Tom Hammonds

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1967)}}

{{for|the American sportscaster|Tom Hammond}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Tom Hammonds

| image =

| width =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 9

| weight_lb = 215

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|03|27}}

| birth_place = Fort Walton Beach, Florida, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| high_school = Crestview (Crestview, Florida)

| college = Georgia Tech (1985–1989)

| draft_year = 1989

| draft_round = 1

| draft_pick = 9

| draft_team = Washington Bullets

| career_start = 1989

| career_end = 2001

| career_number = 12, 20, 21

| career_position = Power forward

| years1 = {{nbay|1989|start}}–{{nbay|1991|end}}

| team1 = Washington Bullets

| years2 = {{nbay|1991|end}}–{{nbay|1992|end}}

| team2 = Charlotte Hornets

| years3 = {{nbay|1992|end}}–{{nbay|1996|end}}

| team3 = Denver Nuggets

| years4 = {{nbay|1997|start}}–{{nbay|2000|end}}

| team4 = Minnesota Timberwolves

| highlights =

• Third-team All-American – NABC (1989)
• 2× First-team All-ACC (1988, 1989)
• ACC Rookie of the Year (1986)
• No. 20 retired by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
• First-team Parade All-American (1985)

| stats_league = NBA

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 3,617 (5.3 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 2,243 (3.3 rpg)

| medal_templates =

{{MedalSport | Men's basketball}}

{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}

{{MedalCompetition|FIBA World Championship}}

{{MedalGold| 1986 Spain | National team}}

}}

Tom Edward Hammonds (born March 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player and National Hot Rod Association drag racer. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and attended Crestview High School in Crestview, Florida.

Hammonds played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, earning Rookie of the Year honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1986. After graduating in 1989, he was selected by the Washington Bullets in the first round (ninth overall) in the 1989 NBA draft. He played 12 NBA seasons for the Bullets, Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 5.3 points per game in his career. He scored a career-high 31 points for the Bullets against the New York Knicks, on January 29, 1992.

While enrolled at Georgia Tech, Hammonds played for the US national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning the gold medal.[http://www.usabasketball.com/history/mwc_1986.html 1986 USA Basketball] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113075027/http://www.usabasketball.com/history/mwc_1986.html |date=2007-11-13 }}

While playing for the Nuggets, Hammonds became involved in drag racing.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20011117175351/http://www.dragracingonline.com/features/hammonds_1.html "Hammonds Has His Chevy Cavalier Back In The Groove"]}} He qualified in the 1996 Mopar Parts Mile High Nationals, only to lose to Kurt Johnson. He owns his own NHRA team, racing in the NHRA's Pro Stock class since 1996.

Hammonds also opened a car dealership in Darlington, South Carolina.[http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112905aaj.html The Need for Speed: Former basketball great Tom Hammonds has accelerated through basketball, car racing and now owning a car dealership] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120630043933/http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112905aaj.html |date=2012-06-30 }}