NBA.com: Otis Thorpe Bio

2000-2001:
Appeared in 49 games with four starts to average 2.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.2 minutes ... In four starts averaged 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and shot .423 (11-of-26) from the field in 26.3 minutes ... Shot .450 (59-of-131) from the floor to shoot under 50 percent for the season for only the second time in his 17 seasons ... Shot 50-percent or better in 18 of his 49 games ... Scored a season-high 10 points at Portland on 1/1 and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds vs. Milwaukee on 1/19 ... Suffered a hythema of the left eye (rupture of a small blood vessel in the iris) during practice on 2/12, and missed three games ... Placed on the injured list on 11/16 with a strained left plantar fascia and activated on 12/13 and missed 15 games.

1999-2000:
Activated from the injured list on 3/10, after missing two weeks with inflammation in his left knee ... Registered 17 points in a 115-89 win over Boston on 1/25 ... Notched 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 101-79 win over Atlanta on 1/21 ... Activated from the injured list on 12/7 after missing 18 games with a fractured right thumb.

1998-1999:
Registered 22 points (10-14 FG, 2-2 FT), a team-high 11 rebounds and 3 assists against the New Jersey Nets on 5/3 ... Scored a game-high 20 points, shooting 9-of-10 from the field, and grabbed five rebounds in a 97-86 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on 4/29 ... Grabbed his 10,000th career rebound, recording six points and a team-high nine rebounds, against the Chicago Bulls on 4/20 ... Scored his 17,000th career point, totaling a game-high 18 points (8-13 FG), nine rebounds and four assists, in a 95-89 overtime win over the New York Knicks on 4/14 ... Posted 18 points (7-12 FG), a game-high 12 rebounds and three assists in a 105-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on 4/11 ... Registered 20 points, on 10-of-13 field-goal shooting, and eight rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets on 4/9 ... Recorded 18 points (8-12 FG), four rebounds and three assists in a 112-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets on 3/27 ... Grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, scored nine points (4-8 FG) and added three assists against the Detroit Pistons on 3/8 ... Totaled 14 points (5-7 FG, 4-4 FT) and team-highs of 11 rebounds and three steals in a 103-95 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers on 3/7 ... Posted 19 points (7-8 FG), a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and three steals against the Philadelphia 76ers on 3/1.

1997-1998:
Traded by the Kings with Mitch Richmond to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber on 5/14 ... Totaled team-highs of 22 points and 15 rebounds and added four assists in a 105-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on 4/5 ... Posted 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists against the Cleveland Cavaliers on 3/19 ... Traded by the Grizzlies with Chris Robinson to the Sacramento Kings for Michael Smith and Bobby Hurley on 2/18 ... Recorded 17 points, a season-high 20 rebounds and six assists against the New Jersey Nets on 1/31 ... Registered 20 points and a team-high 13 rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 1/29 ... Totaled 15 points (7-11 FG), 12 rebounds and seven assists in a 107-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors on 1/24 ... Recorded a season-high 21 points (9-13 FG), eight rebounds and five assists against the Washington Wizards on 1/16 ... Posted 16 points (8-13 FG), a team-high eight rebounds and four assists against the L.A. Clippers on 1/7 ... Registered 14 points (7-11 FG), eight rebounds and five assists in a 110-105 victory over the Houston Rockets on 12/14 ... Totaled 19 points (6-10 FG, 7-7 FT), 13 rebounds and five assists against the Orlando Magic on 12/3 ... Recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 97-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons on 11/30 ... Posted 17 points (6-7 FG), eight rebounds and five assists in a 99-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets on 11/21 ... Registered 16 point, 14 rebounds and three assists against the Dallas Mavericks on 11/4 ... Totaled 15 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in a 97-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings on 11/1.

1996-1997:
Started 79 games in his second season with the Pistons, missing three games in February due to a pulled muscle in his left calf, only the fourth time in his 13-season NBA career that he had not played the full 82 games ... Averaged 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and his .532 shooting percentage ranked 12th in the NBA ... Became the 72nd player in NBA history to surpass 15,000 career points when he did so against Vancouver on 11/27, and later in the season became one of only 19 players in NBA history to log both 15,000 points and 9,000 rebounds ... Played in his 1,000th career game on 2/2 against Phoenix, becoming the 43rd NBA player to reach that plateau, and scored a season-high 27 points in Detroit's 106-91 loss ... Grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds in an 84-75 win at Indiana on 12/20 ... Started all five playoff games for the Pistons in their first-round loss to Atlanta, averaging 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game ... Following the season, was traded to Vancouver for a first-round draft choice as the Pistons cleared some salary cap room in order to sign free agent center Brian Williams.

