In sports, a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests. Initially used in professional sports, the term is now also commonly used in amateur sports, as well as in other completely unrelated fields of endeavor such as business and music awards.

The term "Most Valuable Player" is typically only used in Canada, the United States, the Philippines and South Korea. In many sports, some MVP awards are presented just for a specific game or match (in other words, a man of the match award), while others are awarded based on an entire season or year. The gender neutral term "Player of the Match" is usually substituted for "Man of the Match" in women's team competitions.

Specific North American examples include (first regular season, then playoffs):

Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, World Series Most Valuable Player Award, and League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award

National Football League Most Valuable Player Award and Super Bowl MVP Award

National Hockey League Hart Memorial Trophy (regular season) and Conn Smythe Trophy (playoffs)

National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award

Major League Soccer MVP and MLS Cup MVP

One award commonly referred to as an "MVP" award, despite the fact that its official name does not match the "MVP" initialism:

NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award

'In Cricket' Most valuable player rating by cricketworld.com Indian Premier League,

In the Australian Football League, the AFL Players Association awards a "Most Valuable Player" award now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy, voted by peers, fans and considered by many observers of the game to be more indicative of the Best and Fairest player than the Brownlow Medal. Recently online reviews and polls are also taken. The McGrane Tournament calls their MVP the Joe Harenza Award. In the Canadian Football League they also have the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award and Most Outstanding Canadian Player Award (regular season) and the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player (playoffs). The Philippine Basketball Association also awards its own Most Valuable Award.

Non-sports uses

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences makes "Most Valuable Player" awards annually in a number of instrumental categories.

MVP is often used in business to designate a valued employee. In this context, sometimes the "P" in "MVP" is something other than "Player." So, for example, Microsoft uses MVP to mean Most Valuable Professional. The term is applied to recognized, credible, and accessible individuals with expertise in one or more Microsoft products who actively participate in online and offline communities to share their knowledge and expertise with other Microsoft customers.

E-Sports uses

It is also used in video game terms, such as the games Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 contain challenges to kill the "MVP" of the opposing team a certain amount of times and Halo 3 to mean the person with the highest score or amount of kills. In Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift an MVP title is awarded to a character at the end of each battle based on how well they performed the role of their job. The MVP system is also used in MAG, Team Fortress 2.

See also

Athlete of the Year

Player of the year award

References

Category:Sports trophies and awards Category:Sports competitors Category:Terms used in multiple sports

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Name	DJ Premier
Background	non_performing_personnel
Birth name	Christopher Edward Martin
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Born	March 21, 1966Houston, Texas, United States
Instrument	Drum machineKeyboardSamplerTurntable
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Record producer, DJ
Years active	1984present
Label	Wild Pitch/EMI (1987–1990)Chrysalis/EMI (1991–1998)Virgin/EMI (1998–2003)Year Round (2003–)
Website	}}

Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966, in Houston, Texas), better known by his stage name DJ Premier (also known as Preem, Premo, or Primo for short), is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with MC Guru. Born in Houston and raised in Grand Prairie, he has lived in Brooklyn, New York, for much of his professional career. Rolling Stone identified Premier as arguably Hip-Hop's greatest producer of all time.

The Source named DJ Premier one of the five greatest producers in hip-hop history, while the editors of About.com ranked him #1 on their Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers list. He also made the "Elite 8" in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe.

Productions

Premier is known for producing the majority of Gang Starr's songs as well as many of the Gang Starr Foundation's songs. His work also includes production for heavyweight rappers such as Apathy, Bun B, Canibus, KRS-One, Kanye West, Nas, Jay-Z, Mos Def, 50 Cent, Big L, Lord Finesse, M.O.P., Rakim, The Notorious B.I.G., D.I.T.C., The LOX, Royce Da 5'9", Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, rock band Limp Bizkit and pop/R&B; singer Christina Aguilera among a plethora of others.

Premier collaborated with MC Jeru the Damaja on the album The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994, as well as the 1996 follow-up, Wrath of the Math. Also from the Gang Starr Foundation, Premier produced and supervised Group Home's Livin' Proof; although overlooked at the time of its 1995 release, the album has since come to find similar acclaim. Among others in that are closely tied to the Gang Starr Foundation who have worked with DJ Premier include Afu Ra, Krumbsnatcha, Big Shug, Smiley the Ghetto Child, and NYGz. He recently produced the majority of Blaq Poet's The Blaqprint in 2009 and will produce the entirety of NYG'z debut album.

Style and influences

DJ Premier's style of production epitomizes the New York sound of his earlier peers. He is known for sampling jazz, funk, and soul artists, as well as sampling an artist's past work when creating a new track for that same artist. For example, on Jay-Z's "So Ghetto", from the 1999 album, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, Premier samples an older Jay-Z song, 1997's "Who You Wit II". In addition, his encyclopedic memory of hip-hop lyrics allows him to distinctively speak with his hands by scratching in lyrics from several different songs to construct new phrases. Premier's beats are known for his oft-imitated combinations of short vocal samples, often from multiple artists, to create a chorus. Premier has also experimented with atonal samples that are not confined to soul, jazz, and funk. For example, he sampled chopped up seminal electro-acoustic music from the 1960s on the track “Mental Stamina” by Jeru the Damaja.

In an interview with XXL Magazine, DJ Premier was asked how his sound evolved, to which he replied, "Marley Marl is my number one inspiration. Jam Master Jay, Mixmaster Ice and UTFO. Grandmaster D and Whodini. DJ Cheese, Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa. Jazzy Jay, even Cut Creator. Seeing them do what they do. It’s black music, it’s black culture, it comes from the ghetto. How can you not relate to ghetto people when that’s the rawest form of blackness? Even though it’s not a good place in regards to the economy and how bad people have it in the neighborhood, the realism’s there, and that’s what we were born out of. So I very much pay respect by doing the same type of music in return." DJ Premier attended Prairie View A & M University and may have been influenced by the musical atmosphere at the university.

Relationships with artists

The early line-up of the Gang Starr Foundation in the mid-’90s included Jeru The Damaja, Group Home, Big Shug, and Gang Starr. DJ Premier was fully responsible for the production of Jeru the Damaja's first two albums, The Sun Rises in the East and Wrath of the Math. Jeru released three albums since then, with Premier having nothing to do with any of them.

As far as Group Home was concerned, Premier commented, "They don't respect what fed them," in a 2003 interview, going on to say that the only reason he produced a track on their second album was because Guru said he would rhyme on it.

Besides the Gang Starr Foundation, Premier is closely affiliated with M.O.P., which he names as one of his all-time favorite groups. The relationship started with the remix of “Rugged, Neva Smoove” in 1994, a single from the group's first album, which also included the exclusive B-side “Downtown Swinga.” From then, Premier produced about one-third of the songs on each subsequent album and overseeing and mixing the projects. On M.O.P.'s 2009 Foundation album, however, DJ Premier provided only one track, which was called "What I Wanna B."

Recent and future projects

DJ Premier has his own record company named Year Round Records. Among its artists are New York group NYGz, New Jersey rapper Nick Javas, and Houston rapper Khaleel. Tha Blaqprint by Blaq Poet, which has thirteen Premier productions, was released by Year Round Records through Fat Beats Records. On December 7, Premier's label Year Round Records released a digital compilation album titled Get Used to Us. At the moment Year Round plans to release an debut album fully produced by DJ Premier with the NYGz tenatively called Hustla's Union: Local NYG along with an Nick Javas debut album named Destination Unknown. Khaleel, another label-mate of Year Round Records, is planned to release an debut album titled Already!.

DJ Premier hosts a weekly 2 hour show Live From HeadQCourterz on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Hip-Hop Nation on Fridays.

In a recent interview, DJ Premier said that he has the desire to work with Drake and J. Cole. He said that he will produce a beat for Immortal Technique's upcoming album, titled The Middle Passage. He contributed a song on Game's last album (The R.E.D. Album) called "Born in the Trap." and a song on Bushido's last album Jenseits von Gut und Böse.

Discography

References

External links

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:African hip hop DJs Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Musicians from New York Category:Hip hop record producers Category:American record producers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Southern hip hop musicians Category:African American musicians Category:East Coast hip hop musicians Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:African American record producers

da:DJ Premier de:DJ Premier es:DJ Premier fr:DJ Premier ko:디제이 프리미어 it:DJ Premier he:די ג'יי פרמייר sw:DJ Premier nl:DJ Premier ja:DJプレミア pl:DJ Premier pt:DJ Premier fi:DJ Premier sv:DJ Premier tr:DJ Premier

name	Steve Nash
height ft	6
height in	3
weight lb	178
position	Point guard
birth date	February 07, 1974
birth place	Johannesburg, South Africa
team	Phoenix Suns
number	13
college	Santa Clara University
nationality	Canadian
draft round	1
draft pick	15
draft team	Phoenix Suns
draft year	1996
career start	1996
years1	– | team1 Phoenix Suns
years2	– | team2 Dallas Mavericks
years3	–present | team3 Phoenix Suns
highlights	2× NBA Most Valuable Player (–) 7× NBA All-Star (–, –, ) 3× All-NBA First Team (–) 2× All-NBA Second Team (, ) 2× All-NBA Third Team (–) 2× Skills Challenge Champion (, ) J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award () Lou Marsh Trophy (2004) 3× Lionel Conacher Award (2002, 2005–2006) }}

Stephen John "Steve" Nash, OC, OBC (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nash enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara University. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three NCAA Tournament appearances, and Nash was twice named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year.

