Tom Thacker

Thomas Porter Thacker (born November 2, 1939) is an American former basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Cincinnati Royals and the Boston Celtics from 1963 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1971, for the American Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers. He is the only player to have played on an NCAA championship team, an ABA championship team, and an NBA championship team.

Early life Thacker was born in and grew up in Covington, Kentucky across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, the son of William and Velma Arvin Thacker. He attended Our Savior's High School until integration closed it in 1956. He then attended the all-black William Grant High School, where he played basketball. He averaged 31.7 points per game as a junior and led the team to a 26–5 record. As a senior, he averaged 33.8 points as the team went 31–7. He scored 36 points in his final high school game as the team lost the Kentucky state championship game, 85–84.

In 1959 he needed a few credits to earn his degree, so he attended Holmes High School during the summer and graduated. The Bearcats finished the season with a record of 27–3 and, on March 25, 1961, Cincinnati, led by the balanced attack of Thacker, Bob Wiesenhahn, Tony Yates, Paul Hogue and Carl Bouldin, On May 1, 1966, he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA expansion draft, but he decided to retire and did not play that season.

On August 4, 1967, he returned to the NBA and was signed as a free agent by the Boston Celtics. It turned out to be a fortuitous trade for Thacker. Averaging about 12 minutes per game and 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, he earned a championship ring as the Celtics won the NBA title in a six-game finals series over the Los Angeles Lakers. He also posted a career single-game high of 17 points twice, on February 11, 1968, against the Lakers and again on March 7 against the Bulls.

After Thacker's fourth NBA season, on May 6, 1968, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA expansion draft. in six games over the Los Angeles Stars. In his third and final ABA season of 1970–71, he played eight games and his seven-year professional career ended. Thacker was the second coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats women's basketball team and would go on to have an 55–43 record over four seasons, leading three winning campaigns during his coaching time.

Thacker was the head coach for the Cincinnati Slammers of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1984–85 season.

Personal life Thacker earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati.

He has served as deputy director of the Cincinnati Urban League, and he also served as a teacher with Cincinnati Public Schools. In 1986, he was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and, in 1989, into the Northern Kentucky Black Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame at the 11th Annual Ceremony on May 21, 2016, in Columbus.

Career statistics

†Denotes seasons in which Barnhill's team won an ABA championship

NBA/ABA Source

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG