NBA vet grateful for second life

MANILA, Philippines - NLEX import Al Thornton said the other day he’s working hard to get back in tip-top shape and repay the Road Warriors for giving him a second life in his basketball career that has been plagued by injuries.

Thornton, 31, played four seasons with the Florida State varsity then was picked on the first round by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2007 NBA draft.  He saw action in 296 games over four NBA seasons with the Clippers, Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors, averaging 11.9 points.  A slew of injuries cut short his NBA career at the end of the 2010-11 season.

In 2013, Thornton underwent three major surgeries to repair damage to his right knee, left knee and left ankle.  He stayed out of basketball for a year to recover.  His left ankle was reconstructed.  Doctors took out a torn meniscus in his right knee and cleaned up his left knee.  An ordinary player wouldn’t have been able to come back from the pain, therapy and unstable condition.  But Thornton is no ordinary player.

“I got back to playing after a year of recovery,” said Thornton who came back from the hiatus to average 21.6 points for Brujos de Guayama in the Puerto Rico league.  He was offered a contract to play in Russia but no team wanted to take a chance on him.  “I played in the preseason in Russia but because of my history of injuries, they let me go,” he said.  “Luckily, I got a call to play in the PBA and I’m grateful to NLEX for giving me a chance.”

Thornton said when he arrived in Manila, he was just 60 percent of his capacity.  He initially played with a huge metal brace on his right knee and it hampered his mobility.  NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez got a less cumbersome brace for Thornton, threw out the old strap and the 6-7 1/16 forward is now playing with lot more movement.

“Al’s not injured,” said Fernandez.  “His right knee is just weak.  He’s putting in a lot of work in rehab to strengthen his knee and you can see the improvement.”  Thornton said he’s now up to about 75 percent.  “Before I’m done, I’ll be 100 percent,” he said.  “My lady (Katelyn) is coming from Florida on Friday (today) so I’ll be more inspired.  We’ve only been together for about six months.  I wish my daughter Anaiya, who just turned six, could be with me but she’s in school back home.”           

Thornton said throughout his NBA career, he battled injuries but never complained.  “I just go out there and play,” he said.  “It’s the reason why I played four years at Florida State and didn’t come out for the draft early.  I just wanted to play, never mind the pain.  I was what you call a project in college.  I wanted to be ready for the NBA in good time.”  Thornton raised his scoring clip from year to year at Florida State, averaging 2.8 points as a freshman, 9.1 as a sophomore, 16.1 as a junior and 19.7 as a senior.  He finished his varsity career as the school’s seventh all-time leading scorer with a three-point norm of 43.8 percent.

In the NBA, Thornton earned over $8 Million.  As a rookie in 2007-08, he erupted for 39 points on 13-of-23 field goals, 3-of-6 triples and 10-of-12 free throws to lead the Clippers to a 110-97 win over Memphis, snapping a 10-game losing streak.  In that contest, Thornton shot 20 points in the fourth period.  In 2008-09, he averaged 16.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 70 games with the Clippers.

Last Tuesday, Thornton hit 15 of his 30 points in the fourth period as NLEX came back from a 21-point deficit to stun San Miguel Beer, 100-93, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.  The Road Warriors outscored the Beermen, 42-18, in the last 12 minutes to settle the outcome.  Thornton has now scored at least 30 points in four of his six outings.

For a while, it looked like Thornton wouldn’t be able to finish the game as he appeared to limp in the third quarter where he sat out about five minutes.  But he shrugged off the discomfort to explode in the payoff period.

“I told Al not to settle for jumpshots, to go hard to the basket and be aggressive,” said Fernandez.  “We had a flat start so I brought in guys like Jeckster Apinan, Pamboy Raymundo and Harold Arboleda for energy.  We feed off Al so I thought the effort from our locals in the second half was tremendous.”  MacMac Cardona fired nine points in the third period.  Asi Taulava had 12 of his 20 points and Jonas Villanueva 10 of his 15 in the second half.

“I thank the Lord for this victory,” said Fernandez.  “The guys stayed with our gameplan.  We pressed, forced turnovers and played a 2-3 zone for nearly the entire second half.  We were lucky that San Miguel’s three-pointers didn’t drop.  We gave up threes to (Chris) Lutz and Arwind (Santos) in the second half but overall, our defense held up.  We baited them to take the outside shot because they’re more dangerous when they’re penetrating and setting up JuneMar (Fajardo) at the low post.”