After graduating from Santa Clara as the team's all-time leader in assists, Nash entered the 1996 NBA Draft and was selected as the 15th pick by the Phoenix Suns. He made a minimal impact, and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his third season with the Mavericks, he was voted into his first NBA All-Star Game and had earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season. However, he became a free agent after the and returned to the Phoenix Suns.

In the , Nash led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was named MVP again in the , and missed out on a third consecutive MVP title to Nowitzki the next season. Named by ESPN in 2006 as the ninth greatest point guard of all time, Nash has led the league in assists and free-throw percentage at various points in his career. He is also ranked as one of the top players in NBA league history for three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, total assists and assists per game.

Nash has been honoured for his contributions to various philanthropic causes. In 2006, he was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He also received the Order of Canada in 2007, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Victoria in 2008.

Early life

Nash was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to a Welsh mother and an English father on 7 February 1974. His family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, when he was 18 months old, then to Vancouver, before finally settling in Victoria, British Columbia. Although Nash played soccer and ice hockey, often with his younger brother Martin, he did not start playing basketball until he was 12 or 13. However, in grade eight, he told his mother that one day he would play in the NBA and become a star.

High school

Nash originally attended Mount Douglas Secondary School, but after his grades began to drop, his parents decided to enroll him at St. Michaels University School, a private boarding school. At St. Michaels, he starred in basketball, soccer, and rugby union. While playing basketball during his senior season, Nash averaged 21.3 points, 11.2 assists, and 9.1 rebounds per game. In the 1991–92 season, he led his team in his final year to the British Columbia AAA provincial championship title, and was named the province's Player of the Year.

College career

Although Nash's high school coach, Ian Hyde-Lay, sent letters of inquiry and highlight reels on Nash's behalf to over 30 American universities, Nash was not recruited by any university, until Santa Clara coach Dick Davey requested video footage of the young guard. After watching Nash in person, Davey said he "was nervous as hell just hoping that no one else would see him. It didn't take a Nobel Prize winner to figure out this guy's pretty good. It was just a case of hoping that none of the big names came around." However, Davey also told Nash that he was "the worst defensive player" he had ever seen.

Nash was awarded a scholarship by Santa Clara for the 1992–93 season. At that time, it had been five years since the Broncos appeared in the NCAA tournament. That changed when Nash led the Broncos to a West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament title and an upset win over the No. 2 seeded Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In that game, Nash scored six straight free throws in the last 30 seconds of the contest. Although Santa Clara was defeated by Temple in the next round, the 1992–93 campaign was considered a successful one. However, the Broncos failed to sustain the momentum the following season, and only managed a 5–7 record in the conference. The team rebounded in the 1994–95 season, with Nash being named Conference Player of the Year and the Broncos topping the WCC. Featuring the league leader for scoring and assists in Nash, the Broncos returned to the NCAA tournament, but they were defeated by Mississippi State. After the season, Nash contemplated turning professional, and decided against it when he learned that he would probably not be considered as a first-round pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.

In the 1995–96 season, Nash began attracting the attention of the national media and professional scouts. He had spent the summer before that honing his skills, playing with the Canadian national team and working out with the likes of established NBA players Jason Kidd and Gary Payton. Santa Clara again captured the WCC title, and for the second consecutive year, Nash was named Conference Player of the Year, the first Bronco to do so since Kurt Rambis. He scored 28 points in leading the #10 seed Broncos to a first round upset win over #7 seed Maryland, but then the Broncos were eliminated by Kansas. Nash's performances ensured that he was named Honorable Mention All-America as a senior by The Associated Press and the USBWA. He also finished his career as Santa Clara's all-time leader in career assists (510), free-throw percentage (.862), and made and attempted three-pointers (263–656). He remains third on the school's all-time scoring list (1,689), and holds Santa Clara's single-season free-throw percentage record (.894). In September 2006, Nash had his jersey (#11) retired, becoming the first Santa Clara student-athlete to receive that honour.

NCAA career statistics

|- | align="left" | 1992–93 | align="left" | Santa Clara | 31 || ... || 24.0 || .424 || .408 || .825 || 2.5 || 2.2 || .8 || .1 || 8.1 |- | align="left" | 1993–94 | align="left" | Santa Clara | 26 || ... || 29.9 || .414 || .399 || .831 || 2.5 || 3.7 || 1.3 || .0 || 14.6 |- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | Santa Clara | 27 || ... || 33.4 || .444 || .454 || .879 || 3.8 || 6.4 || 1.8 || .1 || 20.9 |- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | Santa Clara | 29 || ... || 33.8 || .430 || .344 || .894 || 3.6 || 6.0 || 1.3 || .0 || 17.0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Career | 113 || ... || 30.1 || .430 || .401 || .867 || 3.1 || 4.5 || 1.3 || .1 || 14.9

NBA career

Phoenix Suns (1996–98)

After graduating with a degree in sociology, Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the relatively unknown player. This was because despite his impressive college accomplishments, Nash had not played in one of the major college conferences. During his first two seasons in the NBA, Nash played a supporting role behind NBA star point guards Kevin Johnson, Sam Cassell, and later, Jason Kidd. Both Johnson and Cassell had NBA Finals experience, while Kidd was the second overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft and already an All-Star when he arrived at Phoenix.

In his rookie season, Nash only managed 10.5 minutes a game, but in his second season, his playing time increased significantly and he was even ranked 13th in the league for three-point field-goal percentage. Nevertheless, the Canadian's tenure with the Suns did not last. While at Santa Clara, Nash had met and befriended Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson, who worked for the Golden State Warriors at that time. After moving to Dallas, Nelson was able to convince his father, Don Nelson—then the Mavericks coach and general manager—to acquire the under-utilised Nash. Following the 1998 NBA Draft, Nash was traded from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Müürsepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity and a first-round draft pick (who later turned out to be future Phoenix team-mate Shawn Marion).

Dallas Mavericks (1998–2004)

It was in Dallas that Nash established himself as a formidable point guard, beginning a decade as one of the game's top players. During his first year as a Maverick (the lockout-shortened ) he started in all 40 games he played in, and averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. The 19–31 Mavericks failed to make the playoffs but in the 1999–2000 season, the team's prospects improved considerably. Nash missed 25 mid-season games due to an ankle injury, but came back to record six double-doubles in the last month of play. He finished the season with averages of 8.6 points and 4.9 assists per game. More importantly for the team, second-year teammate and friend Dirk Nowitzki was blossoming quickly into a top player, veteran Michael Finley was having an All-Star-calibre year, and the team's new owner, billionaire Mark Cuban, was bringing new energy and excitement to the franchise. Nash now had a supportive environment in which he could thrive.

In the , Nash averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game in a breakout season. With Nash directing the team's offense, Nowitzki and Finley playing at their best, and the acquisition of All-Star Juwan Howard complementing the high-scoring trio, the Mavericks earned a playoff berth for the first time in more than a decade. Dallas lost in the Western Conference Semifinals four games to one to the San Antonio Spurs, but it marked the beginning of a memorable run for Nash and the Mavericks. In the , Nash posted career-highs of 17.9 points and 7.7 assists per game and earned a spot in the NBA All-Star Game and on the All-NBA Third Team. He was now an All-Star, increasingly appearing in television commercials and, with Finley and Nowitzki, a part of the Dallas Mavericks "Big Three." Dallas earned another trip to the playoffs but lost again in the Semifinals to the Sacramento Kings four games to one.

Nash closely replicated his previous season's performance in the , averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 assists per game, again earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honours. Nowitzki and Nash led the Mavericks from a 14-game winning streak to open the season all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs four games to two. It was only the second Conference Finals appearance in the franchise's history. The saw an offensively boosted Mavericks roster (with the acquisitions of Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison) but a dip in Nash's scoring contributions. As a result he was not selected for the All-Star and All-NBA team rosters even though he achieved new career highs in assists per game (8.8) and free-throw accuracy (91.6%). In the playoffs, the fifth-seeded Dallas failed to make progress yet again as the Sacramento Kings saw them off four games to one.

After the 2003–04 season, Nash became a free agent. He attempted to negotiate a long-term contract with Cuban, who was paying Walker, Finley, Nowitzki and Jamison nearly $50 million in combined salaries that season. Cuban wanted to build his franchise around the younger Nowitzki and did not want to risk signing the 30-year-old Nash to a long-term deal, and offered Nash a four-year deal worth about $9 million annually, with a fifth year partially guaranteed. The Phoenix Suns on the other hand offered the point guard a six-year, $63 million contract. Nash was reluctant to leave Dallas and returned to Cuban to see if he would match the deal; Cuban did not, and Nash signed for the Suns for the . The Canadian would go on to win two League MVP awards with Phoenix, and on a 14 June 2006 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Cuban wondered out loud, "... you know Steve's a great guy and I love him to death, but why couldn't he play like an MVP for us?"

