| No. 21 Cleveland Cavaliers | |
|---|---|
| Small forward | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | June 1, 1988 |
| Place of birth | Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Rancho Santa Margarita, California |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 211 lb (96 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Pepperdine University |
| Pro career | 2011–present |
| League | NBA |
| Career history | |
| 2011 | Erie BayHawks (D-League) |
| 2011–present | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at NBA.com | |
Mychel Thompson (born June 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Pepperdine University from 2007–2011. He went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft and signed with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. Five games into the season, the 2011 NBA lockout ended and Thompson signed with the Cavaliers.
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Mychel was born on June 1, 1988, in Los Angeles, California to Mychal and Julie Thompson. His father Mychal Thompson was the first overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft and spent his 14-year career playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and Juvecaserta Basket in Italy. Mychel has a younger brother, Klay, who played college basketball at Washington State University before being drafted in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. Mychel played high school basketball at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon for two years, before finishing off his high school career at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. After high school, he played one year at Stoneridge Prep, located in Simi Valley, California. He averaged 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game that season.[1]
Heading into college, Thompson was rated as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and the 91st-best fifth year player by Hoop Scoop Online.[1] On November 9, 2006, he committed to playing for Pepperdine University.[2] In his freshman season at Pepperdine, he started 24 of 32 games and averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He led the team in three pointers made with 56 and in three-point field goal percentage with 37.3% of his attempts going in. Thompson made a three-pointer in 30 of the 32 games he played. Against Northern Arizona, he scored a season-high 22 points, including five three-pointers. Thompson started 30 of Pepperdine's 32 games in his sophomore season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He made 35 three-pointers that season, which tied him for the team lead. During the season, he made at least one three-pointer in 21 games. In the season opener, he scored a season-high 25 points against Cal State-Monterey Bay. As a junior, Thompson averaged 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, en route to being named to the All–West Coast Conference honorable mention team. For the third straight season, he led the team in three-pointers made with 48. He tied his career-high of 25 points against the Utah Utes on December 23, 2009, and was later named the Co–West Coast Conference Player of the Week for his performance against Loyola Marymount, a game in which he scored 22 points and made six of his seven three-point attempts. In his final season at Pepperdine, he averaged 14.6 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game, both of which led the team. Thompson also led the team in three-pointers made for the fourth consecutive season with 53. For the second straight season, he was named to the All–WCC honorable mention team. Against the Nevada Wolf Pack, he scored a career-high 34 points. On February 2, 2011, he scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the San Francisco Dons, becoming the first player from Pepperdine to record over 30 points and grab over 10 rebounds since 2005. Thompson finished his career at Pepperdine with 1,413 points, which is 14th best in school history. He also played in a school record 128 games and his 192 three-pointers made in his career was good enough for fourth highest in school history.[1]
Thompson went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft and signed with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League as the NBA was currently locked out. He played five games for Erie, averaging 19.8 points per game. In his professional debut, he scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, stole the ball four times, and recorded four assists, in a BayHawks loss to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In his fifth and final game for Erie before he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, he scored 15 points against the Iowa Energy.[3] On December 8, 2011, he was invited to the Cavaliers' training camp as a non-roster invitee.[4] He eventually made the Cavaliers final roster, beating out second-year player Manny Harris. After finding out he made the team, Thompson said that, "It has been my dream since I was a little kid to play in the NBA. Just to make the team is not my goal. I want to stay in the NBA, I want to stick. I don't want to be here for a little bit."[5]
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