Golden State Warriors will wear no. 42 patches in the entire season to honor its legend Nate Thurmond who passed away last July. Thurmond is the first player ever recorded a quadruple-double in NBA history.
For the full season, the entire Golden State Warriors squad will wear the patches in the uniform to honor Thurmond, as reported by NBC. Thurmond passed away on July 16, 2016 of leukimia at the age of 74. He is listed as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA, and the first player ever recorded in the NBA history to make quadruple-double.
Although the record was not made during his 11 years with the Warriors, but he will always be remembered as one of the Warriors. Thurmond was a member of the Warriors organization for more than 40 years and he is also the Community Relation Ambassador for the team. During his impressive 15 years of career in the NBA, Thurmond averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds per game according to Bleacher Report.
He made his historic quadruple-double in his debut game with Chicago Bulls after he was traded from the Warriors. During his first game for the Bulls against Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 18, 1974 he made 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocked to help Bulls winning the game 120-115.
Nate Thurmond is known for his 6'11" figure and his fearless attitude in both defensive and offensive end of the court. His solid defensive skills has earned him five times NBA All-Defensive Team. His rugged style in the low-post intimidated even the other great centers of his time such as Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Golden State Warriors, who was still named San Fransisco Warriors drafted him in 1963. During his rookie year, he was the substitute of Chamberlain in the Warriors. When Chamberlain was traded to Philadelphia 76ers in 1965-66 season, Thurmond became the started for the center. He and Chamberlain was known for their rivalry which culminated in the 1967 NBA Finals which Sixers won 4-2.
Watch the remembering Nate Thurmond video clip from the official NBA YouTube Channel.