Return to Phoenix Suns (2004–present)

Nash joined a Suns team which had emerging young players in Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire. In the season before Nash arrived, the Suns had recorded a 29–53 win–loss record, and they were projected to have another poor season. Head coach Mike D'Antoni favoured an up-tempo style of basketball; this required smaller and more athletic players with the capability to outrun and outshoot their opponents. Nash's familiarity with this style combined with the athleticism of his teammates produced an NBA-best 62–20 record and a points-per-game average of 110.4, the highest in a decade. The catalyst of this turnaround, Nash averaged 11.5 assists per game while making 50.2% of his field goals and 43.1% of his three-pointers in the regular season. He edged Shaquille O'Neal to win the NBA MVP award, becoming the first Canadian to earn the honour, as well as the third point guard ever to be named MVP, along with Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy. In the playoffs, Phoenix swept the Memphis Grizzlies in four games before meeting the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Nash led the Suns to a 4–2 series win, and the Suns reached the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1993, but lost to the eventual NBA Champions and arch-rival, the San Antonio Spurs, in five games.

The next season, Stoudemire suffered a serious knee injury, and Johnson and Quentin Richardson were traded away. The Suns were not expected to repeat their successful 2005 season, but with Nash directing the same high-tempo offence, the team compiled a respectable 54–28 record and won the division title. The Suns were again the highest-scoring team in the league with seven players averaging double figures in points per game, and Nash was voted for the first time to start for the 2006 Western All-Star team. Having recorded career highs in points (18.8), rebounds (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free-throw percentage (a league-leading .921), and leading the league with 10.5 assists per game, Nash was named the league MVP for the second year in a row. In the first round of the playoffs, Phoenix overcame a 3–1 deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers and won the series 4–3. The Los Angeles Clippers were their Conference Semifinals opponents, and the Suns again needed seven games to clinch the series. For the second year in a row however, the Suns bowed out in the Conference Finals, this time to Nash's former team, Dallas.

In the , Nash had another stellar campaign, averaging 18.6 points and a career-high 11.6 assists per game while becoming the first person since Magic Johnson in to average 18 points and 11 assists per game during the regular season. Nash received the most votes for first-team All-NBA and was joined by teammate Stoudemire; the two were the first teammates to make the first team since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in . Nash received 129 first-place votes and 645 total points from the panel of 129 media members. He narrowly missed being MVP a third consecutive time, coming in second with 44 first place votes to 83 for Dirk Nowitzki. In the playoffs, the Suns eliminated the Lakers in five games, but were unable to overcome the Spurs in the Conference Semifinals, losing the series 4–2.

Nash played in 81 regular-season games during the ; in this campaign, the Western Conference was especially competitive and he led the Suns to 55 wins and the sixth seed for the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Although there was a dip in his regular-season output, Nash's shooting remained sharp; the accuracy of his shooting was on par with his 2005–06 MVP campaign (shooting at least 50% from the field, 40% from the three-point arc, and 90% from the free throw line). On 31 January 2008, he collected his All-Star stripes for the sixth time in his career. However, Nash continued to experience agony in the playoffs. Despite a mid-season trade that sent Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat and brought four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal to the team, the Suns were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs for the third time in four years. In the deciding Game 5, Nash was perceived to have suffered from "elimination-game jitters", and turned over the ball twice in the final two minutes of what was a tight contest. Nevertheless, Nash was later named to the All-NBA Second Team for the 2007–08 season.

Before the began, coach D'Antoni was replaced by Terry Porter, who preferred a more defensive-oriented style of basketball. The Suns had difficulties adapting to this new system, and even a December trade involving sending stalwarts Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to the Charlotte Bobcats for athletic swingman Jason Richardson saw the team continue to struggle. Porter was then replaced by Alvin Gentry in February after a 28–23 record, but the Suns were unable to secure the final seed for the playoffs, resulting in Nash missing the playoffs for the first time since he returned to Phoenix for his second stint.

Nash and the Suns opened the with a series of strong performances, going 8–1 in their first nine games (a franchise-best since ), with Nash producing two 20-assists games. On 21 January 2010, Nash was named as the starting point guard for the West for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. With him operating at the point, the Suns were the highest-scoring team in the league for the fifth season in a row, and were seeded third in the conference for the playoffs with 54 wins. Behind solid performances by Richardson and veteran Grant Hill, the Suns defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 4–2 in the first round of the playoffs, and swept the Spurs 4–0 in the second round. The Suns met the defending champions, Los Angeles Lakers, in the Conference Finals. After losing the first two games, Phoenix won the next two to tie the series. A Ron Artest buzzer-beater in Game 5 pushed the Lakers one game closer to the Finals, and Kobe Bryant's 37 points in Game 6 completed the defeat of the Suns.

The Suns underwent two major roster changes in the . During the pre-season, Stoudemire left for New York, while longtime teammate Leandro Barbosa was traded for Hedo Türkoğlu. Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick were also recruited to join the Suns. Not long after the season began, Türkoğlu, Richardson, and Earl Clark were traded to Orlando for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, and Mickaël Piétrus, while rising star Goran Dragic was traded to the Houston Rockets for Aaron Brooks. The Suns had difficulty being even a .500 team, and for the second time since Nash returned to Phoenix, the Suns failed to make the playoffs.

International career

}} In 1993, while in college, Nash played for the national team and competed in the Canada Games and World University Games. He won a bronze medal at the Canada Games and won a silver medal at the World University Games, losing to Team USA, which included players such as Michael Finley and Damon Stoudamire.

Nash captained Canada at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He led Canada to win their round robin group with a victory over Spain and a stunning 83–75 win over favoured Yugoslavia when he scored 26 points with eight rebounds and eight assists. Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals with a loss to France and Nash left the court in tears. Nash expressed disappointment with the result, saying "It hurts a lot. I feel like I let everybody down. We could have been in the championship game. We were good enough." Nevertheless, he did see a possible silver lining, saying "Hopefully kids [in Canada] will be inspired to play—that's what I really hope."

Nash again led Team Canada during qualifying for the 2004 Summer Olympics at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was named tournament MVP, but Canada finished fourth, missing out on the three Olympic spots available. That was the last time Nash played for Canada. In December 2007, he said, "In my mind right now, I'm not going to play for Canada any more."

Player profile

Nash is most noted for his playmaking, ball-handling skills and shooting. He led the league in assists for five years, averaging 11.5 assists per game in 2004–05, 10.5 in 2005–06, 11.6 in 2006–07, 11.0 in 2009–10 and 11.4 in 2010–11 and won the 2005 and 2010 NBA All-Star Skills Contests. As of the end of 2010–11 season, he has a 90.4% free-throw shooting average (tied for best in NBA history), a 42.9% career three-point shooting average (eight-best in league history), and his total assists, assists per game, and three-point field goals made rank him as one of the top 10 players in league history. In addition, he is ranked third (starting from 1986–87) in regular season point-assist double doubles. In the 2005–06 season, Nash became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot 50% or better from the field, 40% from three-point range (43.9), and 90% from the line, joining Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Mark Price in the 50-40-90 Club. This was a feat he would repeat in the 2006-07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 campaigns. Only 11 times has a player shot 50-40-90 in an NBA season while also achieving the NBA league minimum number of makes. Nash (five times) and Larry Bird (three times) are the only players to have accomplished this feat more than once. A two-time NBA MVP, Nash is only the second point guard (along with Magic Johnson) to win the MVP award multiple times and the third guard in NBA history to earn back-to-back MVPs (joining Johnson and Michael Jordan). Only nine other NBA players have won back-to-back MVP awards: Johnson, Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, and LeBron James. On 11 May 2006, ESPN.com rated Nash as the 9th-best point guard of all time, and in a survey by nba.com in 2007, Nash received 85% of the votes by the league's general managers as best point guard in the league. In a similar survey in 2009, Nash was rated as the best passer of the ball and the player possessing the best basketball IQ. Commenting on Nash losing out to former teammate Dirk Nowitzki for the 2007 NBA MVP, Boston Celtics centre and Hall of Famer Russell stated: "I think, on the world stage, he's one of our great athletes in all sports... I'm a big fan. The two MVPs he got, he deserved. Part of the reason that he's so good and so effective is that the guys like playing with him. He creates an atmosphere where they win games."

In terms of specific skills, Nash is particularly effective playing the pick and roll, notably with Nowitzki when he was at Dallas and later with the Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. When Nash returned to Phoenix in 2004, he helped the Suns improve from a 29–53 record in 2003–04 to 62–20 in 2004–05, reaching the Conference Finals for the first time in 11 years, earning him his first MVP award. The next season, he led the Suns into the Conference Finals, despite the injuries of all three big men (Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant); further, Nash was responsible for seven of his teammates attaining career-highs in season scoring. With Nash operating at the point, between the 2005–06 and 2009–10 seasons, the Suns led the league in field goal percentage.

