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 Bailey, circa 1988 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1961-04-07)April 7, 1961 (age 64) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 247 lb (112 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bladensburg (Bladensburg, Maryland) |
| College | NC State (1979–1983) |
| NBA draft | 1983: 1st round, 7th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Utah Jazz |
| Playing career | 1983–1999 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Number | 41 |
| 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 | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,834 (12.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,718 (5.1 rpg) |
| Blocks | 1,086 (1.2 bpg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Thurl Lee Bailey Sr. (born April 7, 1961) is an American former professionalbasketball player whoseNational Basketball Association (NBA) career spanned from 1983 to 1999 with theUtah Jazz and theMinnesota Timberwolves. Bailey has been abroadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and theUniversity of Utah— in addition to work as aninspirational speaker, singer, songwriter, and film actor. Bailey garnered the nickname "Big T" during his basketball career.
Bailey attendedNorth Carolina State University and was a leader in the Wolfpack's miracle run to the1983 NCAA Championship. That year, under head coachJim Valvano, he led the Wolfpack in both scoring and rebounding. TheUtah Jazz selected him as the 7th pick of the1983 NBA draft. Jazz management reported that he was selected for the quality of his character, as well as the quality of his game. This was the beginning of 16 years of playing professional basketball, with 12 of those years in the NBA. Bailey's career-high points game came on March 14, 1988, when he scored 41 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 116–115 win over theDenver Nuggets.[1]
Bailey was a starter with the Jazz for most of his first two seasons, but with the drafting ofKarl Malone, Jazz coachFrank Layden made Bailey one of the first options off the bench. As a result, Bailey had his two finest NBA seasons in 1987–88 (19.6 ppg, played in all 82 games and started ten times) and 1988–89 (19.5 ppg, 82 games, three starts). Both seasons saw him finish second in theSixth Man of the Year voting. During Bailey's Utah tenure, he played in 665 games, missing only four games in which he was eligible to play.[2]
On November 25, 1991, he was traded by the Jazz along with a 1992 second-round draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves forTyrone Corbin. Bailey holds the unusual distinction of playing 84 combined regular-season games during the 1991–92 season for both teams. He played for almost three seasons in Minnesota, until 1994, when he left the NBA and played in theGreek League (playing forPanionios) for the 1994–95 season.[3] From 1995 to 1998, he played in theItalian League forPolti Cantù in 1995–97 andStefanel Milano in 1997–98,[3] before returning to the Jazz as afree agent on January 21, 1999. He retired after the end of the 1998–99 season.
Bailey is apublic speaker, a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and theUniversity of Utah, an actor, and a singer/songwriter.[4] Bailey's albums includeFaith In Your Heart (1998),The Gift of Christmas (2001), andI'm Not the Same (2002).
Bailey is chairman of Big T Productions, Fertile Earth (which has apatent pending on a fertilizer that works throughirrigation sprinkler systems), and FourLeaf Films.[5]
He works with various charities, includingMake-A-Wish,D.A.R.E., and the Happy Factory.[5]
Bailey continues to coach in the Salt Lake City area using the private coaching service,CoachUp.[6]
Bailey gave the openingprayer at the2008 Republican National Convention.[7][8]
Bailey was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in a high-crime neighborhood ofCapitol Heights, Maryland bordering D.C.[5]
Bailey is the father of six children. He has a daughter, Chonell, with his high school sweetheart and two sons, Thurl Jr., and TeVaun from his first marriage. Bailey and his wife, Sindi (née Southwick), live inHighland, Utah with their three children BreElle, Brendan, and Bryson. His son Brendan played basketball at Marquette.
Bailey was raisedBaptist.[9] While playing basketball in Italy, Bailey decided to jointhe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized on December 31, 1995.[7]
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
Source[10]
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
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