Thurl Bailey

Thurl Bailey is an American former professional basketball player whose National Basketball Association (NBA) career spanned from 1983 to 1999 with the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Bailey has been a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah - in addition to working as an inspirational speaker, singer, songwriter, and film actor.

Player Profile and Personal Life

Thurl Lee Bailey was born on April 7, 1961, in Washington, D.C., United States of America. He stands 211 cm tall and his weight is listed at 97 kg. Bailey played as a right-handed power forward and small forward.

Bailey grew up in a high-crime neighborhood of Capitol Heights, Maryland bordering D.C. He was raised Baptist but later converted to Mormonism.

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 live in Highland, Utah with their three kids.

High School and College Career

Bailey attended Bladensburg High School in Bladensburg, Maryland. He was a standout athlete, musician, and scholar. Bailey became the school's first black student body president and won numerous academic and extracurricular awards.

Bailey played college basketball for the North Carolina State University under head coach Jim Valvano from 1979 to 1983.

He helped lead the team to the 1983 NCAA Championship, where they upset the heavily favored Houston Cougars led by future NBA Players Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. That season, Bailey led NC State in both scoring and rebounding.

Professional Career

The Utah Jazz selected Bailey with the 7th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft. Jazz management cited his strong character in addition to his basketball skills as reasons for the selection. This began a 16-year professional career, with 12 of those seasons in the NBA.

In 1984, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Bailey spent his first 8+ seasons with the Jazz from 1983 to 1991. With the emergence of Karl Malone, Bailey transitioned to a sixth-man role where he had his two best statistical seasons in 1987-88 (19.6 ppg) and 1988-89 (19.5 ppg), finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting both years.

In 665 games with the Jazz, Bailey missed only 4 games total.

In November 1991, Bailey was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played parts of two seasons with the Wolves before heading overseas.

From 1994 to 1998, Bailey played in the Greek League for Panionios and the Italian League for Polti Cantù and Olimpia Milano. He was named the Italian League's 1998 All-Star Game MVP.

Bailey returned to the Jazz in January 1999 to finish his NBA career. He retired after the 1998-99 season having played in 928 regular season games and 69 playoff games.

Over his 12-year NBA career, Bailey averaged 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. His career-high of 41 points came in a March 1988 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Post-Playing Career

After retiring from basketball, Bailey became a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah. He is also an inspirational speaker, actor, singer, and songwriter who has released several albums.

Career Highlights

• 1984 - NBA All-Rookie First Team
• 1997 - Italian League All-Star Game MVP
• 1994 II - Greek League All-Star
• 1983 - NCAA champion
• 1983 - First-team All-ACC
• 1982 - Second-team All-ACC

• No. 41 jersey honored by NC State Wolfpack

Career NBA statistics

• Points - 11,834 (12.8 ppg)
• Rebounds - 4,718 (5.1 rpg)
• Blocks - 1,086 (1.2 bpg)