In basketball, a double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in one of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. Multiple players usually score double-digit points in any given basketball game; the double nomenclature is usually reserved for when a player has double-digit totals in more than one category. A double-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in two of the five categories in a game. The most common double-double combination is points-rebounds, followed by points-assists. Since the 1986–87 season, Karl Malone leads the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the points-rebounds combination with 779 and John Stockton leads the points-assists combination with 696. A triple-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in three of the five categories in a game. The most common way to notch triple-double is through points, rebounds, and assists. Oscar Robertson leads the all-time NBA list with 181. Jason Kidd leads the list among active players with 106. A quadruple-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in four of the five categories in a game. This has occurred four times in the NBA. A quintuple-double is the accumulation of a double-digit number total in all five categories in a game. One known quintuple-double has occurred at the U.S. high school level, when Tamika Catchings recorded one in 1997. A similar accomplishment is the five-by-five, which is the accumulation of at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals, and five blocks in a game. In the NBA, only Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko have accumulated multiple five-by-fives since the 1986–87 season.

Double-double

A double-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double-digit number total in two of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. The most common double-double combination is points and rebounds, followed by points and assists. Double-doubles are fairly common in the NBA. During the 2008–09 season, 69 players who were eligible for leadership in the main statistical categories recorded at least 10 double-doubles during the season.

Special double-doubles are rare. One such double-double is called double double-double (also referred to as 20-20 or Double-20). It occurs when a player accumulates 20 or more in two different statistical categories in a game. Another such double-double is called a triple double-double (also referred to as 30-30).

NBA

Double-double leaders (in regular season)

The following is a list of regular season double-double leaders since the season: {| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; margin: 1em;" |+Point-rebound |- !Rank !Name !Numbers |- |1 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 779 |- |2 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 726 |- |3 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 695 |- |4 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 681 |- |5 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 673 |- |6 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 620 |- |7 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 563 |- |8 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 543 |- |9 || || 469 |- |10 || || 454 |} {| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em;" |+Point-assist |- !Rank !Name !Numbers |- |1 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 696 |- |2 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 397 |- |3 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 374 |- |4 || || 319 |- |5 || || 279 |- |6 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 277 |- |7 || || 271 |- |8 || || 242 |- |8 || || 242 |- |10 || || 210 |}

Triple-double

A triple-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double digit number total in three of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. The most common way for a player to achieve a triple-double is with points, rebounds, and assists, though on occasion players may record 10 or more steals or blocked shots in a game. The origin of the term "triple-double" is unclear. Some sources claim that it was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers public relations director Bruce Jolesch in the 1980s in order to showcase Magic Johnson's versatility, while others claim that it was coined by then Philadelphia 76ers media relations director Harvey Pollack in 1980.

A triple-double is seen as an indication of an excellent all-around individual performance. They are even more rare at the collegiate level (though double-doubles are much more common). There are two primary reasons for the relative infrequency of triple-doubles at the collegiate level: the shot clock in men's college basketball is 35 seconds as opposed to 24 seconds in the NBA, and college games last only 40 minutes instead of 48 in the NBA. Both timing issues considerably reduce the number of possessions in a game and thus the chances for amassing large numbers in any one statistic, much less all three.

There has been occasional controversy surrounding triple-doubles made when a player achieves the feat with a late rebound. Players with nine rebounds in a game have sometimes been accused of deliberately missing a shot late in the game in order to recover the rebound; a few have even gone so far as shooting off their opponent's basket trying to score a triple-double. To deter this, NBA rules allow rebounds to be nullified if the shot is determined not to be a legitimate scoring attempt.

NBA

Facts

Averaging a triple-double in a single season: Oscar Robertson is the only player in NBA history to achieve this feat. During the 1961–62 season, Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. At the end of that season and each season through 1964–65, Robertson's cumulative career averages were a triple-double. Youngest player: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), aged 20 years and 20 days, logged a triple-double on January 19, 2005, versus the Portland Trail Blazers. He had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Oldest player: Karl Malone (Los Angeles Lakers), aged 40 years and 127 days—the only 40-year-old player to do so—logged a triple-double on November 28, 2003, versus the San Antonio Spurs. He had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Double-triple-double (at least 20 of any 3 statistics): Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to have accomplished this; in a February 2, 1968 game vs. Detroit Pistons, Chamberlain tallied 25 points, 22 rebounds, and 21 assists. Longest continuous streak of triple-doubles: Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most consecutive triple-doubles. In 1968, from March 8 to March 20, he recorded a triple-double in nine straight games. by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. Jordan had 41 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while Pippen had 15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. It was also achieved in an April 7, 2007 game by Vince Carter and Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets vs. the Washington Wizards. Carter had 46 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists while Kidd had 10 points, 16 rebounds, and 18 assists. {| class="wikitable sortable" "style="float:right;" |+All-time triple-double leaders (regular season) |- !Rank !Name !Triple-doubles |- |1 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* ||181 |- |2 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 138 |- |3 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 106 |- |4 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 78 |- |5 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 59 |- |6 || || 43 |- |7 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 31 |- |8 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 30 |- |9 || bgcolor="#CFECEC"|^ || 29 |- |10 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 28 |- |11 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 25 |- |12 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 23 |- |13 || || 22 |- |14 || || 21 |- |15 || bgcolor="#FFFF99"|* || 20 |- class="sortbottom" |colspan=3|Sources: |}

