1. Dedrick Etan Thomas was born on April 1,1978 and is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association.
16 Facts About Etan Thomas
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Etan Thomas is a published poet, freelance writer, activist, and motivational speaker, as well as a co-host of Centers of Attention, a sports talk show on ESPN Radio Syracuse in Syracuse, New York, alongside former professional basketball player Danny Schayes.
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Etan Thomas's name is derived from the 18th dynasty "heretic pharaoh" Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian king.
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On October 11,2007, Etan Thomas successfully underwent open heart surgery.
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Etan Thomas returned to play for the Wizards on October 29,2008, a full year after his surgery.
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Etan Thomas would sit out for the remainder of the playoffs and the Atlanta Hawks were eventually eliminated in the Semi-Finals in 6 games by the Chicago Bulls.
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In 2005, Thomas released a book of poetry titled More Than an Athlete: Poems by Etan Thomas which included works critical of former Wizards head coach Doug Collins.
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In 2012, Etan Thomas co-authored the autobiography Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge, which he discusses his fatherless childhood and the importance of fatherhood.
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Since 2020, Etan Thomas has been a writer and podcaster for Basketballnews.
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Etan Thomas says that he became an oralist when, after he was detained and humiliated by police officers in high school, his speech teacher had him sort and verbalize his feelings into a speech.
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Etan Thomas's mother spoke with him about activists who used their positions as athletes to amplify their reach, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, and Jim Brown.
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In September 2005, Etan Thomas was one of several celebrities to speak at an anti-war rally in Washington, DC He spoke out at the September 15,2007 anti-war protest in Washington, DC He blogs for The Huffington Post.
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Etan Thomas said he was inclined to be against the Iraq War, as he felt there was no clear reason to invade the country and the fact that some of his brother's friends who were deployed to Iraq, and upon learning about how terrified they were, decided to begin speaking out.
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Etan Thomas actively supported Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for US president.
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Etan Thomas gave speeches at two stops in Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria.
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In January 2010, Etan Thomas donated $30,000 to the Haiti relief efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.