Thurl Bailey

What draws me to Thurl Bailey is how completely he refused to be defined by his 211 cm frame. A sixteen-year NBA career with the Jazz and Timberwolves would be enough for most, yet he picked up a 1989 citizenship award, then reinvented himself as broadcaster, singer, songwriter, motivational speaker and actor. I find that second act more compelling than the first. Plenty of tall men can rebound; few leave the game and keep growing as human beings. Bailey strikes me as someone who understood that basketball was a platform, not a destination, and I respect that quiet ambition enormously.

Name (English)

Thurl Bailey

Name (Japanese)

サール・ベイリー

Reading

さーる・べいりー

Born

April 7, 1961 (age 65)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aries / Ox

Origin

Washington, D.C., United States

Height

211 cm

Occupation

basketball player / actor

High school

Bladensburg High School

University

North Carolina State University

Awards & achievements

• 1984 NBA All-Rookie Team
• 1989 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurl%20Bailey
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%99%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1661518

Tags

• basketball player
• actor

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.