NBA career statistics

:Correct as of 25 May 2011

Led the league

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 65 || 2 || 10.5 || .423 || .418 || .824 || 1.0 || 2.1 || .3 || .0 || 3.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 76 || 9 || 21.9 || .459 || .415 || .860 || 2.1 || 3.4 || .8 || .1 || 9.1 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 40 || 40 || 31.7 || .363 || .374 || .826 || 2.9 || 5.5 || .9 || .1 || 7.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 56 || 27 || 27.4 || .477 || .403 || .882 || 2.2 || 4.9 || .7 || .1 || 8.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 70 || 70 || 34.1 || .487 || .406 || .895 || 3.2 || 7.3 || 1.0 || .1 || 15.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 82 || 82 || 34.6 || .483 || .455 || .887 || 3.1 || 7.7 || .6 || .1 || 17.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 82 || 82 || 33.1 || .465 || .413 || .909 || 2.9 || 7.3 || 1.0 || .1 || 17.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 78 || 78 || 33.5 || .470 || .405 || .916 || 3.0 || 8.8 || .9 || .1 || 14.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 75 || 75 || 34.3 || .502 || .431 || .887 || 3.3 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 11.5 || 1.0 || .1 || 15.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 79 || 79 || 35.4 || .512 || .439 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| .921 || 4.2 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 10.5 || .8 || .2 || 18.8 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 76 || 76 || 35.3 || .532 || .455 || .899 || 3.5 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 11.6 || .8 || .1 || 18.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 81 || 81 || 34.3 || .504 || .470 || .906 || 3.5 || 11.1 || .6 || .1 || 16.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 74 || 74 || 33.6 || .503 || .439 || .933 || 3.0 || 9.7 || .7 || .1 || 15.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 81 || 81 || 32.8 || .507 || .426 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| .938 || 3.3 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 11.0 || .5 || .2 || 16.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 75 || 75 || 33.3 || .492 || .395 || .912 || 3.5 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 11.4 || .6 || .0 || 14.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 1090 || 931 || 31.3 || .489 || .429 || .904 || 3.0 || 8.5 || .8 || .1 || 14.6 |- | align="left" | All-Star | align="left" | | 6 || 2 || 17.8 || .429 || .250 || .000 || 2.3 || 7.2 || .5 || .2 || 4.3

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Phoenix | 4 || 0 || 3.8 || .222 || .250 || .000 || .3 || .3 || .2 || .2 || 1.3 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Phoenix | 4 || 1 || 12.8 || .444 || .200 || .625 || 2.5 || 1.8 || .5 || .0 || 5.5 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Dallas | 10 || 10 || 37.0 || .417 || .410 || .882 || 3.2 || 6.4 || .6 || .1 || 13.6 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Dallas | 8 || 8 || 40.4 || .432 || .444 || .971 || 4.0 || 8.8 || .5 || .0 || 19.5 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Dallas | 20 || 20 || 36.5 || .447 || .487 || .873 || 3.5 || 7.3 || .9 || .1 || 16.1 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Dallas | 5 || 5 || 39.4 || .386 || .375 || .889 || 5.2 || 9.0 || .8 || .0 || 13.6 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Phoenix | 15 || 15 || 40.7 || .520 || .389 || .919 || 4.8 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 11.3 || .9 || .2 || 23.9 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Phoenix | 20 || 20 || 39.9 || .502 || .368 || .912 || 3.7 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 10.2 || .4 || .2 || 20.4 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Phoenix | 11 || 11 || 37.5 || .463 || .487 || .891 || 3.2 ||bgcolor="CFECEC"| 13.3 || .4 || .1 || 18.9 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Phoenix | 5 || 5 || 36.6 || .457 || .300 || .917 || 2.8 || 7.8 || .4 || .2 || 16.2 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Phoenix | 16 || 16 || 33.7 || .518 || .380 || .893 || 3.3 || 10.1 || .2 || .1 || 17.8 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 118 || 111 || 35.8 || .473 || .409 || .899 || 3.5 || 8.9 || .6 || .1 || 17.3

NBA career highlights

2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2005, 2006

7× NBA All-Star: 2002–03, 2005–08, 2010

7× All-NBA selection:

* First team: 2005–07

* Second team: 2008, 2010

* Third team: 2002, 2003

2× NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge winner: 2005, 2010

5× NBA regular season leader for assists per game: 2005 (11.5), 2006 (10.5), 2007 (11.6), 2010 (11.0), 2011 (11.4) 5× NBA regular season leader for total assists: 2005 (861), 2006 (826), 2007 (884), 2010 (892), 2011 (855) 2× NBA regular season leader for free-throw percentage: 2006 (.921), 2010 (.938) 7× NBA regular season leader for assists per 48 minutes: 2004 (12.6), 2005 (16.1), 2006 (14.2), 2007 (15.8), 2008 (15.5), 2010 (16.1), 2011 (16.4)

4× member of 50-40-90 Club: (2006, 2008–10)

* Has more 50-40-90 seasons than any other player in NBA history

* One of only five players to have ever shot 50-40-90

* One of only two players to have shot 50-40-90 more than once

Lou Marsh Trophy (Canadian athlete of the year): 2005

3× Lionel Conacher Award (Canadian male athlete of the year): 2002, 2005, 2006

J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (NBA award for outstanding citizenship and community service): 2007

Off the court

thumb|left|upright|Steve Nash at the 2008 eTalk Festival Party, during the Toronto International Film Festival

Personal life

In 2001, Nash met Alejandra Amarilla in Manhattan. They married in June 2005 and have twin daughters, Lola and Bella, born on October 14, 2004, and a son, Matteo Joel, born November 12, 2010. On the day of his son's birth, Nash made a statement to Life & Style in which he announced the birth but called it a "bittersweet moment", revealing that he and his wife had "lived separately for the past several months" and are "in the process of dissolving" their marriage.

Nash's younger brother, Martin Nash, played soccer for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and made 30 appearances for the Canadian national soccer team. Their younger sister, Joann, was the captain of the University of Victoria Vikes women's soccer team for three years and was named a Canada West Universities Athletic Association All-Star. She is married to Manny Malhotra of the NHL Vancouver Canucks.

Nash has a medical condition called spondylolisthesis, which causes muscle tightness and back pain. Due to the condition, when he is not in the game he lies on his back rather than sitting on the bench to keep his muscles from stiffening.

Charity

In 2001, Nash formed the Steve Nash Foundation. Through grants to public service and nonprofit entities, the foundation aims to foster health in kids by funding projects that provide services to children affected by poverty, illness, abuse, or neglect, and create opportunity for education, play, and empowerment. It focuses its resources on communities in Phoenix, Arizona, and British Columbia, Canada. It was given charitable status in 2004. This foundation was awarded the Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy in 2008. Nash also founded the Jim Jennings Memorial Endowment Fund, established in honour of a volunteer staff member at Santa Clara University who served the basketball team for more than 20 years.

Elsewhere, Nash is the sponsor of the Steve Nash Youth Basketball League in British Columbia that has grown over 10,000 participants. He has also become involved with GuluWalk, a Canadian-operated charitable organization that raises awareness and funds for the war-affected children of northern Uganda. In September 2007, Nash and Yao Ming headlined a group of NBA players who travelled to China and played an exhibition game with the Chinese national basketball team. The charity event reportedly raised 2.5 million dollars, earmarked for Chinese children in need.

In May 2006, Nash was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In the accompanying write-up by Charles Barkley, Nash was lauded for his unselfishness on the basketball court, and being "just a nice guy" who had paid for a new pediatric cardiology ward in a Paraguayan hospital. On 28 December 2007, it was announced that Nash would receive Canada's highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada, and on 3 June 2008, it was announced that Nash would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. On 18 September 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Victoria, in recognition of his athletic achievements and his philanthropic work on behalf of young people through the Steve Nash Foundation.

Endorsements

Nash is known to be selective about endorsing products, preferring to work with companies he deems socially responsible. After winning his first MVP award, he was approached to be the spokesperson for numerous products, including MDG Computers, Raymond Weil watches, Vitamin Water, and Clearly Canadian bottled water. He also has a longstanding relationship with Nike. Like fellow NBA stars Yao Ming, Carmelo Anthony, and Greg Oden, Nash is represented by agent Bill Duffy.

Soccer

Nash grew up playing soccer—he stated in a 2005 interview that he could have played professionally if he had focused on it—and continues to hold an interest in the sport. When Dirk Nowitzki arrived in the NBA from Germany, he and Nash became close friends, in part because they enjoyed watching soccer together. Nash is friends with several professional soccer players, including Alessandro Del Piero, Thierry Henry, Owen Hargreaves, Massimo Ambrosini and Steve McManaman. During his off-season, when he lives in New York City, he has trained with the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, and once tried to arrange a pick-up game in the city's Central Park with the Red Bulls and one of his local teams.

Nash—whose father was born in the Tottenham district of London—is a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur supporter, and has expressed interest in owning a minority stake in the club. "I'd like to be an owner. It's something I could do for the rest of my life after my little window of popularity dies," he said in an interview with The New York Times. Nash added, "I've been a passionate supporter all my life. My parents are from north London and so it's not like I'm some Yank who wants to make a profit out of football. I don't care about making money. I just want to see Spurs succeed and, if I can help, that's great." However, he said any participation in Spurs would come after his basketball career is over, and he has had only "casual contact" with chairman Daniel Levy and former director of football Damien Comolli. Nash is also a fan of Brazilian team Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, which his former Suns teammate Leandro Barbosa supports. When Barbosa visited Corinthians in 2007, the club gave him a shirt with Nash's name and jersey number.

Nash had also previously made statements about his intention to bring Major League Soccer to Vancouver as early as 2011, which he has succeeded in doing. He joined the USL-1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC team's ownership group in July 2008 and in March 2009, Vancouver was officially named as a future MLS expansion city, set to join the league in 2011.