NCAA Division I

Consecutive triple doubles in a single season: David Edwards (Texas A&M;), Penny Hardaway (Memphis State), Tony Lee (Robert Morris), Gerald Lewis (SMU), Shaquille O’Neal (LSU), and Kevin Roberson (Vermont) each recorded two consecutive games with a triple-double. :*Hardaway had back-to-back triple doubles for Memphis State (now Memphis) during the 1992–93 season. He recorded 21 points, 15 assists, and 14 rebounds against Georgia State on January 4, 1993 and then recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against Vanderbilt on January 6, 1993.

Most triple-doubles in a single season: Michael Anderson (1985–86 at Drexel), Brian Shaw (1987–88 at UC Santa Barbara), Jason Kidd (1993–94 at Cal) and Stephane Lasme (2006–07 at Massachusetts) each recorded four triple-doubles in a single season. {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Name ! Team ! Score ! Opponent ! Round ! Date ! Minutes played ! Points ! Rebounds ! Assists ! Steals ! Blocks |- | || Cincinnati || 98–85 || Louisville || Third place || ||align=right| 39 ||align=right| 39 ||align=right| 17 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — ||align=right| — |- | || Michigan State || 101–67 || Penn || Final Four || ||align=right| 35 ||align=right| 29 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 3 ||align=right| — |- | || Michigan || 97–109 || North Carolina ||align=center| Second round || ||align=right| 39 ||align=right| 24 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 1 ||align=right| 0 |- | || LSU || 94–83 || BYU || First round || ||align=right| 31 ||align=right| 26 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 4 ||align=right| 1 ||align=right| 11 |- | || St. John's || 85–67 || Texas Tech || First round || ||align=right| 37 ||align=right| 12 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 1 ||align=right| 0 |- | || Utah || 76–51 || Arizona || Elite Eight || ||align=right| 36 ||align=right| 18 ||align=right| 14 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 2 ||align=right| 1 |- | || Marquette || 83–69 || Kentucky || Elite Eight || ||align=right| 35 ||align=right| 29 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 1 ||align=right| 4 |- | || Kansas || 60–43 || Dayton || Second round || ||align=right| 31 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 20 ||align=right| 1 ||align=right| 0 ||align=right| 10 |}

Others

:*Kalara McFadyen of the Memphis Lady Tigers achieved perhaps the most unusual triple-double in history, without scoring a point or even attempting a shot. On February 3, 2002, in a women's Division I game against Charlotte, she had 12 assists, 10 steals, and 10 rebounds.

Quadruple-double

David Robinson is the most recent NBA player to accomplish the feat of a quadruple-double by recording at least 10 points, rebounds, assists, and blocks in a game.]] A quadruple-double is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a double digit number total in four of five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots—in a game. This feat is extremely rare: only four players have officially recorded a quadruple-double in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. The first American male player above the high school level to officially record a quadruple-double was Nate Thurmond, who achieved this feat in 1974 while playing for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. The first American female player above the high school level to officially record a quadruple-double was Ann Meyers, who achieved this feat in 1978 while playing for the UCLA Bruins.), Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell or Jerry West could conceivably have had quadruple-doubles. Wilt Chamberlain also reportedly recorded a quadruple-double in Game 1 of the 1967 Eastern Division Finals against the Boston Celtics, when he had 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks. The four players listed below are the only players who have officially recorded a quadruple-double in an NBA game. Except for Thurmond, who retired before the award was established in 1983, all of them have won NBA Defensive Player of the Year at least once. |- | | | style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio Spurs | 120–114 | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix Suns | align=right| 36 ||align=right| 20 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 0 || No ||align=center| |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"| * | | style="text-align:left;"| Houston Rockets | 120–94 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee Bucks | align=right| 40 ||align=right| 18 ||align=right| 16 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 1 ||align=right| 11 || No ||align=center| |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"| * | | style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio Spurs | 115–96 | style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Pistons | align=right| 43 || align=right| 34 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 2 ||align=right| 10 || No ||align=center| |}

