Tristan Thompson had something of a tumultuous high school career, as he ended up playing for three different teams during his time as a high school athlete. He started out playing for St. Marguerite D’youville Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. Wanting to play against higher levels of competition, he moved to New Jersey to play for St. Benedict’s Preparatory School before his sophomore season. But due to a clash with the coach at St. Benedict’s, he made yet another change, landing at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada. There, he earned McDonald’s All-American honors.

Thompson’s college basketball career was far less tumultuous than his high school career, as he ended up playing for the University of Texas Longhorns. Thompson spent one season with Texas and performed admirably during that one year. He averaged 13.1 points per game and 7.8 boards per contest, earning Big 12 freshman of the year honors while being named to the Second-Team All-Big 12.

That season, Texas won 28 games and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they were eliminated by the Arizona Wildcats in a 70-69 thriller. Arizona, led by Derrick Williams, ended up reaching the Elite Eight in the tournament. After being eliminated, Thompson had indicated that he intended to stay with the Longhorns, but later reconsidered and announced he would be entering the NBA Draft.

Tristan Thompson was drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has spent the entirety of his career with the Cavaliers, averaging 9.2 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game for his career as a pro. He first appeared in a professional game in 2011 when he made his NBA debut against the Toronto Raptors and set franchise records by becoming the first player to appear in 400 consecutive regular-season games since then. Thompson was named to the NBA all-rookie second team for his performance in his debut season.

The most notable period of Thompson’s professional career came during the era in Cavaliers' history where all-star players LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were with the team. Those years were full of trips to the playoffs, with the Cavaliers winning the NBA Finals in 2016 after a memorable seven-game series against the Stephen Curry led Golden State Warriors.

Even after the departure of James to Los Angeles and Irving to Boston, Thompson has remained a constant in the lineup for the Cavs. He was a restricted free agent at one point in his career but was retained by Cleveland, as he tied the team record for consecutive games in 2016 against the Knicks. And while his record streak ended after he missed a 2017 game against the Boston Celtics, Thompson’s status as the team’s all-time ironman won’t be jeopardized anytime soon.