Background and career
Tristan Trevor James Thompson (born March 13, 1991) is a Canadian–American former professional basketball player who is a global ambassador for Dubai Basketball of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. Thompson played one season of college basketball for the Texas Longhorns before being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016 and has also played for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers. Thompson also represented Canada in international competitions.
Born in Brampton, Ontario, Thompson attended St. Marguerite d'Youville Secondary School for grades 9 and 10. After making two trips from Brampton to visit a prep school in the United States, Thompson decided to attend Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, for his sophomore year, alongside fellow University of Texas at Austin commit Myck Kabongo. He cited increased exposure and a higher level of competition as his reasons for transferring. Thompson spent his sophomore and half his junior year at St. Benedict's, making an immediate impact and showing flashes of brilliance. In his short time there, he shot through the ranks to super-stardom, becoming the top recruit in the nation entering his junior season. The nation's top basketball programs heavily sought Thompson, who made the first verbal commitment of the class of 2010 to Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns. Twenty-one games into his junior year, the relationship between Thompson and then-St. Benedict's coach Dan Hurley hit a rough patch. Hurley's in-your-face, no-holds-barred coaching style took a toll on the young star. During a game against then-top-ranked Mater Dei, Hurley confronted Thompson during a time out. A heated debate ensued, and Thompson was sent off the court and later removed from the team. Over the next few days he made it known that he was planning to leave, resulting in a barrage of calls from top prep schools throughout North America trying to acquire his services. The next week he transferred to Findlay Prep with his close friend and AAU teammate Cory Joseph. Thompson joined Findlay on the back end of their schedule, making an immediate impact on the team and thriving under Findlay coach Michael Peck's system and coaching style. Thompson solidified his top recruit status and helped lead Findlay to their first national championship. He continued to round and polish his skills in his senior year in preparation for college and held fast to his commitment to the University of Texas, officially signing his letter of intent on November 11, 2009. Thompson then led his team to another National Championship at the ESPN National High School Invitational. After their senior year, Thompson and Joseph both committed to Texas and were the fourth and fifth Canadians to be named McDonald's All-Americans, after Bill Wennington (1981), Barry Bekkedam (1986) and Olu Famutimi (2003). Thompson was also named a Jordan Brand Classic All-American.
Thompson averaged 13.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Texas Longhorns in 2010–11 as he won the team's Most Valuable Player award, as voted on by his teammates. Nationally, Thompson was one of five finalists for the Wayman Tisdale Award, an honour given to the National Freshman of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Thompson won the Big 12 Freshman of the Year honours as well as first-team NABC All-District 8 and USBWA All-District VII honours. He led the team in rebounding, blocked shots (86), double-doubles (10) and field goal percentage (.546) while ranking second in scoring. He helped Texas conclude the 2010–11 season with a 28–8 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. The Longhorns finished No. 8 in the final AP poll. Thompson told media after the NCAA tournament that he planned to return to Texas for his sophomore season but changed his mind. On April 21, 2011, he declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his last three years of college eligibility.
On June 23, 2011, Thompson was drafted fourth overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the time, he was the highest drafted Canadian-born player in NBA history, that was until Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins were selected as the first overall pick in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Thompson continued to make history, drafted alongside Joseph, who was picked 29th by the San Antonio Spurs, only the second occasion in NBA history to that date that two Canadians were selected in the first round of the same draft, the first being in 1983 when Leo Rautins and Stewart Granger were selected 17th and 25th respectively. The 2011 draft was also the first time three Texas Longhorn basketball players went in the first round of a draft, when Thompson's former collegiate teammate Jordan Hamilton went 26th overall to the Dallas Mavericks.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Thompson attended classes at the University of Texas to finish his college degree. Thompson signed his rookie contract with the Cavaliers on December 9, 2011, before the start of training camp. Thompson made his professional debut against his hometown Toronto Raptors on December 26, 2011. In 17 minutes off the bench, Thompson scored 12 points and pulled in 5 rebounds. Both Thompson and teammate Kyrie Irving were later named to the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge. However, Thompson was selected to play for Team Shaq, while Irving was selected by Team Chuck. Thompson finished the season with averages of 8.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in 60 games as he earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors, becoming the first Canadian to ever earn All-Rookie team honors in the NBA.
In the 2012–13 season, Thompson worked on avoiding getting his own shots blocked, and switched his shooting hand from left to right. For most of the season, almost 17%, or one out of six, of his shots were blocked, threatening former NBA player Danny Fortson's 16.7% rate in 1997–98. Thompson dropped to around 15% by season's end, which was only reached by three other players before the season. He went on to average 3.7 offensive rebounds per game, which ranked fifth in the NBA and first among second year players, and set the Cavaliers franchise record for most offensive rebounds in a single season with 306 (second in the NBA), surpassing Zydrunas Ilgauskas' 299 offensive rebounds in the 2004–05 season. He also recorded a team-high 31 double-doubles on the season, becoming just the ninth player in franchise history to total at least 30 double-doubles in a single season. He started all 82 games in 2012–13 as he averaged 11.7 points on .488 shooting, 9.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 31.3 minutes per game.
