Otis Thorpe

Early years

Thorpe graduated in 1980 from Lake Worth Community High School in Florida. He played college ball at Providence College. He had the longest NBA career of any former Friars player. He ranks seventh all-time at the school in rebounds and was the school's first First-Team Big East player. During his tenure at Providence College he was also a two-time Honorable Mention All-America selection.

Kansas City Kings

Thorpe was drafted by the Kansas City Kings as the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft. In 1985, the Kings relocated to Sacramento. Thorpe was traded to the Houston Rockets for Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen in 1989.

Houston Rockets

While with the Rockets, Thorpe made an All-Star appearance in 1992. Thorpe played in 542 consecutive games between 1986 and 1992 and, at one time, held the longest streak of consecutive games played in the NBA.

In 1994, Thorpe was an integral part of the Houston Rockets' first NBA Championship. He also holds the Rockets' all-time record for the highest field goal accuracy (55.9%).

Halfway through the next season, the Rockets realized that they were struggling and needed a change. The team sent Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal for Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray.

Portland Trail Blazers

Thorpe would only play 34 games for the Blazers before moving on to occupy the starting front court for the Detroit Pistons (who acquired him in a package for Randolph Childress and Bill Curley) for the next two years.

Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies

Before the start of the 1997–98 season, the Pistons dealt Thorpe to the Vancouver Grizzlies for a future first-round draft pick. This deal came back to haunt the franchise during the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery when they would have received the second pick and had their choice of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade, but they were forced to hand the pick over to the Pistons because they had yet to honor the trade. (The Pistons used the pick to choose Darko Miličić, widely considered a bust.)

Thorpe would play 47 games with the Grizzlies before returning to the Kings in a trade that sent Bobby Hurley and Michael Smith to Vancouver. Chris Robinson was also traded to the Kings as part of the deal.

Bouncing around the league and career endings

In the offseason, he was traded (along with Mitch Richmond) to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber. He signed with the Miami Heat in 1999 and was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, along with Rodney Buford, P.J. Brown, Jamal Mashburn, and Tim James in a deal for Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis, Dale Ellis, and Eddie Jones. When Thorpe finished his last game in 2001, he was the last remaining member of the Kansas City Kings to retire.

Thorpe holds career averages of 14.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He finished his career with over 17,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in the NBA.

Personal life

Thorpe is married to Donella Thorpe and lives in the Austin, Texas area. The couple have two children, one of whom is Daniel, who also plays basketball, at Lake Travis High School.