Several others missed that mark by finishing with triple-doubles and a total of 9 in a fourth statistical category (statistical categories in which they fell short are in bold): {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Name ! Date ! Team ! Opponent ! Minutes played ! Points ! Rebounds ! Assists ! Steals ! Blocks ! class=unsortable|Overtime ! class=unsortable|Reference |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"| * | | style="text-align:left;"| Golden State Warriors | style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Braves | align=right| 43 || align=right| 30 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| — || No ||align=center| |- | | | style="text-align:left;"| Portland Trail Blazers | style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Lakers | align=right| || align=right| 12 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — || No ||align=center| |- | | | style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio Spurs | style="text-align:left;"| Golden State Warriors | align=right| 36 || align=right| 26 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| — || No ||align=center| |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"| * | | style="text-align:left;"| Boston Celtics | style="text-align:left;"| Utah Jazz | align=right| 33 || align=right| 30 ||align=right| 12 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| — || No ||align=center| |- | | | style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Nets | style="text-align:left;"| Indiana Pacers | align=right| 54 || align=right| 38 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| — || Yes (3 OT) ||align=center| |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"| * | | style="text-align:left;"| Portland Trail Blazers | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee Bucks | align=right| 42 || align=right| 26 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — || No ||align=center| |- |bgcolor="#FFFF99"| * | | style="text-align:left;"| Houston Rockets | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento Kings | align=right| 42 || align=right| 25 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 9 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — || No ||align=center| |} ;Notes Bird sat out the fourth quarter of the game. Olajuwon was originally credited a quadruple-double as shown by the box score; however, the NBA stripped Olajuwon of one assist after reviewing the game tape.

Other men's basketball

Accurate {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! League ! Name ! Date ! Team ! Opponent ! Minutes played ! Points ! Rebounds ! Assists ! Steals ! Blocks ! class=unsortable|Overtime ! class=unsortable|Reference |- | French National League || || ||align=left| Reims ||align=left| Lorient ||align=right| ||align=right| 20 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| — ||align=right| 12 ||align=right| 10 ||No ||align=center| |- | Chinese Basketball Association || Hu Xuefeng || ||align=left| Jiangsu Dragons ||align=left| Yunnan Bulls ||align=right| ||align=right| 16 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 12 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — ||No ||align=center| |- | FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship || || ||align=left| Spain ||align=left| Croatia ||align=right| 33 ||align=right| 19 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 0 ||No ||align=center| |- | American Basketball Association (2000–) || || ||align=left| Minnesota Ripknees ||align=left| St. Louis Stunners ||align=right| ||align=right| 29 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — ||No ||align=center| |- | NCAA Division I men || || ||align=left| Tennessee-Martin ||align=left| Central Baptist ||align=right| 31 ||align=right| 25 ||align=right| 12 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 1 ||No ||align=center| |- | Continental Basketball Association || || ||align=left| East Kentucky Miners ||align=left| West Virginia Wild ||align=right| ||align=right| 22 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 14 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — ||No ||align=center| |- | Chinese Basketball Association || || ||align=left| Qingdao Doublestar ||align=left| Dongguan Leopards ||align=right| 39 ||align=right| 15 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 0 ||No ||align=center| |} ;Notes This is the only quadruple-double in French National League history. |- | Israeli Basketball Super League || || || Ramat Hen || Hapoel Holon ||align=right| 22 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — ||align=center| |- | AIAW Division I women || || || UCLA || Stephen F. Austin ||align=right| 20 ||align=right| 14 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| — ||align=center| |- | NCAA Division III women || || || Emmanuel College || Johnson & Wales ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| — ||align=center| |- | NCAA Division III women || || || SUNY-Old Westbury || New Rochelle ||align=right| 14 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| — ||align=center| |- | NCAA Division III women || || || Bard College || New Rochelle ||align=right| 21 ||align=right| 13 ||align=right| 10 ||align=right| 11 ||align=right| — ||align=center| |}

Other known quadruple-doubles

Accurate as of April 2010

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! League ! Name ! Date ! Team ! class=unsortable|Reference |- | NCAA Division I women || || || Arkansas State ||align=center| |- | NCAA Division III women || || || Mount Union ||align=center| The only known quintuple-double has occurred at the girls' high school level when Tamika Catchings of Duncanville High School (Duncanville, Texas) recorded 25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals and 10 blocks in 1997. Making the feat even more impressive is the fact that high school games are played with 8-minute quarters—20% less playing time than a FIBA, NCAA, or WNBA game, and a third less than an NBA game.

