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Wizards name Rod Thorn as Senior Advisor to Tommy Sheppard

Thorn worked for the Chicago Bulls as their General Manager when the team drafted Michael Jordan. The Bulls’ Director of Scouting at that time was now-Mystics head coach Mike Thibault!

By Albert Lee
SiriusXM NBA Radio Hall Of Fame Town Hall With Ray Allen, Jason Kidd And Rod Thorn At Mohegan Sun
Rod Thorn is now working for Monumental Basketball.
Photo by David Surowiecki/Getty Images for SiriusXM

On Tuesday, the Washington Wizards announced that Rod Thorn was named Senior Advisor to Tommy Sheppard, the team’s General Manager.

Thorn returns to the Wizards after 56 years! He was the second overall pick in the 1963 NBA Draft to the then-Baltimore Bullets where he played his rookie season. From there, he would play for several other teams in a nine-year playing career.

That said, Thorn is best known as the General Manager of the Chicago Bulls when they drafted Michael Jordan third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft. While he worked for the Bulls, Thorn had a young assistant by the name of ....

Mike Thibault.

I think you know where that young assistant is taking his career right now, so I’ll leave it right there.

Though he never got to run the Bulls when Chicago won six NBA titles, Thorn still made his mark on the NBA in other ways by working as an NBA Executive Vice President from 1986-2000, where he was also the official who handed out league suspensions and fines. Thorn would later on become a General Manager for the Philadelphia 76ers and then-New Jersey Nets. While in New Jersey, the Nets made the 2002 and 2003 NBA Finals under his watch.

Every GM needs good advisors, and Thorn brings great experience both from a team and league level. Welcome back to the Wizards Rod Thorn!