Duke basketball’s top 10 role players of the last decade

The best Duke basketball role players since 2010: Lance Thomas

If you had told me back in 2010 that Lance Thomas would have the best NBA career out of Duke’s championship team and still be playing in 2020, there’s no way I would’ve believed you. Thomas is one of the most unlikely Duke basketball players in the last 10 years to make it to the NBA. What’s even crazier is that he is still getting contracts and earning minutes for doing the same exact things he did while at Duke.

When I think of a role player, I think of Lance Thomas. Thomas can’t really shot and has almost no offensive game. Yet he is a guy you just cannot take off the floor. He does all of the little things, all of the dirty work. Thomas can guard pretty much 2-5, plays with great energy and intensity, will take charges and dive on the floor, and competes relentlessly for rebounds.

Thomas was always a little bit undersized, but he made up for it with heart, hustle, and pure tenacity. He was sort of like Dennis Rodman. Rodman couldn’t really score at all and was a guy you would never draw up a play for, but he did so many things to help the team win. That is who Lance Thomas was for Duke, especially his senior season. He did all the little things that allowed guys like Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith to do what they needed to do.

Probably my favorite Lance Thomas moment came in the Elite Eight against Baylor. Baylor was one of the most athletic teams in the country and had a massive front line, led by Ekpe Udoh and Quincy Acy. Thomas didn’t really have the size or athleticism to match up with those guys, but he outworked, outhustled, and simply outplayed their frontcourt. Thomas killed Baylor on the offensive glass and had a late-game putback dunk that helped fully swing the momentum in Duke’s favor.

When Thomas graduated from Duke in 2010, the Blue Devils were not losing a big part of their offense, but they were losing a huge part of their team and culture. What made that 2010 championship team so special is that it was understood everyone was bought in and everyone knew their role.

Lance Thomas had no ego. He knew he wasn’t the guy who was going to score 25 points or be on SportsCenter. He understood what his role was, and he executed it extremely well, time after time. His leadership, energy, and willingness to do what most players won’t is what allowed that 2009-10 team to be so successful.

Every current and future Duke player should idolize and want to be like Lance Thomas. It is not about what is best for your individual success or receiving individual accolades. It’s about doing what is best for the team and doing the little things that create big success.

Thomas’ best scoring year was a whopping 5.8 points per game. So many players these days would complain that they aren’t getting enough looks offensively and transfer out to a school where they can have a bigger role. But that is not how you become a champion. Becoming a champion requires sacrifice and understanding of the bigger picture. No one understood that better than Lance Thomas.

Thomas has carried that same mentality over to the NBA. He went undrafted in 2010 and seemed destined for a career overseas or in the G-League. But that was not the case. Thomas understood that his way onto an NBA team would be through accepting a small role and doing the things that others wouldn’t.  Thomas has turned his being a hustler, energy guy, and defensive specialist into a 10-year NBA career.

Thomas has played for the Pelicans, Thunder, Knicks, and currently plays for the Brooklyn Nets.

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