Tom Chambers (basketball)

Thomas Doane Chambers
Thomas Doane Chambers
Born	June 21, 1959 (age 67); Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player (retired)
Years active	1981–1997
Known for	NBA player, 4× NBA All-Star, 2× All-NBA Second Team, 1987 NBA All-Star Game MVP

Thomas Doane Chambers (born June 21, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 until 1997, as well as overseas. Operating primarily as a power forward, Chambers earned four selections to the NBA All-Star Game and was named twice to the All-NBA Second Team. In December 2021, he received a nomination for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, though he did not progress to the finalist round.

Early life

Born on June 21, 1959, in Ogden, Utah, Thomas Doane Chambers excelled athletically at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado. Coming from a family with a strong sports background, he experienced a six-inch height increase between his sophomore and junior years. Despite suffering a broken wrist during his senior year, he retained his coordination and further developed his skills. Recognized as one of Colorado’s top high school players, Chambers attracted significant recruitment attention and ultimately chose to attend Utah.

College career

While at Utah, Chambers played center alongside standout forward Danny Vranes, contributing to successful teams competing in the Western Athletic Conference. Renowned for his ability to run the floor and extend his shooting range, Chambers’ impact was commemorated when his jersey number 42 was retired on February 5, 2022. He later transitioned to the power forward position upon entering the NBA.

San Diego Clippers (1981–1983)

Selected eighth overall in the 1981 NBA draft by the San Diego Clippers—the franchise now known as the Los Angeles Clippers—Chambers signed a four-year contract worth $1.5 million. Shifting from his collegiate center role to forward, he led the injury-ridden squad in scoring during his rookie season with an average of 17.2 points per game on an efficient 52.5% shooting. On April 15, 1982, he achieved a then-personal best by scoring 39 points in a victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.

In the next season’s home opener, Chambers recorded 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds facing the Phoenix Suns. Following the addition of Rookie of the Year power forward Terry Cummings, the Clippers traded Chambers along with Al Wood in exchange for James Donaldson, Greg Kelser, Mark Radford, and future draft selections that resulted in acquiring Michael Cage and Calvin Duncan.

Seattle SuperSonics (1983–1988)

Joining forces with center Jack Sikma and guard Gus Williams, Chambers became an essential player by his third NBA campaign, participating in all 82 games and averaging 18.1 points per contest. After Williams’ trade in 1983 brought point guard Gerald Henderson into prominence, Chambers led the team with an average of 18.5 points per game but experienced fewer shot opportunities as he felt marginalized within the offensive scheme.

The 1986–87 season represented a significant breakthrough for Chambers. With rookie Nate McMillan taking over Henderson’s role, Chambers emerged as one of Seattle’s three main offensive weapons, posting an average of 23.3 points per game and earning his inaugural All-Star nod. He converted free throws at an impressive rate of 85% on 630 attempts while again playing every game of the season. In front of a home crowd during the 1987 NBA All-Star Game hosted in Seattle, Chambers delivered a standout performance with 34 points and was named MVP. His tenure with the SuperSonics ended with career averages of 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.

Phoenix Suns (1988–1993)

Choosing to stay in the western United States, Chambers accepted a substantial offer from the Phoenix Suns in June 1988 after Seattle opted not to match it. During his tenure with Phoenix, he was selected to three All-Star games.

Under the guidance of coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, Chambers was anticipated to be a leading scorer, averaging 25.7 points per game in the 1988–89 season and increasing that to 27.2 in 1989–90. The addition of point guard Kevin Johnson formed a highly effective offensive duo. On March 24, 1990, despite battling a hamstring injury, Chambers set a Suns franchise record by scoring 60 points against his former team, the Sonics.

When former Seattle teammate Xavier McDaniel joined the Suns for the 1990–91 season, Chambers transitioned into a role more focused on team play as both his scoring and the team’s performance declined. Having twice been named to the All-NBA Second Team earlier in his career, he adjusted his style to meet the team’s requirements. In his last season with Phoenix (1992–93), the arrival of Charles Barkley added much-needed rebounding strength for a championship push. Chambers embraced a sixth man position behind Barkley and Dan Majerle. That year concluded with a trip to the 1993 NBA Finals, where Phoenix was defeated in six games by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Chambers contributed 12 points in Game 6, marking his final game for the Suns.

