Player Recap: Sam Thompson

Much like last season, Sam Thompson joined the Skyforce again for the regular season, and impacted winning on a high level.

The veteran provided solid versatility at the wing position, and even held his ground playing backup center at times for the Force in 2022-23. A selfless mentality like Thompson's is what helped push Sioux Falls deep into the Western Conference playoffs.

In 29 games this season, Thompson averaged 7.4 points on 49.1 percent shooting, 3.99 rebounds and 1.4 assist per 22.2 minutes a game.

He scored in double figures eight times and had three games of plus-22 plus-minus or higher this season, which just backs his impact on the team more than any other statistic.

In a five game stretch from Jan. 13 to Jan. 24, the Ohio State and Chicago product scored in double figures four times, where he also shot above 50 percent in each of those four games.

On Feb. 8 at Long Island, Thompson netted 14 points on 7-12 FGA and six rebounds. He followed that up at Westchester on Feb. 10 with 18 points on 7-8 FGA and four rebounds in a victory.

He posted a season-high 23 points on 10-14 FGA, four rebounds and two assists at Salt Lake City on Feb. 13, and ended a four-game streak of double digit scoring on Feb. 23 vs Mexico City with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Skyforce was 7-2 when Thompson secured five-plus rebounds and 6-2 when he played 24-plus minutes this season.