Thomas F. Boerwinkle (August 23, 1945 – March 26, 2013) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) center who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bulls.

[1] John Boerwinkle, an engineer for an oil refinery,[2] was a native of Cleveland and the son of Dutch immigrants who had come to the United States in 1890.

Although largely unappreciated during his playing days, Boerwinkle was a very efficient player, using his brawny seven-foot frame to grab rebounds and set picks while teammates like Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Bob Love did most of the scoring.

Acting as a distribution hub from the center position, he helped set a precedent for future passing big men such as two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić.

[9] Boerwinkle died on March 26, 2013, in Willowbrook, Illinois, after struggling with myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of leukemia.