Nash, along with former Yahoo! president and fellow Victoria-native Jeff Mallett, are investors in Women's Professional Soccer, a soccer league that was launched in March 2009. Nash cited his twin daughters and wanting to have role models for them to look up to as a reason for supporting the league. Nash also co-hosted Showdown in Chinatown in 2008, an 8-on-8 charity soccer game held at Sara D. Roosevelt Park. He scored two goals in his team's 8–5 victory. Participants included Thierry Henry, Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, and Suns teammates Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa.

Other interests

Nash and a Montreal-based partner, Leonard Schlemm, opened the first Steve Nash Sports Club in the spring of 2007 in downtown Vancouver, a high-end, $5-million, facility that will mirror Nash's own fitness philosophy.

In 2007, Nash wrote and produced an 81-second commercial for Nike titled "Training Day", directed by Julian Schnabel's daughter Lola, which gained popularity as a viral video on YouTube. Nash also started a film production company together with his cousin, filmmaker Ezra Holland, and intends to produce independent films. The first creative effort to come from Meathawk was a 91-second commercial, titled "The Sixty Million Dollar Man", for Nike's eco-friendly Trash Talk shoe, the first high-performance shoe to be made—at the behest of the environmentally conscious Nash—from recycled materials. Nash has worn the shoe since February 2008 but Nike produced only 5,000 pairs for sale. The ad which broke virally on Earth Day 2008, was written by Nash and the directors of the spot, Danny Vaia and Ezra Holland. It is a spoof remake of the title sequence of the American television series The Six Million Dollar Man and plays on Nash’s numerous on-court collisions. Amar'e Stoudemire and Raja Bell have cameo appearances. Nash and Holland also co-directed the documentary Into the Wind, about iconic Canadian athlete and activist Terry Fox, as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.

For the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, Nash became the first NBA player in Olympic history to carry the torch and light the Olympic cauldron.

See also

List of foreign NBA players

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

References

Further reading

Jeff Rud, (1996), Long Shot: Steve Nash's Journey to the NBA, Polestar Books ISBN 1-896095-16-X

Jeff Rud. (2007), Steve Nash: The Making of an MVP, Puffin ISBN 0-14-241014-4

Ryan Basen, (2007) Steve Nash: Leader on and Off the Court, Enslow Publishers ISBN 0-7660-2868-2

External links

NBA.com profile

Basketball-Reference.com: Steve Nash

Canada Basketball profile

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Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:American soccer chairmen and investors Category:Basketball people from British Columbia Category:Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Canadian basketball players Category:Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Canadian humanitarians Category:Canadian people of English descent Category:Canadian people of South African descent Category:Canadian people of Welsh descent Category:Canadian soccer chairmen and investors Category:Dallas Mavericks players Category:Lou Marsh Trophy winners Category:Male basketball guards Category:Members of the Order of British Columbia Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:Olympic basketball players of Canada Category:People from Johannesburg Category:People from Victoria, British Columbia Category:Phoenix Suns draft picks Category:Phoenix Suns players Category:Point guards Category:Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball players Category:South African emigrants to Canada Category:Article Feedback Pilot

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name	T.I.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr.
alias	T.I.P., TIP Harris
birth date	September 25, 1980
Birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
instrument	Keyboards, sampler
genre	Hip hop, Southern hip hop, Atlanta hip hop
occupation	Rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor
years active	2001–present
label	Grand Hustle, Atlantic
associated acts	P$C, Young Dro, B.o.B, Rick Ross
website	}}

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I. or T.I.P., is an American recording artist, film & music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records.

T.I. has released seven studio albums (I'm Serious, Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, King, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Paper Trail, and No Mercy) with latter five being highly successful on the commercial market. He has released such successful singles as "Bring Em Out", "What You Know", "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", "Swagga Like Us" (featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne), "Whatever You Like", "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna), "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake), "Got Your Back" (featuring Keri Hilson) and "That's All She Wrote" (featuring Eminem). He has served two stints in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U.S. federal weapons charge. While currently serving 11 months in prison he released his seventh studio album, No Mercy. T.I. has also had successful acting career, starring in the films Takers and ATL.

Biography

1980–2000: Early life and career beginnings

T.I. was born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980, in Riverdale, Georgia, the son of the late Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. and Violeta Morgan. He was raised by his grandparents in Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. His father lived in New York and he would often go up there to visit him. His father suffered from Alzheimer's and later died from the disease. T.I. began rapping at age nine. He attended Douglass High School, but later dropped out. As a teenager, he was a drug dealer. He was once known as Rubber Band Man, a reference to the custom of wearing rubber bands around the wrist to denote wealth in terms of drugs or money. By age 14, he had been arrested several times. He was nicknamed "Tip" after his paternal great-grandfather. Kawan "KP" Prather, a record executive, discovered and signed T.I. when he was a teenager. Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001, he shortened his name to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip.

2001–02: I'm Serious

T.I. released his debut album, I'm Serious, in October 2001 through Arista Records. The album spawned the eponymous single, which featured Jamaican reggae entertainer Beenie Man. His debut single, "I'm Serious," was released on June 26, 2001. The single received little airplay and failed to chart. The album included guests appearances from Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who called him "the Jay-Z of the South"), Jazze Pha, Too Short, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Pastor Troy, P$C and YoungBloodZ. The album featured production from The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, Madvac, and The Grand Hustle Team. Despite the album's guests appearances and production team, the album peaked at number 98 and only sold 163,000 copies in the United States. Critics pointed to the fact that many of the tracks sounded the same and that a few were blatant rip-offs. Other critics commented saying, "T.I. claims to be the king of the South, but fails to show and prove. He does, however, have potential. If his talent ever matches his confidence, he may be headed for stardom."

Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. was dropped from Arista Records. He then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and started releasing several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama. He resurfaced in the summer of 2003 with fellow Atlanta rapper and former label-mate Bone Crusher's song "Never Scared." His mixtapes and mainstream exposure from "Never Scared" eventually recaptured major label attention and he signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records.

2003–05: Trap Muzik and Urban Legend

T.I. released his second album Trap Muzik on August 19, 2003 through Grand Hustle Records; it debuted at number four and sold 109,000 copies in its first week. It spawned the singles "24s", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man", and "Let's Get Away". The album featured guest appearances by 8Ball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B and Macboney and was produced by Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, Madvac and DJ Toomp. In March 2004, a warrant was issued for T.I.'s arrest after he violated his probation of a 1997 drug conviction. He was sentenced to three years in prison. While imprisoned in Cobb County, Georgia, he filmed an unauthorized music video. One month later, he was allowed a work release program.

T.I. was on probation stemming from a 1998 conviction for violating a state controlled substances act and for giving false information. After being released on probation, he earned a litany of probation violations in several counties around Georgia for offenses ranging from possession of a firearm to possession of marijuana. In 2006, after appearing in an Atlanta court on (May 10) and having charges that he threatened a man outside a strip club last year dropped for lack of evidence, T.I. was arrested on an outstanding probation violation warrant from Florida. The warrant claimed that T.I. did not complete the required number of community service hours he was sentenced for a 2003 assault of a female sheriff deputy at University Mall in Tampa. T.I. was detained by several mall Security Guards at the time of the incident. According to WSB-TV Atlanta, the rapper’s attorney said that the problem was nothing more than a "technical matter" between Georgia and Florida. The confusion arose because T.I. was also sentenced to community service in Georgia for driving with a suspended license, for which he did complete 75 hours of community service in his home state. The rapper was released on bail shortly after being arrested, and was expected to surrender to Florida state authorities the following week to resolve the matter.

T.I. released his third studio album, Urban Legend, in November 2004. It debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 193,000 copies in its first week. The album's official lead single, "Bring Em Out", was released in January 2005 and became his first top ten hit, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, while the second single "U Don't Know Me" peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100. His third single "ASAP" reached number 75 on the U.S. charts, number 18 on the U.S. R&B;/Hip-Hop charts and number 14 on the Rap chart. T.I. created a video for "ASAP"/"Motivation". However, "Motivation" only made it to number 62 on the U.S. R&B;/Hip-Hop singles chart. He was featured in Destiny's Child's 2004 single "Soldier" along with Lil Wayne, peaking at number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B; Charts.

In 2006, T.I. received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Song Collaboration ("Soldier" w/ Destiny's Child & Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Solo Performance for "U Don't Know Me" at The 48th Grammy Awards. That same year he won Rap Artist of the Year, Rap Album Of The Year, Rap Album Artist Of The Year, Rap Song Artist of the Year and Video Clip Artist of the Year on the Billboard Music Award and Best Male Hip-Hop Artist on the BET Awards.

2006–07: King, T.I. vs. T.I.P. and federal weapons charges

T.I.'s fourth album, King, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. T.I. released "Front Back" and "Ride with Me" as a promotional singles prior to the release of the album. The singles garnered little attention, but helped to promote not only the album, but also ATL. The album also included the singles, "What You Know," "Why You Wanna," and "Live in the Sky," plus a remix of "Top Back." King earned numerous awards and nominations including a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. He was also featured in the single "Shoulder Lean" by Young Dro reaching the top ten on the U.S. Hot 100 and #1 on the U.S. Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks.

"What You Know" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 49th Grammy Awards. Also that year, T.I. collaborated with Justin Timberlake for "My Love," which proved to be a worldwide hit, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Justin Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and also won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards for the second straight time. He then served as a featured performer on "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled also featuring Akon, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, Birdman and Lil Wayne.