1995-1996:
Only Piston to start all 82 of the team's games, the ninth time in his 12-year career that he did not miss a single game ... Averaged 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in 34.6 minutes per game, shooting .530 from the field and .710 from the free throw line, his highest mark from the line in seven years ... Finished 13th in the NBA in field goal percentage and 29th in rebounding ... Led the Pistons in rebounding 35 times, reaching double figures in 29 games ... Scored 20 or more points 20 times and posted 22 double-doubles for the season ... Tallied a season-high 27 points against Charlotte on 4/2, hitting 13-for-15 from the field including his last 12 shots in a row, the latter marking the second-longest such streak in franchise history ... Grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds against Philadelphia on 4/10 ... Turned in a solid playoff performance against Orlando, leading the Pistons with 11.7 rebounds per game to go along with his identical scoring average of 11.7 ppg.

1994-1995:
A key member of the Houston Rockets' 1994 NBA Championship squad, unexpectedly found himself with a new team in 1994-95 ... On 2/14, was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray ... At Portland, joined a squad that featured a number of power players, including Buck Williams, Chris Dudley, and Jerome Kersey and settled into a reserve role ... Finished the campaign with averages of 13.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and shot .565 from the floor to rank fourth in the NBA ... For Portland, averaged 6.9 rebounds, placing third on a squad that led the NBA in rebounding ... Averaged 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in the playoffs.

1993-1994:
As the only Houston player to start all 82 games in 1993-94, did the dirty work on the Rockets' front line ... While teammate Hakeem Olajuwon was having an MVP season, ended up ranked third in the league in field-goal percentage (.561) and 15th in rebounding (10.6 rpg), setting a personal single-season high for rebounds in his 10th NBA season ... Also tallied 14.0 points per game, second on the club to Olajuwon ... On 1/20 at Denver, blistered the Nuggets for 24 points, 20 rebounds and three steals in a career-high 54 minutes ... On 3/17 he beat up the Golden State Warriors for 21 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and two steals ... Also became the 54th player in NBA history to grab 7,000 rebounds in a career ... Thorpe and Olajuwon are the only active teammates to have reached that mark ... After winning the Midwest Division championship, Houston advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1986 ... The Rockets then took home the title after a seven-game victory over the New York Knicks ... Averaged 11.3 points and 9.9 rebounds in 23 postseason games.

1992-1993:
Finished the 1991-92 season having played in 542 consecutive games, the ninth-longest streak in NBA history but suffered a bruised right kidney in a preseason game against Detroit on 10/20, ending his streak ... Missed first nine games of the season ... Finished the year ranked among the league's top 10 in field-goal percentage (.558, fifth) for the fifth straight season ... Residual effects from the kidney injury may have caused Thorpe's production to drop, as he averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, his lowest numbers since the 1985-86 season ... Recorded his third career triple-double on 12/17 against the San Antonio Spurs, totaling 12 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists ... Averaged 14.5 points in the postseason as the Rockets advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals before losing to the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games Scored a team-high 28 points in Houston's Game 3 victory at The Summit.

1991-1992:
Long been considered one of the league's best power forwards, was selected to play in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, his first All-Star appearance ... At the time of the All-Star Game, was in the midst of a fine season, the sixth straight in which he played all 82 games ... Finished the year ranked second in the NBA with a franchise-record .592 field-goal percentage, also placing 12th in rebounding (10.5 rpg) and 36th in scoring (17.3 ppg) ... Notched his second career triple-double, on 1/14 against the Denver Nuggets: 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists ... Burned the Los Angeles Lakers twice during the year, with 19 points and 21 rebounds on 11/15 and then 30 points and 12 boards on 3/31 ... Scored the 10,000th point of his career on 1/13 at The Summit ... In a turbulent season that saw Don Chaney exit and Rudy Tomjanovich enter as the Rockets' head coach, Houston finished 42-40 and out of the NBA Playoffs.

1990-1991:
Set a franchise record when he shot .556 from the field in 1990-91 (... and broke it the following season) ... Ranked seventh in the NBA in field-goal percentage while placing ninth with 10.3 rebounds per game ... Was the only forward in the league to rank in the top 10 in both categories ... Led the Rockets in scoring 22 times en route to an average of 17.5 points per game for the season ... Was asked to play a larger role when Hakeem Olajuwon missed 25 games with a fractured eye socket; responded with 21.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game ... In early February, earned NBA Player of the Week honors after averaging 24.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals in four games ... Also led the team in dunks with 69 ... The Rockets advanced to the playoffs but suffered a first-round sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers ... Averaged 15.7 points in three postseason games.

