On the Beat: Thompson’s Hard Work Continues to Pay Off

PHILADELPHIA – The longest-tenured member of the 76ers’ roster is staying in the fold for one more season.Wednesday, the team announced it decided to pick up the fourth-year option on Hollis Thompson’s contract. With 225 games under his belt dating back to the start of the 2013-2014 season, no active player on the Sixers’ roster has since made more appearances for the club. Last year was Thompson’s most productive to date. He established career-high averages of 28.0 minutes, 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.”To see him be rewarded, and watch his continued growth and improvement, he’s really had arguably the most consistent year out of all of our wings,” said Brett Brown during the Sixers’ previous campaign.Of particular note, Thompson has proven to be a dangerous three-point threat.  The Georgetown product, who turned 25 two weeks before the end of the season, teed off on a personal best 149 triples.  For his career, he’s canned 331 jumpers from outside the arc, and connected on 39.1 percent of his attempts from deep.”I think it’s big for us,” Thompson said last season when discussing the impact of his three-point shooting.  “We play fast, so when we get up a lot of three’s, I think it continues to help us play fast.”Over the last four years, Thompson’s stock has undergone a dramatic transformation, as he’s risen from the ranks of undrafted rookie free agent to that of dependable NBA rotation contributor. Leaving the Hoyas after his junior season, Thompson’s first professional opportunity came with Oklahoma City in 2012.  He spent the summer and parts of the pre-season with the organization, before being placed on waivers.  Thompson was then signed to the Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate in Tulsa.  The following summer, in 2013, Thompson latched on with San Antonio, while Brown was still employed by the Spurs. In September of that year, prior to training camp, Thompson subsequently inked a deal with the Sixers.”Hollis Thompson is our version of a veteran,” Brown said back in November.  “I feel like he’s a poster child to our program.  He came out of left field, and kept investing time. Now he’s been here for a while. He’s playing at a high level for us.”More than that, the easy-going, mature Thompson has become a valued presence inside the Sixers’ locker room, winning the respect and appreciation of Brown for the manner in which he’s conducted himself around teammates.  Thompson has a worldly side, too – he’s never one to back down from a political conversation with Brown – that the coach no doubt welcomes.”He sets the table all over the place,” said Brown in the middle of last year. “He’s a wonderful leader, and he’s now being rewarded.”That was again the case Wednesday, this time in the form of an extended opportunity to wear the only NBA uniform he’s ever known.