Tommy Rutherford

Tommy Rutherford
No. 5 – Motor City Cruise
Position	Center
League	NBA G League
Personal information
Born	January 9, 1997 (age 28); San Diego, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school	Grossmont (El Cajon, California)
College	UC Irvine (2016–2020)
NBA draft	2020: undrafted
Playing career	2020–present
Career history
2020–2021	Racing Luxembourg
2021–2022	Starwings Basel
2022–2023	ZZ Leiden
2023–2024	Neptūnas Klaipėda
2024	South Bay Lakers
2025–present	Motor City Cruise
Career highlights and awards
	BNXT League champion (2023); BNXT Dutch Finals MVP (2023); Dutch League champion (2023); Dutch Cup winner (2023); First-team All-Big West (2018); Big West Hustle Player of The Year (2019);

Thomas Rutherford^[1] (born January 9, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Motor City Cruise of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UC Irvine Anteaters.

College career

After graduating Grossmont High School, Rutherford played with the UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team from 2016 to 2020.^[2] He was a first-team All-Big West in 2018.^[3]

Professional career

Rutherford started his professional career in 2020, when he played his rookie season with Racing Luxembourg in the Luxembourg League. He averaged a double-double of 16.2 points and a league-leading 16.2 rebounds per game.^[4]

In the 2021–22 season, Rutherford played in Switzerland for Starwings Basel. He averaged 15.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in the Swiss Basketball League (SBL).^[4]

On August 22, 2022, Rutherford signed with Dutch club ZZ Leiden of the BNXT League.^[3] With Leiden, he won the Dutch Cup, Dutch League and BNXT championship in the 2022–23 season. In Game 5 of the Dutch League finals, Rutherford scored the decisive two free-throws that sealed Leiden's fifth national title. He was also named Dutch Finals MVP after the series.^[5]

On August 2, 2023, Rutherford signed with Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).^[6]

On October 26, 2024, Rutherford joined the Santa Cruz Warriors after being selected in the 2024 NBA G League draft.^[7] However, he was waived on November 6^[8] and on December 6, he joined the South Bay Lakers,^[9] but was waived on December 13.^[10]

On January 11, 2025, Rutherford joined the Motor City Cruise.^[11]

Personal life

Rutherford has an older brother and an older sister. He studied civil engineering at the University of California, Irvine.^[2]

References

^ "Thomas Rutherford". FIBA Basketball. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Tommy Rutherford - Men's Basketball". UCI Athletics. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "ZZ Leiden | ZZ Leiden legt Thomas Rutherford vast". www.eredivisiebasketballleiden.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved June 18, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Sportiw - Profile of Tommy Rutherford ,player". Sportiw. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
^ "ZZ LEIDEN KROONT ZICH TOT KAMPIOEN VAN NEDERLAND". bnxtleague.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
^ "Neptunas sign a second foreign player, ex ZZ Leiden". eurobasket.com. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
^ "Santa Cruz Warriors Select Seth Maxwell, Tommy Rutherford, and Devine Eke in the 2024 NBA G League Draft". NBA.com. October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
^ "2024-2025 Santa Cruz Warriors Transaction History". RealGM.com. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
^ "South Bay Lakers Sign Forward Tommy Rutherford". NBA.com. December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
^ "South Bay Lakers Sign Guard Devonte' Graham". NBA.com. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
^ Motor City Cruise [@MotorCityCruise] (January 11, 2025). "Welcome to the 313, Tommy!💙 OFFICIAL- We have acquired center Tommy Rutherford off the available player pool" (Tweet). Retrieved January 12, 2025 – via Twitter.

External links

[1] "Thomas Rutherford". FIBA Basketball. Retrieved December 7, 2024.

[:0-2] "Tommy Rutherford - Men's Basketball". UCI Athletics. Retrieved June 18, 2023.

[:2-3] "ZZ Leiden | ZZ Leiden legt Thomas Rutherford vast". www.eredivisiebasketballleiden.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved June 18, 2023.

[:1-4] "Sportiw - Profile of Tommy Rutherford ,player". Sportiw. Retrieved June 18, 2023.

[5] "ZZ LEIDEN KROONT ZICH TOT KAMPIOEN VAN NEDERLAND". bnxtleague.com. Retrieved June 18, 2023.

[6] "Neptunas sign a second foreign player, ex ZZ Leiden". eurobasket.com. August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.

[7] "Santa Cruz Warriors Select Seth Maxwell, Tommy Rutherford, and Devine Eke in the 2024 NBA G League Draft". NBA.com. October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.

[8] "2024-2025 Santa Cruz Warriors Transaction History". RealGM.com. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

[9] "South Bay Lakers Sign Forward Tommy Rutherford". NBA.com. December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.

[10] "South Bay Lakers Sign Guard Devonte' Graham". NBA.com. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.

[11] Motor City Cruise [@MotorCityCruise] (January 11, 2025). "Welcome to the 313, Tommy!💙 OFFICIAL- We have acquired center Tommy Rutherford off the available player pool" (Tweet). Retrieved January 12, 2025 – via Twitter.

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