| Misty Thomas | |
| Birth Date: | 1 July 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Santa Monica, California, United States |
| Highlights: | |
Misty Thomas (born 1 July 1964) is a Canadian basketball player.[1] She competed in the women's tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics,[2] and became the first Canadian to compete at both the Olympics and the Paralympics.[3] [4]
Thomas was born in Santa Monica, California, before moving to Windsor when she was five years old.[5] Thomas took up basketball as a student at Vincent Massey High School, and also became a junior champion in volleyball and badminton.[5] At school, she was the leading points-scorer, and was part of the team that won the Ontario Basketball Championship in 1980.[5] Thomas then went to University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where she also became the top scorer for the basketball team.[5]
Thomas was part of the Canadian team at the 1983 Summer Universiade, the 1984 Summer Olympics, and the 1987 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal at the latter.[6] However, in 1985, Thomas suffered an ACL tear, which would require multiple knee operations, and go on to end her career.[5] Thomas went on to work with the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association,[7] and played with the national wheelchair team.[6]
In 2008, Thomas represented Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, competing in the wheelchair basketball tournament.[8]
Thomas was inducted into the UNLV Hall of Fame in 1997,[5] and in 1998, became the youngest player to be inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.[9]