Utah Jazz

In August 1993, Chambers signed with the Utah Jazz, providing backup support to star player Karl Malone and reuniting with former teammate Jeff Hornacek. The Jazz quickly advanced to the 1994 Western Conference Finals. At age 35, Chambers ended this phase of his NBA career having scored a total of 20,024 points.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (1995–1996)

For the 1995–96 campaign, Chambers inked a one-year contract worth $500,000 with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, becoming the highest-paid athlete in the Israeli Super League at that time. He posted averages of 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while leading Maccabi to win the Israeli League title. In FIBA EuroLeague competition, he averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists over an average of 32.8 minutes per contest.

Charlotte Hornets (1997)

Following his stint in Israel, Chambers signed with the Charlotte Hornets, appearing in twelve games before being released.

Philadelphia 76ers (1997)

Chambers made one last NBA appearance with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1997–98 season. In his final game on November 26, 1997, facing the Cleveland Cavaliers, he recorded six points along with two rebounds and two steals.

Player profile

Over a span of sixteen NBA seasons, Chambers represented the San Diego Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, and Philadelphia 76ers. He accumulated a total of 20,049 points at an average of 18.1 points per game. His career-best scoring performance was a 60-point game for Phoenix against Seattle on March 24, 1990. A four-time participant in the NBA All-Star Game (1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991), he earned MVP honors in the 1987 All-Star Game after posting 34 points. Chambers also competed in the 1993 NBA Finals with Phoenix but fell short against the Chicago Bulls. He remains one of only two eligible players with over 20,000 career points who has yet to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Legacy

In April 1999, Chambers became the inaugural inductee into the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor, established at America West Arena (currently known as Footprint Center). A bronze sculpture crafted by artist Sam Wickey was dedicated to commemorate his iconic 1989 dunk over New York Knicks guard Mark Jackson. Chambers' achievements were further recognized with his induction into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. Notably, among former NBA athletes eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Chambers stands as one of only three players to have amassed more than 20,000 points in their career without being inducted, alongside Antawn Jamison and Joe Johnson.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|San Diego | 81 || 58 || 33.1 || .525 || .000 || .620 || 6.9 || 1.8 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 17.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|San Diego | 79 || 79 || 33.7 || .472 || .000 || .723 || 6.6 || 2.4 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 17.6 |- | | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 82 || 44 || 31.3 || .499 || .000 || .800 || 6.5 || 1.6 || 0.6 || 0.6 || 18.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 81 || 60 || 36.1 || .483 || .273 || .832 || 7.1 || 2.6 || 0.9 || 0.7 || 21.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 66 || 26 || 30.6 || .466 || .271 || .836 || 6.5 || 2.0 || 0.8 || 0.6 || 18.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 82 || 82 || 36.8 || .456 || .372 || .849 || 6.6 || 3.0||1.0||0.6||23.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle | 82||82||32.7|| .448|| .303|| .807||6.0||2.6||1.1||0.6||20.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix |81||81||37.1|| .471|| .326|| .851|| 8.4||2.9||1.1||0.7||25.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix |81||81||37.6|| .501|| .279|| .861||7.0||2.3||1.1||0.6|||27.2 |-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Phoenix 
|76||75||32.6|| .437|| .274|| .826||6.4||2.6||0.9|||0.7|||19.9

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Phoenix 
|69||66||28..2|| .431|| .367|| .830||5..8||2..1||0..8||0..5|||16..3

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Phoenix 
|73||0||23..6||| .447||| .393||| .837|||4..7|||1..4|||0..6|||0..3|||12..2

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Utah 
|80|||0|||23..0||| .440||| .311||| .786|||4..1|||1..0|||0..5|||0..4|||11..2

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Utah 
|80|||4|||15..3||| .457||| .167||| .807|||2..6|||0..9|||0..3|||0..4|||6..2

