2018 Hall of Fame: 4 inductees with ties to the Detroit Pistons

Rod Thorn

Before he embarked on a career as an NBA executive that earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame’s wing for Contributors, Thorn was a two-sport college athlete (basketball and baseball) at West Virginia who played eight seasons in the NBA — including a season and a half with the Pistons.

Thorn, a 6’4″ guard, was the No. 2 pick in the 1963 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards). Despite making the All-Rookie Team, he was traded to the Pistons in 1964. Thorn averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for Detroit in 101 games before he was traded again to the St. Louis Hawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) in 1965.

Two years after that, Thorn was made available in the expansion draft and selected by the Seattle SuperSonics, with whom he finished his playing career.

Thorn became a coach in the ABA, then moved to a front office role with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls in 1978. He was the general manager who drafted Michael Jordan in 1984. He also helped put together the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets) Eastern Conference title teams of 2002 and 2003, and helped build a couple of playoff teams for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was voted NBA Executive of the Year in 2002.

Thorn also held positions in the NBA’s head office; he served as the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations and later the president of basketball operations, most recently in 2015.