Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond left his mark on and off the court | The Sacramento Bee

Nate Thurmond, a seven-time All-Star who recorded the NBA’s first official quadruple double, died of leukemia Saturday at 74.

Here is a look at the highlights in a career that earned the Akron, Ohio, native induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1985 and inclusion on the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team as one of the league’s 50 greatest players of all-time in 1996.

SIGN UP

▪ Thurmond, the third pick in the 1963 NBA draft out of Bowling Green, averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds during his 14-year NBA career.

▪ The 6-foot-11 center spent his first 11 seasons with the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors, averaging 17.4 points and 16.9 rebounds, before finishing his career with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.

▪ In his Bulls debut on Oct. 18, 1974, Thurmond had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks against the Atlanta Hawks. It was the first official quadruple double in NBA history. (Blocked shots became a recognized statistic in 1973-74.)

▪ Thurmond had 42 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 9, 1965. The only players in NBA history to record more rebounds in a game are Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

▪ During the 1967-68 season, Thurmond averaged 20.5 points and 22 rebounds for the Warriors; Chamberlain, who accomplished the feat six times during his career, is the only other Warrior to average 20 points and 20 rebounds in a season.

▪ Thurmond’s teams reached the postseason in nine of his 14 seasons, including reaching the NBA Finals in 1964 and 1967.

▪ Thurmond was a first- or second-team all-defensive team member five times.

▪ He is the Warriors’ career leader in rebounds with 12,771 – Chamberlain is a distant second at 10,768 – defensive win shares with 52.8 (Chamberlain is second with 39.3) and minutes played (30,729).

▪ The Warriors retired Thurmond’s No. 42 jersey in 1978, one of six players so honored by the franchise.

Compiled by Stu Rosenberg