Malik Thomas
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{distinguish|Meleek Thomas}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Malik Thomas
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| team = Virginia Cavaliers
| number =
| position = Shooting guard
| league = Atlantic Coast Conference
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 205
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|02|4}}
| birth_place = Fontana, California, U.S.
| high_school = Damien (La Verne, California)
| college =
- USC (2021–2023)
- San Francisco (2023–2025)
- Virginia (2025–present)
| highlights =
- First-team All-WCC (2025)
}}
Malik Thomas (born February 4, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the Virginia Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference. He previously played for the USC Trojans and San Francisco Dons.
High school career
Thomas attended Damien High School in La Verne, California. During his time at Damien, he became the school's all-time leading scorer.{{Cite web |last=Baiotto |first=Brian |date=2021-04-25 |title=Malik Thomas Becomes Damien's All-Time Leading Scorer After Saturday's 76-42 Victory Over La Mirada; New Record is 2,169 Points |url=https://210prepsports.com/2021/04/25/malik-thomas-becomes-damiens-all-time-leading-scorer-after-saturdays-76-42-victory-over-la-mirada-new-record-is-2169-points/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Welcome |language=en-US}} As a junior, Thomas averaged 25.4 points and seven rebounds per game.{{Cite web |last=Robin |first=Brian |date=2020-04-02 |title=Damien’s Malik Thomas is the Sun/Bulletin boys basketball player of the year |url=https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/04/02/damiens-malik-thomas-is-the-sun-bulletin-boys-basketball-player-of-the-year/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Daily Bulletin |language=en-US}} As a senior, he averaged 21.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.{{Cite web |date=2021-06-28 |title=Boys basketball 2021 All-Area team: Damien’s Malik Thomas earns top honor again |url=https://www.sgvtribune.com/2021/06/28/boys-basketball-2021-all-area-team-damiens-malik-thomas-earns-top-honors-again/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=San Gabriel Valley Tribune |language=en-US}} As a result, he was named the Gatorade California Boys Basketball Player of the Year.{{Cite web |title=Damien High School student-athlete named Gatorade California Boys Basketball Player of the Year |url=https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/poy/assets/writable/65230/2021_BK_MThomas.pdf}} A four-star recruit, Thomas committed to play college basketball at the University of Southern California.{{Cite web |date=2020-03-28 |title=Damien basketball’s Malik Thomas commits to USC |url=https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2020/03/27/damien-basketballs-malik-thomas-commits-to-usc/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Pasadena Star News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kartje |first=Ryan |date=2020-03-28 |title=USC basketball program receives commitment from Damien guard Malik Thomas |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/story/2020-03-27/usc-basketball-gets-commitment-from-damien-guard-malik-thomas |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
College career
Thomas played sparingly for two seasons at USC, before transferring to the University of San Francisco. As a senior, in his second season with San Francisco, Thomas emerged as the team's leading scorer.{{Cite web |last=Kroner |first=Steve |title=USF backcourt ‘twins’ Malik Thomas, Marcus Williams make Dons a WCC force |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/usf-backcourt-twins-malik-thomas-marcus-20148883.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle}} He also emerged as one of the West Coast Conference's leading scorers.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-12 |title=Key matchup: WCC scoring leader Malik Thomas headlines deep, talented San Francisco backcourt |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/feb/11/key-matchup-wcc-scoring-leader-malik-thomas-headli/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Spokesman.com |language=en}}
On May 10, 2025, Thomas announced his decision to transfer to the University of Virginia to play for the Virginia Cavaliers.{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Chris |date=2025-05-11 |title=Odom adds Malik Thomas |url=https://augustafreepress.com/news/uva-basketball-odom-adds-malik-thomas-another-big-time-scoring-guard/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Augusta Free Press |language=en-US}}
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22
| style="text-align:left;"| USC
|| 9 || 0 || 2.0 || .167 || .000 || .500 || .1 || .1 || .1 || .0 || .3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23
| style="text-align:left;"| USC
|| 27 || 0 || 8.1 || .365 || .263 || .737 || 1.0 || .3 || .4 || .0 || 2.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24
| style="text-align:left;"| San Francisco
|| 33 || 21 || 23.2 || .474 || .400 || .861 || 2.7 || .5 || .8 || .0 || 12.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25
| style="text-align:left;"| San Francisco
| 34 || 34 || 31.8 || .444 || .394 || .851 || 3.9 || 2.1 || 1.6 || .1 || 19.9
{{S-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://usfdons.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/malik-thomas/5891 San Francisco Dons bio]
- [https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/malik-thomas/13119 USC Trojans bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Malik}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from California
Category:Damien High School alumni
Category:San Francisco Dons men's basketball players
Category:Sportspeople from Fontana, California
Category:USC Trojans men's basketball players
{{2000s-US-basketball-bio-stub}}