T.I. released his fifth album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., on July 3, 2007. The first single from the album was "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)," which was produced by Mannie Fresh and was released to radio stations on April 17, 2007. The second single, "You Know What It Is" featuring Wyclef Jean, was released June 12, 2007. T.I. vs. T.I.P. sold 468,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was T.I.'s second chart-topper in a row: King opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 522,000 copies in late March 2006. The album included guest performances by Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Nelly, and Eminem, and production by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mannie Fresh, Grand Hustle, The Runners, Just Blaze, Wyclef Jean and Danja. Absent from this album's production lineup were T.I.'s longtime producer DJ Toomp and The Neptunes. In October 2007, T.I. released his third single, "Hurt," featuring Busta Rhymes and Alfamega.

On October 13, 2007, federal authorities arrested T.I. four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. He was charged with two felonies — possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The arrest was made in the parking lot of a downtown shopping center, which a witness identified as the Walgreens drug store at the corner of North and Piedmont Avenues. T.I. was arrested after allegedly trying to purchase the guns from a "cooperating witness" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to federal officials, the witness had been cooperating with authorities a few days prior to the T.I. arrest, when the cooperating witness was arrested on charges of trying to purchase guns from a federal agent. The witness had been working as T.I.'s bodyguard since July, authorities said. T.I. walked out of the Atlanta United States District Court after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman on October 26, 2007. Judge Alan J. Baverman required T.I. post a $3 million bond, $2 million in cash and $1 million in equity on property he owns. The rapper was required to remain at home except for medical appointments and court appearances. The only people allowed to live with him were his girlfriend and children. Visitors were required to be approved by the court.

2008–09: Paper Trail and prison sentence

T.I.'s suppression hearing was scheduled for February 19, 2008. The performer later pleaded guilty to U.S. federal weapons charges. He was sentenced to an undefined prison sentence, a year of house arrest and 1,500 hours of community service. In an interview with MTV about serving prison time, T.I. stated, "Presumably, while I'm there, I'll be able to strategize my comeback." He went on to say that he would not "just be sitting still doing nothing". At that time T.I. collaborated with Mariah Carey on the "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" remix, peaking at number 58 on the U.S. Hot 100 and number 36 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs.

While under house arrest, T.I. began writing lyrics down on paper for his following album. The first promotional single from the album, "No Matter What," was released in April 2008. The music video was released on June 2008 on MTV's FN Premieres. The second promotional single was "Swing Ya Rag" which was produced by and featured Swizz Beatz. The official lead single was "Whatever You Like," was released on July 2008, and became his most successful single of his career so far, breaking the record for the highest jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, jumping from number 71 to number one. Also becoming T.I.'s first solo number one on the chart. While "Whatever You Like" was number one, "Weird Al" Yankovic did a parody of T.I.'s song called "Whatever You Like", the same title as the song by T.I. He released his sixth album, Paper Trail, in September 2008. The title of the album refers to the lyrics he had written down on paper. Like many other rappers, T.I. abandoned this style of rapping after his debut album I'm Serious by just memorizing lyrics. His representative explain that T.I. wanted to "take more time to really put something down [this time]". The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling 568,000 copies in the United States.

The second single from the album, "Swagga Like Us", featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. With the third single "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, T.I. broke his own record on the Billboard Hot 100 when it jumped from number 80 to the number one. The fourth single "Dead and Gone", featuring Justin Timberlake, peaked at number two for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually going on to be nominated during the 52nd Grammy Awards for both "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" and "Best Rap Song". During the 51st Grammy Awards, he was nominated for four Grammy Awards, eventually winning Best Rap Performance by a Duo Or a Group for "Swagga Like Us". "Remember Me", featuring Mary J. Blige, was released digitally on July 7, 2009. It was the planned first single off the re-release of T.I.'s sixth studio album, "Paper Trail", but the re-release was eventually shelved. The single peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 6, "Hell of a Life" was released digitally and went on to peak at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, T.I. appeared as himself on an episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. On the episode, he took the comedienne to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in LA and gave her a lesson on how to "swagger."

On November 21, 2008, T.I. testified in the murder trial of a member of his entourage and a close friend, Philant Johnson (1980–2006), who was murdered in a shooting that occurred after a post-concert party at a club. T.I. has dedicated several songs to Johnson, from the single version of "Live in the Sky" to his more recent hit "Dead and Gone" where Johnson's grave can be seen in the video.

On March 27, 2009, U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. sentenced T.I. to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $100,300 for federal weapons charges; T.I. had his sentence reduced from a maximum 10 years and a $250,000 fine with a plea bargain. On May 26, 2009, T.I. began serving his sentence in Forrest City, Arkansas. Two days prior to being imprisoned, T.I. performed a farewell concert at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. T.I. was released from FCC Forrest City on December 22, 2009 and was moved into a halfway house in Atlanta. T.I. had the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID 59458-019 and was released from CCM Atlanta on March 26, 2010. After his release from prison, he was subjected to an audit of his finances, drug counseling, DNA testing, and random searches of his property.

2010–present: No Mercy and drug charges

On March 26, 2010, T.I. was released from the halfway house. He was in the studio working on his seventh studio album titled King Uncaged. Jim Jonsin, the producer who previously worked with him on his single, "Whatever You Like" and R&B; singer Trey Songz, were scheduled to work on the project.

T.I. made his first public appearance since prison, stepping out with then fiancée Tameka "Tiny" Cottle in support of her Alzheimer's research fundraiser "For the Love of Our Fathers" at Atlanta's Opera venue. "I am very well, very happy to be seen," said T.I., who joined Cottle onstage at the end of the benefit. T.I. released a new street single titled "I'm Back" on March 8, 2010. The single peaked at #44 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts. Around this time, he made a featured guest appearance on Diddy-Dirty Money's single "Hello Good Morning" where the single peaked at #27 in US and charted internationally in eight other countries.

He also made a guest appearance on Larry King Live on May 13 to discuss with Larry King about his nine-month prison term on federal gun charges and other topics. T.I. released a promotional soundtrack single entitled, "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)" on May 24. It peaked at #44 on Billboard Hot 100 and #68 on Canadian Hot 100. T.I. released another promotional single entitled; "Got Your Back" which featured American R&B; singer Keri Hilson and it peaked at number 38 in the US. Later, T.I. made more featured single appearances such as Jamie Foxx's single "Winner" featuring Justin Timberlake and Drake's single "Fancy" which it featured Swizz Beatz. Both singles made an impact on the Billboard charts peaking at the top 50.

T.I. released a mixtape entitled "Fuck a Mixtape"; the move was somewhat controversial, due to its title with many feeling he was insulting the Mixtape format. T.I. has addressed the issue by stating that it was a response to all the people who told him to just focus on an album and not on a mixtape. T.I. further defended his decision to release a mixtape by saying:

{{bquote|"I already have 60, 70 songs. A lot of these songs are period pieces that speak volumes to what's going on right now. If I hold onto them next year or the year after, they'll be dated, because my life will be in another direction. If I'm not gonna put it on the album — and they all can't make the album — then they might as well have another platform to present it to the world".}}

On September 1, T.I. and his wife Tiny were arrested on drug charges in Los Angeles. The arrest for drug charges led to T.I. being sentenced on October 15, 2010 to 11 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation, specifically for possessing ecstasy, testing positive for opiates and associating with a convicted felon. On October 25, the drug charges against T.I. were dropped.

T.I. changed the title of his seventh studio album and renamed it No Mercy due to his new prison sentencing. He then released the first single from the newly titled album, "Get Back Up" featuring Chris Brown on the same day that he was sentenced back to prison for violating the terms of his probation. "Get Back Up" peaked at #70 in the US. On November 1, T.I. reported back to the Forrest City Federal Facility to serve his 11-month sentence. His date of release is September 29, 2011.

No Mercy was released on December 7, 2010. The album peaked at #4 in the US and it sold over 159,000 copies in its first week. RIAA certified No Mercy Gold with over 500,000 copies sold. His second and last single off the album "That's All She Wrote" featuring Eminem was released on December 19 and it peaked at #18 in the US.

T.I. was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance for "I'm Back" and Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (Fancy with Drake and Swizz Beatz) at the 53rd Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Hip Hop Song of the Year for "Got Your Back" and he earned three BET Hip Hop Awards nominations for Hustler of the Year, Made You Look Award, and Best Club Banger for "Hello Good Morning" w/Diddy-Dirty Money.

In early June 2011, T.I. said in a letter: "I’ll be releasing a record in the near future (couple of weeks tops) to hold y’all over til I get back in action." On June 30, 2011, a new song was released onto T.I.'s official website and on his official YouTube channel - titled "We Don't Get Down Like Y'all", which features fellow Grand Hustle rapper B.o.B on the hook. While commenting on the song, T.I. said in another letter; "It's a song that I did soon after my release last time. What inspired me to write this record was the differences in how we do us and how they do them suddenly became incredibly evident in just a very short period of time." Currently it is not available to buy except from Atlantic Records's online store.

Other ventures

Acting career

In 2006 T.I. starred in his first film, ATL. The other cast members included Lauren London, Antwan Patton, Evan Ross, Mykelti Williamson, Jason Weaver, and Keith David. The movie was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Antwone Fisher, produced by Timothy M. Bourne, Tionne Watkins, and Will Smith, and directed by Christopher Robinson. T.I. played the character Rashad Swann, an orphaned 17-year-old senior in high school. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $11.5 million, ranking third in the United States box office, and went on to gross $21.2 million.

