Thurl Bailey facts for kids
Bailey, circa 1988
|
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 7, 1961 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| High school | Bladensburg (Bladensburg, Maryland) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 247 lb (112 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | NC State (1979–1983) |
| NBA Draft | 1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7th overall |
| Selected by the Utah Jazz | |
| Pro career | 1983–1999 |
| Career history | |
| 1983–1991 | Utah Jazz |
| 1991–1994 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 1994–1995 | Panionios |
| 1995–1997 | Polti Cantù |
| 1997–1998 | Olimpia Stefanel Milano |
| 1999 | Utah Jazz |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,834 (12.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,718 (5.1 rpg) |
| Blocks | 1,086 (1.2 bpg) |
Thurl Lee Bailey Sr. (born April 7, 1961) is a former American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His NBA career lasted from 1983 to 1999. He played for the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves. People often called him "Big T" during his playing days. After basketball, Bailey became a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz. He also worked for the University of Utah. He is known as an inspirational speaker, singer, songwriter, and actor.
Contents
Thurl Bailey's Basketball Journey
Thurl Bailey went to North Carolina State University. He was a key player for the Wolfpack team. In 1983, they made a surprising run to win the NCAA Championship. Bailey led his team in both scoring points and getting rebounds that year. Their coach was Jim Valvano.
The Utah Jazz picked Bailey as the 7th player in the 1983 NBA draft. The Jazz team managers said they chose him for his good character. They also picked him because he was a great player. This was the start of his 16-year professional basketball career. He spent 12 of those years playing in the NBA. On March 14, 1988, Bailey scored his highest points in a single game. He got 41 points and 8 rebounds. This helped the Jazz win 116–115 against the Denver Nuggets.
For his first two seasons, Bailey often started games for the Jazz. But after Karl Malone joined the team, coach Frank Layden changed things. Bailey became one of the first players to come off the bench. This role helped him have his best NBA seasons. In 1987–88, he averaged 19.6 points per game. He played in all 82 games that season. In 1988–89, he averaged 19.5 points per game. He also played in all 82 games. In both seasons, he finished second for the Sixth Man of the Year award. While with the Utah Jazz, Bailey played in 665 games. He missed only four games he could have played.
On November 25, 1991, the Jazz traded Bailey to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was traded with a 1992 draft pick for Tyrone Corbin. Bailey played an unusual 84 regular-season games in the 1991–92 season. This happened because he played for both teams that year. He played for the Timberwolves for almost three seasons. In 1994, he left the NBA. He then played in the Greek League for Panionios in the 1994–95 season. From 1995 to 1998, he played in the Italian League. He played for Polti Cantù from 1995–97. Then he played for Stefanel Milano in 1997–98. He returned to the Jazz as a free agent on January 21, 1999. He stopped playing basketball after the 1998–99 season.
Life After the NBA
Thurl Bailey is now a public speaker. He also works as a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz. He does the same for the University of Utah. Besides that, he is an actor and a singer/songwriter. Some of his music albums include Faith In Your Heart (1998) and The Gift of Christmas (2001). He also released I'm Not the Same (2002).
Bailey is in charge of several companies. These include Big T Productions and FourLeaf Films. He also leads Fertile Earth. This company has a special fertilizer. It works through irrigation sprinkler systems.
He helps many charities. These include Make-A-Wish and D.A.R.E.. He also supports the Happy Factory.
Coaching Basketball
Bailey still coaches basketball today. He offers private coaching services in the Salt Lake City area. He uses a service called CoachUp.
Thurl Bailey's Personal Life
Thurl Bailey was born in Washington, D.C. He grew up in Capitol Heights, Maryland. This area was near D.C. and had a lot of crime.
Bailey has six children. His daughter, Chonell, is from his high school sweetheart. He has two sons, Thurl Jr. and TeVaun, from his first marriage. Thurl and his wife, Sindi, live in Highland, Utah. They have three children together: BreElle, Brendan, and Bryson. His son Brendan played basketball at Marquette University.
His Religion
Bailey was raised as a Baptist. While he was playing basketball in Italy, he decided to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized on December 31, 1995.
