Milwaukee Bucks: Consultant Rod Thorn honored for Hall of Fame career

Milwaukee Bucks special consultant Rod Thorn was among those inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday, marking an illustrious front office career.

It was a busy night for individuals with Milwaukee Bucks connections as the Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined its latest batch of inductees on Friday night.

Ray Allen, stalwart of the last truly successful Bucks team, made his way into the Hall, as did former Milwaukee head coach Jason Kidd, but there was in fact one current member of the organization honored on the night, as Special Consultant Rod Thorn was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Thorn has worked with the Bucks since 2015, when he was hired to “serve as a terrific resource to ownership“, as well as the front office and coaching staff.

More from Bucks History

• The 3 biggest “What Ifs” in Milwaukee Bucks’ franchise history
• 6 Underrated Milwaukee Bucks of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era
• Ranking Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 10 best Bucks teammates of all time
• How well do you know the Milwaukee Bucks’ top 20 career point leaders?
• Looking at important playoff numbers in Milwaukee Bucks franchise history

Much of his influence on the Bucks in the time since has remained as something of a mystery, although his presence at the practice facility for draft workouts, and in the war room for any clips made public from recent NBA drafts has remained notable.

Thorn was reported to have been the man tasked with leading the 2017 search for a new general manager, which was ultimately very publicly botched and eventually resulted in the hiring of Jon Horst, but thankfully for him, he has a well of much more positive experiences from his lengthy front office career to reflect and draw upon too.

Thorn, who was presented on the night by Jerry West, is best known as the man who drafted Michael Jordan, but he has had a varied and distinguished career in the NBA in a variety of other roles too.

Thorn had an eight-year NBA career as a player, brief spells as a head coach in both the ABA and the NBA, spent time as a lead executive with the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, as well as a lengthy spell working for the league office as the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.

In his speech, Thorn took the opportunity to thank three players, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and Jason Kidd, who he again worked with in Milwaukee, for the “profound impact” they each had on his career.

Thorn also spoke of his recent experiences with the Bucks, and praised the team’s ownership for the influence they’ve had in changing the trajectory of the franchise.

"“I’d also like to thank Marc Lasry, Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan and Mike Fascitelli of the Milwaukee Bucks, for their leadership and support over these past few years. They have turned the Bucks into a real contender, and I have enjoyed being a part of the energy and excitement that they’ve got going there.”"

It remains to be seen how much longer the 77-year-old will be working with the Bucks, and what influence he could have on the franchise if he does, but there’s no disputing the sizable legacy that Thorn has already constructed within the game of basketball and his influence on the NBA over the past 40 years.