He also appeared in American Gangster as Stevie Lucas, Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas' nephew.

T.I. starred in the crime heist film Takers (originally called Bone Deep) as Ghost. The film was directed by John Luessenhop and was produced by William Packer, Michael Ealy, Tom Lassally, Jason Geter, Gary Gilbert and T.I. himself. The film was released on August 27, 2010 through Grand Hustle Films and Rainforest Films distributed by Screen Gems. The film also includes Chris Brown, Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, and Zoe Saldana. Takers debuted at number one at the American box office at 20.5 million in its opening weekend.

Music and film producing

T.I. was co-executive producer of B.G.'s upcoming album and making beats for artists like Mariah Carey, Cassidy, Rick Ross, Maino, B.o.B, Yung Joc, Young Dro, and himself. He also executive produced the soundtrack to the film Hustle & Flow and released the collection through his record label.

T.I. also a songwriter. He has credits from Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Bow Wow.

T.I. launched his film company, Grand Hustle Films. Late 2007, T.I. linked up with Los Angeles-based production company 828 Entertainment to executive produce a new reality show titled Life on Mars which chronicles the life of young prodigy music producer LaMar "MARS" Edwards. T.I. partnered 828 Entertainment with his company Grand Hustle Records to produce a slate of both television and film projects. He also created a reality show on MTV called "T.I.'s Road to Redemption".

Community work

In addition to helping with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, T.I. worked with troubled youths at Paulding Detention Center in Atlanta, provided scholarships for single parent families at Boys and Girls Clubs, and headlined the Boost Mobile Rockcorps concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall, which featured such performers as Fat Joe, Slim Thug, and Kanye West, and was held exclusively for community service volunteers. As part of his community service time, T.I. has come to a number of middle-grade and high schools in Georgia, where he speaks with the students in an assembly holding a positive message, while maintaining a philathropic view about morals and growing up in the same areas as himself. In June 2005, The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Foundation, named for the deceased member of multi-platinum female group TLC, and Atlanta's V-103 honored T.I. with the 2005 Lisa Lopes Award for groundbreaking achievements in music and community service which was court ordered. With this steady list of growing accomplishments T.I. is being recognized as the "Jay-Z of the South," according to Pharrell Williams of multi-platinum production team The Neptunes.

T.I.'s night club, Club Crucial, hosted a giveaway of 200 bicycles to neighborhood children in the Boys and Girls Club with V-103 announcer Greg Street.

Business ventures

Forbes Magazine announced its first ever Hip-Hop Cash Kings list early 2007 with list of the top 20 hip-hop earning artists for the previous business year. T.I. was listed on their list three times.

T.I. opened his own nightclub, Club Crucial in Bankhead, Atlanta. It is considered one of the most popular clubs in Atlanta and features full entertainment centers with large flat screen TVs, pool rooms, VIP rooms, food, etc. Celebrities such as Monica, Big Boi, Mike Epps, Shawty Lo make appearances there. The club also hosts weekly events such as Monday night Open Mic Night, Free Fridays, and Celebrity Saturdays where local hip-hop artists are known to come perform their songs at the club.

Chevrolet secured an endorsement deal with T.I. earlier in 2007 to promote their line of cars, with a focus on the new Impala. Due to his arrest for federal gun charges, he was on the verge of losing his deal with the company.

T.I. had an endorsement with a social networking website focusing on the hip-hop culture named StreetCred. The website was founded in 2007 by investment banker Rocky Williform. Celebrities such as Diddy, Lil Kim, and Jeezy had accounts on the website. As of 2008, the website was temporarily shut down until further notice.

On June 29, T.I. was named Global Creative Consultant of Rémy Martin Cognac. XXL Magazine revealed that the partnership will include collaborative projects and a focus on continuing the philanthropic works of his K.I.N.G. Foundation. He also announced on Chelsea Lately that he will be releasing his own signature brand of the liquor.

T.I. lost his endorsement deal with Axe body spray after his arrest for drug possession.

Controversy

Ludacris

A dispute with Ludacris started when T.I. saw Disturbing tha Peace rapper I-20's video. In the video, a man wearing a shirt which said "Trap House" was being beaten. T.I. mistook the logo to refer to "Trap Muzik". Former G-Unit artist Young Buck asked fellow Southern rappers T.I. and Ludacris to appear on his new record on the track "Stomp". T.I. recorded a verse which contained a line that Young Buck considered to be an underhanded snub towards Ludacris: "Me gettin' beat down?/That's ludicrous/". Young Buck spoke to Ludacris about the verse, to maintain his neutrality in the controversy. Ludacris then recorded the verse that can be found on the album. T.I's record company wanted Ludacris to change his verse before they sanctioned it but Ludacris refused and T.I. was therefore replaced by Game on the album version.

On June 24, 2007 at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California, T.I. was involved in a brawl. During a luncheon held by Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group (parent company of T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records), the MC got into a fight with Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu. According to witnesses, T.I. punched Zulu in the face and choked him and a brief melee ensued.

T.I. brought home the award for Best Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards, and took the opportunity to apologize for his scuffle with Disturbing tha Peace executive Chaka Zulu earlier in the week. While accepting his award, he expressed regret over the situation. "They say it's a fine line between brilliance and insanity," he said, in an apparent reference to his troublesome alter ego, T.I.P. During the broadcast, cameras showed his onetime rival Ludacris smiling in the audience. The audience stood up and applauded T.I.

The two rappers have since resolved the dispute and have collaborated on two songs: "Wish You Would" on Ludacris's sixth studio album, Theater of the Mind, and "On Top of the World" on T.I.'s sixth studio album, Paper Trail. The original version of the latter had Kanye West.

Lil' Flip

According to AllHipHop, T.I. and Lil' Flip had an altercation in Lil' Flip's neighborhood, the Cloverland section of Houston. It has been said that T.I. went there to create a DVD exposing Lil' Flip to be a fraud. When T.I. went to Cloverland with his entourage, he was met by Flip and his people. Then it was said a fight broke out with one of the members of Lil Flip's entourage started swinging on T.I. until one of T.I.'s bodyguards started shooting. The same day T.I. went on a Houston, Texas radio station talking about the altercation. He revealed that he had the tape and he was going to release it with an upcoming mixtape, but that did not happen because James Prince stopped him from distributing the tape. It is unknown whether T.I. still has the tape or not. The feud was squashed by Rap-a-Lot's Prince after having them sit down and resolve their feud. The feud was documented by the Houston Press.

Shawty Lo

In 2008, T.I. was involved in a highly publicized feud with Shawty Lo. The feud was characterized by Shawty Lo's track Dunn Dunn, and T.I.'s reply in What Up, What's Haapnin. The song Dunn Dunn appears to question T.I.'s roots in Bankhead. The music video for What Up, What's Haapnin was shot in Shawty Lo's housing project Bowen Homes, an apparent insult towards Shawty Lo. In an interview, T.I. insisted that his song No Matter What was only partially aimed at Shawty Lo.

The feud reached its climax at the November 2008 Dirty Awards where the entourages of both artists clashed during the ceremony, forcing it to be shut down. Two incidents forced police to use pepper-spray and evacuate the audience.

The feud was publicly squashed on March 7, 2009, when Shawty Lo and T.I. appeared on-stage together at Club Crucial in Bankhead, for T.I.'s farewell concert. After this performance, T.I. gave an interview to MTV, in which he stated that the feud with Shawty Lo was exaggerated by the media, and was not a 'beef'.

Personal life

Family

T.I. has been in a relationship with former Xscape member Tameka "Tiny" Cottle since 2001. The couple married on July 30, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida. Together, they have two sons: Clifford "King" Joseph Harris III, born August 25, 2004, and Major Philant Harris, born May 16, 2008. Their daughter Lelah Amore Harris was stillborn on March 22, 2007, six months into a complicated pregnancy.

In addition, T.I. has two sons with ex-girlfriend Lashon Dixon: Domani Uriah, born in 2000, and Messiah Ya'Majesty, born in 2001. T.I. also has a daughter named Deyjah Imani, born in 2001, from another relationship.

Through his marriage to Cottle, T.I. has one stepdaughter, Zonnique Pullins, born in 1996 to Cottle and Zonnie Zebo Pullins.

Rescue of suicidal man

T.I. has been praised for helping a twenty-four year old suicidal man in Atlanta named Joshua Starks, convincing the man not to go through with jumping from a 22-story building. On October 13, 2010, T.I. reportedly heard about the situation on the radio and drove to the scene at Atlanta's 400 Colony Square Building. He drove to the site, and asked the police if he could help Starks. T.I. then talked to the man, and convinced him not to jump. Afterwards, T.I. stated "For one, I'm not taking any credit. I didn't do it... I could've just as well came down there and it could have been resolved in another way. The fact of the matter is that God put me in a position to help, and I can't take any credit for that."

Discography

2001: I'm Serious

2003: Trap Muzik

2004: Urban Legend

2006: King

2007: T.I. vs. T.I.P.