Basketball Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA Regular Season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–84 | Utah | 81 | 54 | 24.8 | .512 | – | .752 | 5.7 | 1.6 | .5 | 1.5 | 8.5 |
| 1984–85 | Utah | 80 | 68 | 31.0 | .490 | 1.000 | .842 | 6.6 | 1.7 | .6 | 1.2 | 15.2 |
| 1985–86 | Utah | 82 | 13 | 28.8 | .448 | .000 | .830 | 6.0 | 1.9 | .5 | 1.4 | 14.6 |
| 1986–87 | Utah | 81 | 2 | 26.6 | .447 | .000 | .805 | 5.3 | 1.3 | .5 | 1.1 | 13.8 |
| 1987–88 | Utah | 82 | 10 | 34.2 | .492 | .333 | .826 | 6.5 | 1.9 | .6 | 1.5 | 19.6 |
| 1988–89 | Utah | 82* | 3 | 33.9 | .483 | .400 | .825 | 5.5 | 1.7 | .6 | 1.1 | 19.5 |
| 1989–90 | Utah | 82* | 33 | 31.5 | .481 | .000 | .779 | 5.0 | 1.7 | .4 | 1.2 | 14.2 |
| 1990–91 | Utah | 82* | 22 | 30.3 | .458 | .000 | .808 | 5.0 | 1.5 | .6 | 1.1 | 12.4 |
| 1991–92 | Utah | 13* | 0 | 25.2 | .386 | .000 | .800 | 6.0 | 1.5 | .4 | 1.2 | 9.4 |
| Minnesota | 71* | 18 | 25.0 | .448 | .000 | .795 | 5.7 | .8 | .4 | 1.4 | 11.7 | |
| 1992–93 | Minnesota | 70 | 3 | 18.2 | .455 | – | .838 | 3.1 | .9 | .3 | .7 | 7.5 |
| 1993–94 | Minnesota | 79 | 3 | 16.4 | .510 | – | .799 | 2.7 | .7 | .3 | .7 | 7.4 |
| 1998–99 | Utah | 43 | 0 | 12.6 | .446 | .000 | .735 | 2.2 | .6 | .2 | .7 | 4.2 |
| Career | 928 | 229 | 26.8 | .473 | .114 | .812 | 5.1 | 1.4 | .5 | 1.2 | 12.8 | |
NBA Playoff Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Utah | 11 | 30.9 | .515 | .000 | .810 | 5.5 | .9 | .2 | 1.0 | 10.6 | |
| 1985 | Utah | 10 | 10 | 37.5 | .408 | – | .818 | 9.2 | 2.7 | .5 | 1.8 | 16.9 |
| 1986 | Utah | 4 | 4 | 36.8 | .364 | .000 | .727 | 8.0 | 3.3 | .5 | .5 | 16.0 |
| 1987 | Utah | 5 | 0 | 30.2 | .476 | – | 1.000 | 6.0 | 1.8 | .6 | 1.2 | 15.6 |
| 1988 | Utah | 11 | 0 | 40.8 | .488 | .000 | .838 | 5.7 | 1.6 | .5 | 2.1 | 23.2 |
| 1989 | Utah | 3 | 2 | 40.7 | .353 | – | .800 | 8.3 | 1.0 | .3 | 1.3 | 12.0 |
| 1990 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 38.0 | .489 | – | .792 | 6.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 21.0 |
| 1991 | Utah | 9 | 0 | 25.3 | .359 | – | .880 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .3 | .7 | 7.6 |
| 1999 | Utah | 11 | 0 | 10.5 | .515 | – | .750 | 1.4 | .2 | .3 | .5 | 3.4 |
| Career | 69 | 21 | 30.7 | .449 | .000 | .834 | 5.5 | 1.4 | .4 | 1.2 | 13.5 | |
Movies and TV Shows
Thurl Bailey has appeared in several films and documentaries.
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Thurl: Forward with New Power | Himself | Documentary |
| 2001 | The Luck of the Irish | Mr. Holloway | Disney Channel Original Movie |
| 2002 | The Singles Ward | A Traveler | Movie |
| 2005 | David and Goliath | Goliath of Gath | Movie |
| 2006 | Church Ball | Moses Mahoney | Movie |
| 2007 | Heber Holiday | Mutumbo | Movie |
| 2013 | Running with the Pack | Himself | Documentary |
| 30 for 30 | Himself | Survive and Advance |
See also
In Spanish: Thurl Bailey para niños
