| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-07-06)July 6, 1981 (age 44) Greenville, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Greenville (Greenville, Mississippi) |
| College | Mississippi State (1999–2003) |
| WNBA draft | 2003: 1st round,1st overall pick |
| Drafted by | Cleveland Rockers |
| Playing career | 2003–2008 |
| Position | Forward |
| Number | 32, 21 |
| Career history | |
| 2003 | Cleveland Rockers |
| 2004–2006 | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| 2007 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2008 | Detroit Shock |
| 2008 | Minnesota Lynx |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
LaToya Monique Thomas (born July 6, 1981) is an American professionalbasketball player.
Thomas was a standout four-year starter atMississippi State University.
Thomas was the eighthfreshman in the 25-year history ofKodakAll-America honors to earn the award and firstLady Bulldog to be named a Kodak All-American. She went on to become just the sixth player inwomen's basketball history to be a four-time Kodak All-American. She left her mark in theSEC as well, becoming the first player in the conference to lead the league in scoring all four years of her career. Thomas was a three time-finalist for theNaismith Award and she was also a four-time first team all-SEC and AP all-SEC selection. Thomas was a finalist in 2003 for the MargaretWade Trophy given each season to the top female college player. Diana Taurasi won the Wade Trophy in 2003.
Thomas is the all-time leading scorer at Mississippi State, for either men or women, with 2,981 career points. She holds the Lady Bulldog records for field goals made, field goals attempted, field goal percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted, free throw percentage, rebounds and blocked shots.[clarification needed]
In addition to her numerous all-America honors, Thomas was named theLowe's Senior CLASS Award winner, 2003 MississippiAmateurAthlete of the Year and 2003 SEC Female Athlete of the Year. Upon graduation, she became the first athlete from the state of Mississippi to be taken as a top pick in aprofessional draft, going No. 1 to the Cleveland Rockers in the 2003WNBA draft.[1][2]
Source[3]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Mississippi State | 32 | 672 | .570 | .286 | .785 | 7.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 21.0 |
| 2000–01 | Mississippi State | 31 | 752 | .548 | .200 | .736 | 8.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 24.3 |
| 2001–02 | Mississippi State | 31 | 763 | .570 | .125 | .776 | 9.9 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 24.6 |
| 2002–03 | Mississippi State | 31 | 794 | .528 | .429 | .816 | 9.1 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 25.6 |
| Career | 125 | 2,981 | .553 | .309 | .776 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 23.8 |
Thomas was selected by theCleveland Rockers with the No. 1 overall pick in the2003 WNBA draft. During her first WNBA season, she became the Rockers single-seasonrookie leader inrebounding with 164 and ranked second on the Rockers single-season rookie scoring list with 347 points. She started all threeplayoff games for the Rockers against Detroit, averaging 13.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game.
When the Cleveland franchise folded following the season, Thomas was selected No. 3 overall in the2004 dispersal draft by theSan Antonio Silver Stars, for whom she played from 2004 to 2006.[4] She had six 20-plus point games in her first season with the Silver Stars.
On February 6, 2008 Thomas was selected in the expansion draft by theAtlanta Dream. She was later traded to theDetroit Shock along with the eighteenth pick in the2008 WNBA draft forIvory Latta. On June 22, 2008 Thomas was traded to theMinnesota Lynx forEshaya Murphy.
Thomas was eventually released by the Minnesota Lynx and played outside the United States during the early part of 2009. Thomas was not listed on a WNBA roster to open the 2009 season and was also not listed on any team's roster to open the 2010 season.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Cleveland | 32 | 25 | 26.6 | .463 | .000 | .789 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 10.8 |
| 2004 | San Antonio | 31 | 30 | 31.1 | .489 | .475 | .841 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 14.2 |
| 2005 | San Antonio | 21 | 12 | 24.0 | .429 | .429 | .898 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 8.8 |
| 2006 | San Antonio | 19 | 0 | 19.4 | .452 | .000 | .763 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 8.3 |
| 2007 | Los Angeles | 27 | 7 | 18.0 | .443 | .421 | .826 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 7.7 |
| 2008 | Detroit | 7 | 0 | 5.7 | .267 | .000 | .000 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| 2008 | Minnesota | 13 | 0 | 11.3 | .500 | .714 | .444 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.6 |
| Career | 6 years, 5 teams | 150 | 74 | 22.4 | .460 | .397 | .811 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 9.3 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Cleveland | 3 | 3 | 33.3 | .438 | .000 | .765 | 7.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 13.7 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 3 | 3 | 33.3 | .438 | .000 | .765 | 7.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 13.7 |