AST	OR	DR	STL	BLK	TO	PF	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TS%	EFG%	HS
2005-06	38	Cairns	18-14 (5)	36	678.0	229	138	31	35	103	26	12	49	96	77	204	38%	0	8	0%	75	114	66%	44%	38%	20
2004-05	37	Cairns	11-21 (10)	27	679.0	275	167	33	60	107	22	11	52	86	109	243	45%	1	7	14%	56	76	74%	49%	45%	19
2003-04	36	Cairns	16-17 (6)	20	600.0	281	155	52	57	98	19	20	61	59	108	235	46%	6	23	26%	59	77	77%	52%	47%	30
2002-03	35	Wollongong	18-12 (4)	31	1,000.0	450	238	59	80	158	32	17	74	110	167	354	47%	9	32	28%	107	149	72%	53%	48%	27
2001-02	34	Wollongong	16-14 (4)	32	1,178.0	470	309	75	119	190	27	34	96	124	193	424	46%	6	13	46%	78	112	70%	49%	46%	27
2000-01	33	Wollongong	21-7 (4)	35	1,270.0	653	332	81	116	216	45	29	110	126	260	491	53%	1	5	20%	132	187	71%	56%	53%	32
1999-00	32	Wollongong	11-17 (8)	28	1,045.0	550	242	67	88	154	34	20	85	106	206	409	50%	2	12	17%	136	186	73%	55%	51%	32
1998-99	31	Canberra	8-18 (11)	26	1,049.0	549	246	82	75	171	34	30	84	86	205	400	51%	7	22	32%	132	172	77%	57%	52%	28
1998	30	Canberra	14-16 (7)	30	1,056.0	546	266	53	110	156	31	33	90	113	218	435	50%	1	11	9%	109	142	77%	54%	50%	29
1997	29	Sydney	12-18 (9)	30	1,279.0	568	320	88	99	221	48	25	93	98	229	445	51%	7	18	39%	103	130	79%	56%	52%	30
1996	28	Sydney	16-10 (5)	29	1,230.0	605	269	127	75	194	32	54	110	107	224	453	49%	4	16	25%	153	196	78%	55%	50%	31
1995	27	Illawarra	14-12 (7)	29	1,281.0	784	294	132	73	221	51	52	151	106	306	587	52%	16	61	26%	156	217	72%	57%	53%	39
1994	26	Illawarra	13-13 (10)	26	1,087.0	696	291	100	91	200	47	54	113	91	272	527	52%	11	33	33%	141	189	75%	56%	53%	40
1993	25	Illawarra	15-11 (6)	28	1,202.0	719	306	106	90	216	54	41	114	99	284	593	48%	5	26	19%	146	200	73%	52%	48%	36
1992	24	Illawarra	13-11 (5)	26	1,099.0	583	305	109	115	190	42	70	105	108	237	425	56%	0	7	0%	109	148	74%	59%	56%	32
Totals				433	15733	7958	3878	1195	1283	2595	544	502	1387	1515	3095	6225	49.7%	76	294	25.9%	1692	2295	73.7%	55%	50%	40

NBL PER GAME STATISTICS

SEASON	AGE	TEAM	TEAM RECORD	GP	MINS	PTS	REB	AST	OR	DR	STL	BLK	TO	PF	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TS%	EFG%	HS
2005-06	38	Cairns	18-14 (5)	36	18.8	6.4	3.8	0.9	1.0	2.9	0.7	0.3	1.4	2.7	2.1	5.7	38%	0.0	0.2	0%	2.1	3.2	66%	44%	38%	20
2004-05	37	Cairns	11-21 (10)	27	25.1	10.2	6.2	1.2	2.2	4.0	0.8	0.4	1.9	3.2	4.0	9.0	45%	0.0	0.3	14%	2.1	2.8	74%	49%	45%	19
2003-04	36	Cairns	16-17 (6)	20	30.0	14.1	7.8	2.6	2.9	4.9	1.0	1.0	3.1	3.0	5.4	11.8	46%	0.3	1.2	26%	3.0	3.9	77%	52%	47%	30
2002-03	35	Wollongong	18-12 (4)	31	32.3	14.5	7.7	1.9	2.6	5.1	1.0	0.5	2.4	3.5	5.4	11.4	47%	0.3	1.0	28%	3.5	4.8	72%	53%	48%	27
2001-02	34	Wollongong	16-14 (4)	32	36.8	14.7	9.7	2.3	3.7	5.9	0.8	1.1	3.0	3.9	6.0	13.3	46%	0.2	0.4	46%	2.4	3.5	70%	49%	46%	27
2000-01	33	Wollongong	21-7 (4)	35	36.3	18.7	9.5	2.3	3.3	6.2	1.3	0.8	3.1	3.6	7.4	14.0	53%	0.0	0.1	20%	3.8	5.3	71%	56%	53%	32
1999-00	32	Wollongong	11-17 (8)	28	37.3	19.6	8.6	2.4	3.1	5.5	1.2	0.7	3.0	3.8	7.4	14.6	50%	0.1	0.4	17%	4.9	6.6	73%	55%	51%	32
1998-99	31	Canberra	8-18 (11)	26	40.3	21.1	9.5	3.2	2.9	6.6	1.3	1.2	3.2	3.3	7.9	15.4	51%	0.3	0.8	32%	5.1	6.6	77%	57%	52%	28
1998	30	Canberra	14-16 (7)	30	35.2	18.2	8.9	1.8	3.7	5.2	1.0	1.1	3.0	3.8	7.3	14.5	50%	0.0	0.4	9%	3.6	4.7	77%	54%	50%	29
1997	29	Sydney	12-18 (9)	30	42.6	18.9	10.7	2.9	3.3	7.4	1.6	0.8	3.1	3.3	7.6	14.8	51%	0.2	0.6	39%	3.4	4.3	79%	56%	52%	30
1996	28	Sydney	16-10 (5)	29	42.4	20.9	9.3	4.4	2.6	6.7	1.1	1.9	3.8	3.7	7.7	15.6	49%	0.1	0.6	25%	5.3	6.8	78%	55%	50%	31
1995	27	Illawarra	14-12 (7)	29	44.2	27.0	10.1	4.6	2.5	7.6	1.8	1.8	5.2	3.7	10.6	20.2	52%	0.6	2.1	26%	5.4	7.5	72%	57%	53%	39
1994	26	Illawarra	13-13 (10)	26	41.8	26.8	11.2	3.8	3.5	7.7	1.8	2.1	4.3	3.5	10.5	20.3	52%	0.4	1.3	33%	5.4	7.3	75%	56%	53%	40
1993	25	Illawarra	15-11 (6)	28	42.9	25.7	10.9	3.8	3.2	7.7	1.9	1.5	4.1	3.5	10.1	21.2	48%	0.2	0.9	19%	5.2	7.1	73%	52%	48%	36
1992	24	Illawarra	13-11 (5)	26	42.3	22.4	11.7	4.2	4.4	7.3	1.6	2.7	4.0	4.2	9.1	16.3	56%	0.0	0.3	0%	4.2	5.7	74%	59%	56%	32
Total				433	36.3	18.4	9.0	2.8	3.0	6.0	1.3	1.2	3.2	3.5	7.1	14.4	49.7%	0.0	0.0	25.9%	0.2	0.7	73.7%	55%	50%	40