1989-1990:
Led the Rockets with 172 dunks in 1989-90, so it comes as no surprise that he also led the team in field-goal percentage (.548) ... Shooting accuracy ranked eighth in the NBA and, at the time, third-best in Rockets history (He bettered the mark in each of his next four seasons) ... Played all 82 games for the fourth straight year, averaging 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds ... Racked up 261 assists (3.2 per game), leading all NBA power forwards ... Best shooting effort of the year came against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 3/31, when he hit 12 of 13 field-goal attempts ... Had another outstanding performance on 2/15 against the New York Knicks, scoring 21 points and grabbing a career-high 26 rebounds in 42 minutes-the best rebounding night ever for a Rockets forward ... The Rockets advanced to the NBA Playoffs but lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Lakers ... Had a stellar series, averaging 20.0 points in four games while shooting .600 from the floor.

1988-1989:
Acquired by Houston Thorpe from Sacramento to serve as Olajuwon's complement at power forward in exchange for Kings Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen ... Worked well with Olajuwon ... Ranked eighth(9.6 rpg) in rebounding while Olajuwon led the league, marking the first time in franchise history that two Rockets finished in the top 10 ... Also made the leaderboard in field-goal percentage, ranking seventh at .542 ... Averaged 16.7 points for the year ... Scored a career-high 37 points in 43 minutes at Philadelphia on 4/2 and recorded his first career triple-double on 3/16 against Milwaukee (10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists) ... The Rockets finished the year at 45-37, then lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

1987-1988:
Averaged 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in 1987-88, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley as the only players to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for the season ... Ranked 16th in the league in scoring and ninth in rebounding ... Ironically, although his scoring average was the best of his career, his .507 field-goal percentage was the lowest of his first 10 NBA seasons ... Only Kings player to start all 82 games, leading Sacramento in minutes played with an average of 37.5 per game ... Scored in double figures 80 times and poured in a season-high 35 points in the season finale against Portland on 4/23 ... Also grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds at Houston on 3/5 ... Came within one assist of his first career triple-double on 1/7 against San Antonio, totaling 17 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists.

1986-1987:
Finally given a starting role in Sacramento, emerged as one of the league's best power forwards, raising his scoring average from 9.9 to 18.9 points per game and finishing runner-up for the NBA Most Improved Player Award ... Ranked second on the Kings in scoring, while leading the team in rebounds (10.0 rpg) and field-goal percentage (.540) ... Scored in double figures in 79 of his 82 appearances, including the season's last 61 games ... Had 20 or more points in 34 games and scored at least 30 four times ... Had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in 21 of Sacramento's final 30 games ... That stretch included a season-high 34 points against Seattle on 3/31 ... Kings finished at 29-53 for fifth place in the Midwest Division.

1985-1986:
The Kings moved from Kansas City to Sacramento prior to the 1985-86 season ... Played in all 82 games in seven of his first eight NBA seasons, the 1985-86 campaign being the one exception -- missed seven games in December with a strained left knee ... Started the Kings' first 17 games, averaging 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds on .680 shooting from the field, before Coach Phil Johnson elected to use Mark Olberding as the team's starting power forward ... Production dropped during the rest of the season and finished with career lows of 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game ... His .587 field-goal percentage would have ranked among the league's top 10 but fell 11 field goals shy of the required 300 minimum ... Scored in double figures in 39 games, including a 28-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on 3/8 ... Also grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds at Golden State on 11/14.

1984-1985:
Selected by the Kansas City Kings with the ninth overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, the same year the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon at No. 1 ... Played in all 82 games in 1984-85, averaging 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting an astounding .600 from the floor ... His field-goal percentage ranked third among all NBA players, trailing only James Donaldson's .637 and Artis Gilmore's .623 ... Scored in double figures 60 times during the year, including a season-high 31 points against New York on 3/23 ... At season's end, narrowly missed a berth on the NBA All-Rookie Team, finishing sixth in the voting (The All-Rookie Second Team wouldn't be created until 1989.)

COLLEGE:
Played only a year and a half of high school basketball but went on to become a rebounder par excellence over four seasons at Providence College ... Led the Big East Conference in rebounding in both his junior and senior seasons ... As a junior, recorded a .636 field goal percentage ... As a senior in 1983-84, averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds ... Was an All-Big East First Team selection that year as well as an honorable mention All-American.