Deon La velle Thomas (Hebrew: דיון תומאס; born February 24, 1971) is an American-Israeli former basketball player.

[1] As a high school player, he led his team to the Chicago Public League title, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball.

As a college player at the University of Illinois, he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history.

Thomas was a star basketball player at Chicago's Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, graduating in 1989.

As a senior, he was named Illinois Mr. Basketball and played in the McDonald's All-American Game, which also featured future NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.