Thomas van der Mars

Thomas van der Mars (born 15 November 1990) is a Dutch professional basketball player for Heroes Den Bosch of the BNXT League. Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), he usually plays as center.

Thomas van der Mars
Van der Mars playing for the Netherlands in 2016
No. 21 – Heroes Den Bosch
PositionCenter
LeagueBNXT League
Personal information
Born (1990-11-15) 15 November 1990
Gouda, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolCanarias Basketball Academy
(Las Palmas, Gran Canaria)
CollegePortland (2011–2015)
NBA draft2015: undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Kavala
2016–2017Rapla
2017–2018Kalev
2018–2019Okapi Aalstar
2019–presentHeroes Den Bosch
Career highlights and awards

Early career

A native of Gouda,[1] van der Mars played for Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain.[2]

College

Thomas van der Mars played four years at Portland, averaging 13.5 pts and 7.2 rebs as a junior and 10.4 pts and 8.0 rebs as a senior.

Professional career

In August 2015, Van der Mars signed with Kavala B.C. of the Greek Basket League.[3] In January 2016, he parted ways with Kavala and signed with AVIS Rapla of the Estonian KML.[4] Van der Mars had a successful season, as he claimed KML Most Valuable Player and All-KML Team honors on his way to the league finals.[5] Over the 2017–18 season, he averaged 15.5 points (fifth in the league) and 12.3 rebounds per game (first in the league). With Rapla, he qualified for the team's first ever KML finals. However, Van der Mars and Rapla lost to Kalev Cramo, being swept 0–4.

In the 2017 offseason, he signed with Estonian defending champions Kalev Cramo.[6]

On 4 July 2018, Van der Mars signed with Crelan Okapi Aalstar of the Belgian Pro Basketball League (PBL).[7]

On 30 July 2019, van der Mars returned to the Netherlands by signing a three-year contract with New Heroes Den Bosch of the Dutch Basketball League (DBL).[8] On 29 May 2022, he won his first national title with Den Bosch and was named the BNXT Dutch Finals MVP after averaging 11.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in the series against ZZ Leiden.[9] Van der Mars had a game-high 16 rebounds in the decisive Game 5 win away in Leiden and was praised for his defence on Leiden' star player Asbjørn Midtgaard.

On 13 June 2022, he re-signed with Den Bosch for two more seasons; extending his contract to 2024.[10]

International career

Van der Mars made his debut for the Netherlands national basketball team on 5 August 2016, in an 84–79 loss against Poland.[11]

References
  1. Portland Pilots Profile
  2. "Meet Thomas van der Mars: from unknown Dutch player to Estonian MVP — We Are Basket". wearebasket.net. Archived from the original on 2018-04-27.
  3. Thomas van der Mars inks with Kavala.
  4. FOTO: Rapla Avise uus korvialune jõud on kohal (in Estonian)
  5. "Thomas van der Mars bezig aan indrukwekkend seizoen". 10 April 2017.
  6. Kalev/Cramo sõlmis lepingu Thomas van der Marsiga (in Estonian)
  7. "Nederlandse international Thomas Van der Mars nieuwe center bij Crelan Okapi Aalstar - Crelan Okapi Aalstar". www.okapiaalstar.be. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05.
  8. "New Heroes slaat slag met Van der Mars". www.newheroesbasketball.com. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  9. "Heroes Den Bosch takes Dutch title". BNXT League. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. "Thomas van der Mars blijft landskampioen Heroes trouw! - Heroes Den Bosch - Basketball". Heroes Den Bosch. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  11. "Thomas van der Mars - Oranje Basketball". www.oranjebasketball.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-27.
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