Most NBA players want to be tough. But ask anyone around the league and they’ll tell you few really are.

Etan Thomas?

Well, the Thunder’s newest big man on Sunday night got his first real chance to reveal to Oklahoma City which category he falls into. And against a bigger, more athletic Portland frontline, the 6-foot-10 Thomas proved legit.

The Thunder has found its enforcer, the guy who prevents nightly layup drills and makes opponents think a split second longer before dashing down the lane or mouthing off.

"He’s not a fake tough guy,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of Thomas after his team’s 83-74 loss to the Blazers. "He’s going to give you everything he has. We like that effort that he brings. He gives us a toughness that we like and use in a very positive way. He’s not going to back down from who’s on the floor.”

On the floor Sunday was Greg Oden, the Blazers’ 7-foot No. 1 overall pick in 2007. His backup, the 7-foot-1 inch Joel Pryzbilla, is one of the best rebounding centers around. The duo, along with starting power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, helped Portland finish last season as the best rebounding team in the league with a plus-5.4 rebounding differential.

Thomas clashed down low with all three, playing so effectively that Brooks could give starting center Nenad Krstic only 10 second-half minutes on a night the Thunder desperately needed Krstic’s shooting.

Thomas finished with four points, nine rebounds and one block in 26 minutes. But if ever there was a player whose value doesn’t show up in the stat sheet it’s Thomas.

He jostled with Oden the entire night, in the paint and in transition. And Thomas gave him a piece of his mind throughout, often with words but once with actions.


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