Nate Thurmond, who recorded the NBA’s first official quadruple-double and locked horns with some of the best centers in league history, died of leukemia Saturday at 74.
Thurmond -- whose playing career overlapped with those of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, Wes Unseld, Walt Bellamy, Bob Lanier and others -- was named an NBA All-Star seven times. He was a first- or second-team all-defensive team member five times. Abdul-Jabbar called the 6-foot-11 Thurmond the best defender he faced.