Nate Thurmond

CTL-E-6823 · Person · other · 1941–2016

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07695 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6823.

Nathaniel “Nate” Thurmond (born July 25, 1941, in Akron, Ohio; died July 16, 2016, in San Francisco, California) was an American basketball center regarded by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as providing perhaps the best mix of offense and defense in basketball history. After starring at Bowling Green State University, he was drafted third overall in 1963 by the San Francisco Warriors, who became the Golden State Warriors during his 11 seasons with the franchise. Britannica notes that Thurmond succeeded Wilt Chamberlain as the Warriors' center, averaged 20.5 points and 22.0 rebounds in 1967–68, and became a defensive anchor at a time when blocked shots were not yet an official statistic. Traded to the Chicago Bulls in 1974, he made history in his first Bulls game, on October 18, 1974, recording the NBA's first official quadruple-double — 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks against Atlanta. He finished his career with Cleveland in 1977. According to the Hall of Fame (accessed 2026-11-03), he retired with 14,464 rebounds and 14,437 points and seven All-Star selections. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

The record

• Also known as: Nathaniel Thurmond, Nate the Great

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0335. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Thurmond's Chicago chapter is brief but historic — the first quadruple-double in NBA history happened in a Bulls uniform; CTL should use him to teach how defense was under-measured before blocks were counted. Career statistics in this record are attributed to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Britannica, accessed 2026-11-03. STAGED record — not merged into any live store.

Relationships

• Chicago Bulls — played for
  Hall of Fame and Britannica: Thurmond was traded to the Chicago Bulls in 1974 and recorded the first official quadruple-double in his first Bulls game, Oct. 18, 1974.
• Golden State Warriors — played for
  Hall of Fame and Britannica: Thurmond played 11 seasons for the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1963–1974); the endpoint is the same franchise, now the Golden State Warriors.
• Golden State Warriors — drafted by
  Britannica and Bowling Green State University: Thurmond was drafted third overall in 1963 by the San Francisco Warriors (now Golden State Warriors).

Sources

• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “Nate Thurmond.” Accessed 2026-11-03. https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/nate-thurmond (primary source · build store)
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Nate Thurmond.” Accessed 2026-11-03. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nate-Thurmond (build store)
• Bowling Green State University Athletics. “BGSU Mourns the Passing of Falcon Great Nate Thurmond.” July 16, 2016. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://bgsufalcons.com/news/2016/7/16/mens-basketball-bgsu-mourns-the-passing-of-falcon-great-nate-thurmond (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6823 · Combined Graph record U-07695 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources · 3 mapped relationships.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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