Warriors to Honor Nate Thurmond With No. 42 Patch

Editor's Note: The above video is from July 18, 2016.

OAKLAND -– The Golden State Warriors will wear a #42 patch on their uniforms for every game this season in honor of the late Warriors legend Nate Thurmond, who passed away on July 16, 2016, at the age of 74 after a short battle with leukemia. Voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history, Thurmond was a beloved member of the Warriors organization for more than four decades as both a player and a Community Relations Ambassador.

The Warriors are slated to play their first preseason game Saturday against the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver, Canada.

Considered one of the best centers to ever play the game of basketball, Thurmond was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985. A seven-time NBA All-Star, he earned NBA All-Defensive First or Second Team accolades five times. His Warriors jersey #42 was retired on March 8, 1978, one of six players to have his number retired by the Warriors along with Alvin Attles (#16), Rick Barry (#24), Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Tom Meschery (#14) and Chris Mullin (#17).

Over a 14 year NBA career – the first 11 of which were played with the San Francisco and Golden State Warriors – Thurmond held averages of 15.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game, including averaging 20.5 points and 22.0 rebounds during the 1967-68 campaign to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only Warriors to post at least 20 points and 20 boards in a single season. "Big Nate," who was selected third overall by the San Francisco Warriors in the 1963 NBA Draft following his collegiate career at Bowling Green, remains the franchise's all-time leader in rebounds (12,771) and minutes played (30,735). Thurmond became the first player to record an official quadruple-double, tallying 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks as a member of the Chicago Bulls against the Atlanta Hawks on October 18, 1974. Following his illustrious playing career, Thurmond spent more than 30 years as a valued asset to the Warriors' community relations department.

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