Hollis Thompson Latest Philadelphia 76er Seeing Some Success

By Cody Daniel | Feb 4, 2015

Feb 3, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Hollis Thompson (31) reacts to his score against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers defeated the Nuggets 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Another week means another relatively unknown player on the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster is making some noise after stringing a few consecutive solid performances together. This has been the case in Philly for the entirety of the season, although, some have seen their time in the light last a bit longer than others.

The likes of rookie K.J. McDaniels, Nerlens Noel, Jerami Grant and Robert Covington have all spent their time in the limelight of what optimism remains surrounding basketball in The City of Brotherly Love, but the latest to join this Philadelphia club is second=year guard Hollis Thompson.

After setting a new career high last night with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting in the Sixers’ 105-98 win over the Denver Nuggets, Thompson seems to be gaining some steam and packing an offensive punch that is much needed on a Philadelphia team that sits alone as the worst offensive team in the NBA.

You can't stop Hollis Thompson. You can only hope to contain him.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 4, 2015

Now before you continue reading and blow off every stat and small sample size that may be brought up, please keep in mind that we are discussing the tanking 76ers and amidst an 11-39 season, even the simplest glimpses of improvement bring reason for excitement.

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But hey, the whole Sixers’ plan is built around developing young talent and hoping that they pan out into some solid NBA talent, right?

But back to the man of the hour: “Holliswood” as the Sixers’ fan base likes to passionately refer to him as. Thompson’s most recent outing was easily the most impressive of his young career, which began by hitting his first eight shots.

But this 23-point showing now marks the third-straight game where Thompson cracked double-digits on the stat sheet, after he put up 12 points and 10 points in losses to Atlanta and Cleveland.

There’s no telling how long this streak of double-digit scoring performances may last for Thompson, but if the previous portion of his season is any indication, it may be something that happens more frequently, while still not being something we should expect on a nightly basis.

In his first 25 games of the season, Thompson scored at least 10 points nine times, including two 21-point games. But from there, Thompson missed the next 11 games with an upper-respiratory infection and some significant weight loss made Thompson’s re-entry to the court a bit more cautious than what he could have hoped for.

Upon returning, Thompson’s first 11 games back never provided a night where he scored more than nine points, but he now seems to be slightly out of that rut and Philly can credit their most recent win to his success.

Philadelphia will now get a few days to rest after playing four games in five days, before they will see Boston and Charlotte on Friday and Saturday. The quick rest is surely to the delight of the Sixers, but the Sixers’ faithful now sit in waiting in anticipation of their very own Hollis Thompson’s version of “The Streak.”

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