David B. Thorpe

David Thorpe served as a lead NBA analyst for ESPN.COM from 2007 to 2017. He is now a partner and senior analyst for TrueHoop.com. Coach Thorpe is also the founder and Executive Director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, FL. His coaching career began at Dixie Hollins High School (St. Petersburg, FL) in 1987, and in the early 1990’s he opened what was then considered to be the first specialized player development program in the country. Over the years he moved from helping high school and college players to NBA players and professionals playing overseas. Thorpe’s NBA clientele base, for which he serves as a personal basketball and life coach, have earned over $1 billion in their careers, and he has helped over 90 players reach their NBA dreams. He mentors successful head coaches and executives in the NBA, college, and Europe, and he has consulted with NBA owners on the business aspects of their teams. Thorpe appears twice a week on TrueHoop's BRING IT IN podcast, as well as countless others each NBA season.

What they say about Coach Thorpe:

You can't just refer to David as a basketball coach. He's a life coach, too, not only for the players he trains but his ESPN colleagues as well! If you want to truly unlock the secrets to the game of success, partner up with Coach Thorpe-prepare to be enlightened, and to be inspired.

--Marc Stein, Senior Writer, ESPN and ESPN SPORTSCENTER

Watching a basketball game with David Thorpe at any level is like riding shotgun with a surgeon in the operating room. He is one of the rare people who works in the sport who can combine a deep and versed knowledge of the science of it all while at the same time provide cutting big-picture perspective. It is in those tucked gray areas where he shines, not just in improving his students' performance but in letting his readers in on many of the secrets of why it all matters.

--Brian Windhorst, ESPN and ESPN SPORTSCENTER

For the nearly two decades, David Thorpe has continuously opened my eyes to new and critical insights into the human mind. I never stop learning from him.

I have witnessed his unique talent change players' lives. To the NBA and European players overseas he counsels, the coaches, front office executives, and owners that seek out his advice, and the basketball fans to whom he has become a household name, Thorpe is a valued teacher and authority like no other.

--Jason Levien, Owner and Managing Partner for Swansea City/English Premier League and DC United/MLS

"David Thorpe is not just an excellent basketball trainer -- I know, having attended his camp in Florida -- but he also possesses the rare ability to translate even the most technical aspects of the game into language the common fan can understand. His passion is evident, not to mention contagious. Spend fifteen minutes talking with Thorpe and you'll immediately want to do one of two things: go play a game or go watch one."

-- Chris Ballard, Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated and author of "The Art of a Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan's Tour of the NBA" (November 2009)

"I've had hundreds of people who worked me out, who think they know a lot about the game. But once I started comparing them to (Thorpe), there's really no comparison. That's why I trust him with everything I have, and he trusts me to know that I'm listening to him. That's why we're a good pair."

-- Just retired 12 year veteran guard Kevin Martin, as quoted in the Sacramento Bee

"(Thorpe) turned me into a player who could stand up and face the basket and take jumpers. Obviously, I had been playing with my back to the basket my whole career ... and to be honest, if not for him, I probably wouldn't be able to play in this system."

-- NBA champion Udonis Haslem, as quoted in the St. Petersburg Times

"I met David Thorpe close to 16 years ago. Since that time I have followed his rise through the ranks of the sport that he adores. I believe that knowing 'where' David started building his philosophy on player development is as important as understanding the techniques he employs. The cramped high school gyms across the state of Florida helped establish a holistic player development approach that has resonated from NBA arenas in Sacramento to Chicago. Although David serves as a skilled on-court instructor and possesses a humility that allows him to reach multiple player levels, his ability to analyze players and teams fluently makes him a hybrid basketball soul of sorts. I like to refer to one of his strengths as an ability to communicate 'teachable observations.' In our sport, the skill to take complex movements or schemes, and reduce them to lessons that are easily absorbed by all levels of players, fans, or coaches, is not only unique but progressive. David's rise in the world of basketball is built on a bedrock of development -- His own and his players. In the process he has picked up unique and valuable stories."

-- Sam Presti, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Oklahoma City Thunder

I met Dave at a mutual friend's wedding, and I still feel fortunate that I was seated at the same table. That was nearly 2 decades ago, and the opportunity to become friends with Dave has been a blessing. I've encountered very few people who think as clearly about the game. He has a genuine gift for recognizing what makes a player successful and what might be necessary to make that player better. I'm honestly not sure if he's a better analyst or a better teacher, but I'm absolutely certain those talents complement each other. I'd rather talk basketball with David Thorpe than nearly anyone on the planet. We don't agree about every issue or every player, but he always makes me think hard about my position. It's not easy to hold your own in a debate with him, but if you pull it off it's like avoiding embarrassment in a game of one-on-one with LeBron James.

-- Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News

There are many great minds in the game of basketball. Rarer, though, is a coach that combines a nuanced and subtle understanding of all the facets of the game with the heart and mindset of a true mentor and friend. I have been fortunate to work with and learn from Coach David Thorpe over the last few years, absorbing aspects of player development from the inside out. His attention to detail on the court is only matched by his care for the players he counsels on a personal level. A master teacher of all things hoops, Coach Thorpe embodies exactly what you look for in a coach, and even more what you look for in a person. I first contacted Coach Thorpe asking for skill development tips for a player I was working with. Of all the coaches I contacted, he was the only to respond, and went well beyond a cursory email. He invited the player and me to pay him a visit, and we quickly developed a relationship that led to me having a chance to work with him and his players at the Pro Training Center. Coach Thorpe has counseled me in a variety of circumstances, both professional and personal, and he is constantly looking out for the best interests of those around him. I value his guidance and advice and am proud and honored to call him a friend, just as his players call him “Coach.”

-- Anthony Macri, VP of Business Development for the Memphis Grizzlies