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Charlotte 
|12|||5|||6..9||| .226||||.667||||.750||||1..2||||..3||||..1||||..0||||..1..6

|-

| style="text-align:left;" |  
| style="text-align:left;" |  Philadelphia 
|1||||10..0||||'.1000'''''—'||||.1000'||||2..0||||..0||||.200'||||..0||||..6..0

|- class=sortbottom ! colspan=2 align=center Career !1107!!743!!30..6!!.468!!.307!!.807!!6..1!!2..1!!.8!!.6!!18..1 |- class=sortbottom ! colspan=2 align=center All-Star !4!!1!!21..0!!.518!!.400!!.773!!4..0!!1..3!!1..5!!.00!!19..3

Playoffs

Template:NBA player statistics start |- |style="text-align:left;"|1984 |style="text-align:left;"|Seattle |5||—||38.2||.475||.000||.667||6.6||1.6||1.0||0.6||13.6 |- |style="text-align:left;"|1987 |style="text-align:left;"|Seattle |14||14||35.6||.449||.333||.808||6.4||2.3||0.9||0.9||23 |- |-style="text-align:left"|1988 NBA Playoffs |-style=text-align-left-|1987-88 Seattle SuperSonics season |-style=text-center-|5 |-style=text-center-|5 |-style=text-center-|33,6 |-style=text-center-|549 |-style=text-center-|000 |-style=text-center-|829 |-style=text-center-|62 |-style=text-center-|22 |-style=text-center-|06 |-style=text-center-|02 |-style=text-center-|25,8

|-style=text-left-|1989 NBA Playoffs |-style=text-left-|1988-89 Phoenix Suns season |-style=text-center-|12 |-style=text-center-|12 |-style=text-center-|41,3 |-style=text-center-|459 |-style=text-center-|409 |-style=text-center-|859 |-style=text-center-|109 |-style=text-center-|38 |-style=text-center-|11 |-style=text-center-|13 |-style=text-center-|26,00

|-style=text-left-|1990 NBA Playoffs |-style=text-left-|1989-90 Phoenix Suns season |-style=text-center-|16 |-style=text-center-|'16' |-style=text-center-|'38,3' |-style=text-center-|'425' |-style=text-center-|'263' |-style=text-center-|'879' |-style=text-center-|'67' |-style=text-center-|'19' |-style=text-center-|'04' |-style=text-center-|'04' |-style=text-center-|'22,20'

|-style='text-left' |- 1991 NBA Playoffs
|-style='text-left' |- 1990-91 Phoenix Suns season
|-16 |-16 |-35,5 |-41,9 |-00,00 |-73,7 |-58 |-25 |-18 |-13 |-17,00

|-style='text-left' |- 1992 NBA Playoffs
|-style='text-left' |- 1991-92 Phoenix Suns season
|-07 |-00 |-27,7 |-45,9 |-57,1 |-84,4 |-44 |-27 |-03 |-07 |-15,60

|-style='text-left' |- 1993 NBA Playoffs
|-style='text-left' |- 1992-93 Phoenix Suns season
|-24 |-01 |-15,7 |-38,8 |-40,00 |-81,5 |-27 |-05 |-03 |-04 |-07,30

|-style='text-left' |- 1994 NBA Playoffs
|-style='text-left' |- 1993-94 Utah Jazz season
|-16 |>00 |>20,3 |>36,10 |>00 |>79,30 |>28 |>08 |>03 |>06 |>05,80

- 
- style = "sortbottom" 
- colspan = "2" 
- Career 
-108 -52 -28,3 -.440 -.303 -.827 -5,3 -1,7 -06 -06 -15,40

Personal life

Following his retirement from professional basketball, Chambers acquired Shooting Star Ranch near North Ogden in Utah to provide a home for his family before accepting a position in community relations with the Suns and settling permanently in Scottsdale, Arizona.

He was honored with a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award alongside senior editor Tommy Arguelles for their work on Sunderella Suns, a documentary celebrating the four-decade milestone of the notable 1975–76 Phoenix Suns season and its lasting impact on Arizona's sports culture and community outreach initiatives.

External links