BIOGRAPHY
Matt Thomas was born on August 4, 1991, in Decatur, Illinois. He is a shooting guard in the NBA.
Thomas was born in Decatur, Illinois to Martha and Greg Thomas. He grew up in Onalaska, Wisconsin, attending Onalaska High School. His mother had been a standout high school athlete herself. She was a swimmer, softball player, tennis player, and basketball star. She holds the school record for single game scoring at Wahlert High School in Dubuque, Iowa, with 48 points.
Thomas was an outstanding high school basketball player. He was named first-team all-state by both the Associated Press as a junior in 2012. He averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.1 steals in 2012 to lead his team to the Division 2 state championship. Onalaska ended the year with a 27–1 record. Thomas scored 30 points in the state championship game, a 55–38 victory over Kaukauna. His senior year Thomas averaged 28.3 points and 9.7 rebounds, leading his team to the state semifinals and a 24–3 mark, shooting 50.4% percent from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc. Thomas scored more than 40 points three times, including 41 points in the sectional final and a career-high 50 points in just 2 1/2 quarters vs. Tomah. He participated in the 2013 American Family Insurance High School 3-Point Championship, finishing third. Thomas ended his four-year career as a two-time first-team all-state pick with a 95–12 overall mark and over 2,000 points.
Being highly sought after Thomas eventually chose Iowa State over Virginia, Minnesota, Boston College and Marquette. Thomas began his true freshman campaign as a starter for Iowa State. He is only the 20th ISU freshman to start a season opener. He started in the first 15 games before being replaced in the starting line-up by Monte Morris. Despite becoming the 6th man, Thomas still appeared in all 36 games that season. Over the season Thomas averaged 5.5 points, scored in double figures eight times, shot 33.6% from behind the arc. He made four three-pointers in games twice during the season. He made a three in 25 games with 44 three-pointers total, which is good enough for second-most by a Cyclone freshman.
Due to increased bench depth his sophomore season, Thomas saw a slightly diminished role. He saw action in 32 total games, scoring in double figures nine times. He was third on the team with 32 three-pointers made. Thomas grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and hit 5–6 shots to score 13 points against Alabama in the season opener. He led the Cyclones in scoring for the first time in his career against Lamar, with 14 points. He scored a career-high 17 points at Texas, included 4–6 from three-point range.
Thomas played for the Los Angeles Lakers 2017 summer league team. He scored 23 points on 8–9 shooting in the summer league title game to help the Lakers to a 110–98 victory.
On August 29, Thomas signed with Monbus Obradoiro of Spain's Liga ACB. On July 11, Thomas signed a two-year deal with Valencia Basket of Spain's Liga ACB.
On July 19, 2019, Thomas signed with the Toronto Raptors.