2008: Paper Trail

2010: No Mercy

Filmography

colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	Film
! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
2006		Rashad Swann	Main Role
2007		Stevie Lucas	Minor Role
2008	For Sale	Omar Burgess	Main Role
2010	Takers	Ghost	Main Role and Executive Producer. Debuted at #1 at the American box office.
Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
	2005	The O.C.	Himself	"The Return of the Nana" (season 2, episode 21)
2008		Himself
	T.I.'s Road to Redemption	Himself	Starred in all episodes
Behind the Music	Himself	Aired on October 8, 2009.
	2010	VH1 Storytellers	Himself	Aired December 10, 2010

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of awards and nominations received by T.I.

References

External links

T.I. at MTV

[ T.I.] at Allmusic

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century American criminals Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:African American songwriters Category:American people convicted of assault Category:American prisoners and detainees Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:Pseudonymous rappers Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)

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name	Tamika Catchings
profile	tamika_catchings
nickname	Catch, Meek, Mika
position	Forward
height ft	6
height in	1
weight lbs	167
nationality	American
birth date	July 21, 1979
birth place	Stratford, New Jersey
college	Tennessee
team	Indiana Fever
number	24
draft	3rd overall
draft year	2001
draft team	Indiana Fever
career start	2002
overseas career start	2005
highschool	Adlai E. Stevenson,Duncanville
career teams	Indiana Fever (2002–present)
overseas career teams	Spartak Moscow (2005)Lotos Gdynia (2009)Galatasaray (2010, 2011)
awards	Member of All-Decade Team Member of Top 15 TeamOlympic Gold Medalist (2004, 2008)7× WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005-2007, 2009, 2011) 4× Defensive Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010) Rookie of the Year (2002) Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (2010)
medal templates	}}

| medal_templates-expand = true }}

Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979 in Stratford, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA and Turkish team Galatasaray. She is a prolific scorer close to and far from the basket, as well as a capable rebounder, ball handler, and defender. After playing at Adlai E. Stevenson High School and graduating from Duncanville High School, Tamika Catchings became one of the stars of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team. In 2001, she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. After sitting out the entire year in which she was drafted due to injury, she had an all-star rookie season in 2002. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

Career

Catchings played for Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored twelve points. She is also the only player in the history of the sport to ever be officially credited with scoring a quintuple-double.

Catchings was an All-American with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball for 1997–2001. As a freshman on the undefeated 1997–98 National champions, she was part of the "Three Meeks" with Semeka Randall and Chamique Holdsclaw. Catchings was drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2001. Unable to play her rookie season, she had an outstanding year in 2002 and was named WNBA Rookie of the Year. She has led Indiana Fever in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in six of her eight WNBA seasons. Catchings played for the USA women's basketball team at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, helping the team win the gold medal.

In 2005, she scored her 2,000th point in the WNBA. With this she became the fastest player to score 2000 career points in the WNBA, reaching the milestone in only four seasons of play. She is also the fastest to 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists, and 300 steals. In 2005, Catchings was also named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Catchings then repeated as Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. She was again named Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Also during the 2009 season she led her Indiana Fever to their first ever Eastern Conference championship, however they fell short in their quest to win the WNBA title as they were defeated in five games by the Phoenix Mercury.

In 2006, she was voted in to the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game, and was also the leading vote-getter, but had to sit out because of a foot injury. At half-time she was announced as a member of the All-Decade Team along with 9 other players and former Comets coach Van Chancellor. Five years later she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen year history of the WNBA.

Catchings is a 5-time WNBA All-Star, a 5-time All-WNBA selection and is famous for recording the only ever quintuple double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals and 10 blocks in 1997). She is also President of the WNBA Players Association.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2002 | align="left" | Indiana | 32 || 32 || 36.5 || .419 || .394 || .815 || 8.6 || 3.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|2.9 || 1.3 || 2.56 || 18.6 |- | align="left" | 2003 | align="left" | Indiana | 34 || 34 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|35.6 || .432 || .387 || .847 || 8.0 || 3.4 || 2.1 || 1.0 || 3.00 || 19.7 |- | align="left" | 2004 | align="left" | Indiana | 34 || 33 || 33.8 || .385 || .335 || .854 || 7.3 || 3.4 || 2.0 || 1.1 || 2.26 || 16.7 |- | align="left" | 2005 | align="left" | Indiana | 34 || 34 || 34.5 || .383 || .285 || .788 || 7.8 || 4.2 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|2.6 || 0.5 || 2.68 || 14.7 |- | align="left" | 2006 | align="left" | Indiana | 32 || 32 || 33.5 || .407 || .299 || .809 || 7.5 || 3.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|2.9 || 1.1 || 2.47 || 16.3 |- | align="left" | 2007 | align="left" | Indiana | 21 || 21 || 32.3 || .417 || .311 || .820 || 9.0 || 4.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|3.1 || 1.0 || 2.95 || 16.6 |- | align="left" | 2008 | align="left" | Indiana | 25 || 17 || 27.8 || .391 || .432 || .800 || 6.3 || 3.3 || 2.0 || 0.4 || 2.44 || 13.3 |- | align="left" | 2009 | align="left" | Indiana | 34 || 34 || 31.9 || .386 || .328 || .873 || 7.2 || 3.1 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|2.9 || 0.5 || 2.59 || 15.1 |- | align="left" | 2010 | align="left" | Indiana | 34 || 34 || 31.4 || .484 || .448 || .849 || 7.1 || 4.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|2.3 || 0.9 || 2.74 || 18.2 |- | align="left" | 2011 | align="left" | Indiana | 26 || 26 || 31.5 || .441 || .351 || .885 || 7.1 || 3.7 || 2.0 || 1.0 || 2.08 || 15.5 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" |10 years, 1 team | 306 || 297 || 33.0 || .415 || .359 || .833 || 7.6 || 3.7 || 2.5 || 0.9 || 2.58 || 16.6

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2002 | align="left" | Indiana | 3 || 0 || 34.3 || .489 || .381 || .818 || 10.7 || 2.3 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 3.67 || 20.3 |- | align="left" | 2005 | align="left" | Indiana | 4 || 4 || 36.5 || .356 || .417 || .786 || 9.2 || 2.2 || 2.0 || 0.2 || 2.75 || 17.2 |- | align="left" | 2006 | align="left" | Indiana | 2 || 2 || 31.0 || .323 || .500 || .667 || 6.0 || 3.5 || 1.0 || 0.5 || 3.00 || 14.0 |- | align="left" | 2007 | align="left" | Indiana | 6 || 6 || 32.7 || .370 || .263 || .878 || 11.0 || 3.2 || 2.2 || 0.5 || 1.67 || 15.8 |- | align="left" | 2008 | align="left" | Indiana | 3 || 3 || 37.7 || .441 || .273 || .933 || 7.7 || 6.0 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 3.67 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|20.3 |- | align="left" | 2009 | align="left" | Indiana | 10 || 10 || 35.7 || .459 || .250 || .850 || 10.4 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|5.4 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|3.3 || 1.4 || 3.40 || 17.2 |- | align="left" | 2010 | align="left" | Indiana | 3 || 3 || 35.7 || .413 || .357 || .813 || 8.7 || 3.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|3.0 || 0.7 || 1.00 || 18.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" |7 years, 1 team | 31 || 28 || 34.9 || .415 || .322 || .849 || 9.7 || 4.0 || 2.3 || 0.8 || 2.77 || 17.5

USA Basketball

Catchings was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.

Catchings was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball. This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010.

Personal

Catchings is the daughter of former NBA player Harvey Catchings. Her sister Tauja also played basketball at Stevenson and the University of Illinois, was drafted by the WNBA and now plays in Sweden. Tamika's cousin Bobby is a starting forward for Eastern Illinois University's basketball team. Tamika majored in Sports Management at the University of Tennessee.

Catchings helped Stevenson High School to Illinois's IHSA Div. AA State Championship in her Sophomore year in 1995 under head coach Frank Mattucci before moving to Texas. Her sophomore year at Stevenson she won Illinois Ms. Basketball (which at the time was the youngest player to ever win the award). In addition to leading Duncanville High to the state basketball title in her senior season (she played only two years at Duncanville after moving from the Chicago area), she also led the volleyball team to its only state title as a junior.

Catchings was born with a hearing disability, she wore a hearing aid as a young girl. In 2000, she was honored with the Reynolds Society Achievement Award by the world-famous Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. Catchings is a leading figure in the Indianapolis community, having started the Catch the Stars Foundation, Inc. which helps disadvantaged youth achieve their dreams. On June 24, 2008 Catchings was awarded the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award for her work in the Indianapolis community with her foundation.

Catchings refereed a game of 3-on-3 basketball played by Barack Obama along with local students Kokomo, Indiana at the Maple Crest Middle School on April 25, 2008. Fever teammate Alison Bales also played on Obama's team.

Awards and achievements

Six-time WNBA All-Star Selection

Six-time All-WNBA Team

Notes

External links

Tamika Catchings's Official Website

Indiana Fever Official Website

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:American women's basketball players Category:American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from New Jersey Category:Indiana Fever players Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Category:People from Camden County, New Jersey Category:People from Duncanville, Texas Category:Small forwards Category:Tennessee Lady Vols basketball players Category:Galatasaray women's basketball players Category:Olympic medalists in basketball

de:Tamika Catchings fr:Tamika Catchings it:Tamika Catchings ja:タミカ・キャッチングズ pl:Tamika Catchings fi:Tamika Catchings