CAREER HIGHS

POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS	STEALS	BLOCKS	TURNOVERS	TRIPLE DOUBLES
40	21	16	8	7	13	0

Season	Team	PTS	AST	STL	BLK	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%
1	2	90%	86%	89%	96%
2	4	40	16	8	7
Total						3095	6225	49.7%	76	294	25.9%

NBA TOTAL STATISTICS

YEAR	AGE	TEAM	POS	GP	GS	MINS	PTS	TRB	AST	ORB	DRB	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TS%	EFG%
2005-06	38	Cairns	18-14 (5)	36	678.0	229	138	31	35	103	26	12	49	96	77	204	38%	0	8	0%	75	114	66%	44%	38%	20
2004-05	37	Cairns	11-21 (10)	27	679.0	275	167	33	60	107	22	11	52	86	109	243	45%	1	7	14%	56	76	74%	49%	45%	19
2003-04	36	Cairns	16-17 (6)	20	600.0	281	155	52	57	98	19	20	61	59	108	235	46%	6	23	26%	59	77	77%	52%	47%	30
2002-03	35	Wollongong	18-12 (4)	31	1,000.0	450	238	59	80	158	32	17	74	110	167	354	47%	9	32	28%	107	149	72%	53%	48%	27
2001-02	34	Wollongong	16-14 (4)	32	1,178.0	470	309	75	119	190	27	34	96	124	193	424	46%	6	13	46%	78	112	70%	49%	46%	27
2000-01	33	Wollongong	21-7 (4)	35	1,270.0	653	332	81	116	216	45	29	110	126	260	491	53%	1	5	20%	132	187	71%	56%	53%	32
1999-00	32	Wollongong	11-17 (8)	28	1,045.0	550	242	67	88	154	34	20	85	106	206	409	50%	2	12	17%	136	186	73%	55%	51%	32
1998-99	31	Canberra	8-18 (11)	26	1,049.0	549	246	82	75	171	34	30	84	86	205	400	51%	7	22	32%	132	172	77%	57%	52%	28
1998	30	Canberra	14-16 (7)	30	1,056.0	546	266	53	110	156	31	33	90	113	218	435	50%	1	11	9%	109	142	77%	54%	50%	29
1997	29	Sydney	12-18 (9)	30	1,279.0	568	320	88	99	221	48	25	93	98	229	445	51%	7	18	39%	103	130	79%	56%	52%	30
1996	28	Sydney	16-10 (5)	29	1,230.0	605	269	127	75	194	32	54	110	107	224	453	49%	4	16	25%	153	196	78%	55%	50%	31
1995	27	Illawarra	14-12 (7)	29	1,281.0	784	294	132	73	221	51	52	151	106	306	587	52%	16	61	26%	156	217	72%	57%	53%	39
1994	26	Illawarra	13-13 (10)	26	1,087.0	696	291	100	91	200	47	54	113	91	272	527	52%	11	33	33%	141	189	75%	56%	53%	40
1993	25	Illawarra	15-11 (6)	28	1,202.0	719	306	106	90	216	54	41	114	99	284	593	48%	5	26	19%	146	200	73%	52%	48%	36
1992	24	Illawarra	13-11 (5)	26	1,099.0	583	305	109	115	190	42	70	105	108	237	425	56%	0	7	0%	109	148	74%	59%	56%	32
Total				0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0		0	0

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Belgium - ? | France - ? | México - ?

AWARDS

- 1x All-NBL First Team
- 2x All-NBL Second Team
- 4x All-NBL Third Team

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