Five-by-five

A five-by-five is defined as a performance in which a player accumulates a total of five in five statistical categories—points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks—in a single game. Statistics for steals and blocks were not kept in the NBA until the 1973–74 season, so NBA five-by-fives were only possible from that season onward. Hakeem Olajuwon (six times) and Andrei Kirilenko (three times) are the only players to have recorded multiple five-by-fives (based on records since the 1986–87 season). {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Name ! Date ! Age ! Team ! Score ! Opponent ! Points ! Rebounds ! Assists ! Steals ! Blocks ! class=unsortable|Overtime ! class=unsortable|Reference |- | | |align=right|24 |Houston Rockets |127–136 |Seattle SuperSonics |align=right|38 ||align=right|17 ||align=right|6 ||align=right|7 ||align=right|12 |Yes (2OT) |align=center| |- | | |align=right|27 |Houston Rockets |129–109 |Golden State Warriors |align=right|29 ||align=right|18 ||align=right|10 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|11 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|27 |San Antonio Spurs |104–98 |Milwaukee Bucks |align=right|29 ||align=right|9 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|10 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|25 |New Jersey Nets |110–105 |Philadelphia 76ers |align=right|21 ||align=right|10 ||align=right|7 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 |Yes (OT) |align=center| |- | | |align=right|30 |Houston Rockets |112–110 |Minnesota Timberwolves |align=right|33 ||align=right|13 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 |Yes (OT) |align=center| |- | | |align=right|30 |Houston Rockets |110–88 |New Jersey Nets |align=right|24 ||align=right|19 ||align=right|6 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|30 |Houston Rockets |110–104 |Minnesota Timberwolves |align=right|34 ||align=right|10 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|8 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|27 |Los Angeles Lakers |112–100 |Philadelphia 76ers |align=right|19 ||align=right|12 ||align=right|8 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|23 |Indiana Pacers |113–120 |Minnesota Timberwolves |align=right|12 ||align=right|9 ||align=right|15 ||align=right|6 ||align=right|5 |Yes (2OT) |align=center| |- | | |align=right|22 |Utah Jazz |101–107 |Houston Rockets |align=right|19 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|7 ||align=right|8 ||align=right|5 |Yes (OT) |align=center| |- | | |align=right|22 |Utah Jazz |95–73 |New York Knicks |align=right|10 ||align=right|12 ||align=right|6 ||align=right|6 ||align=right|5 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|29 |Denver Nuggets |106–96 |Utah Jazz |align=right|8 ||align=right|11 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|5 ||align=right|8 |No |align=center| |- | | |align=right|24 |Utah Jazz |90–80 |Los Angeles Lakers |align=right|14 ||align=right|8 ||align=right|9 ||align=right|6 ||align=right|7 |No |align=center| |-

Facts

All facts based on data since 1986: Greatest five-by-fives (most of each stat): Hakeem Olajuwon, on March 10, 1987, became the first in NBA history to record a five-by-six (at least 6 each of all five statistics: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals). It took nearly twenty years for the second official occurrence in NBA history. Andrei Kirilenko, on January 3, 2006, recorded a five-by-six against the Lakers. Though his numbers were not quite as impressive as Olajuwon's, Andrei Kirilenko performed the feat in regulation. No one in the NBA has ever recorded a five-by-seven or higher. But Olajuwon was just 1 assist away in the game just mentioned, whereas Andrei Kirilenko was only 1 steal shy in his five-by-six. Most five-by-fives in a career: Hakeem Olajuwon leads all players with 6 career five-by-fives.

Ben Wallace (four games)

Michael Jordan (three games)

Scottie Pippen (playoffs)

Antonio McDyess

Dikembe Mutombo

Shaquille O'Neal

Emeka Okafor

Bo Outlaw

Clifford Robinson

Josh Smith

Dwight Howard

References

Category:Basketball terminology Category:Basketball statistics

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Width	235px
Caption	James with the Heat
Position	Small forward/Guard
Height ft	6
Height in	8
Weight lb	250
Team	Miami Heat
Number	6
Nationality	American
Birth date	December 30, 1984
Birth place	Akron, Ohio, United States
Draft round	1
Draft pick	1
Draft year	2003
Draft team	Cleveland Cavaliers
Career start	2003
High school	St. Vincent – St. Mary High School
Profile	lebron_james
Teams
Highlights

LeBron Raymone James (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School. At just 18, he was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed a shoe contract with Nike before his professional debut. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008–09 and 2009–10, and has been both All-NBA selection and an All-Star every season since 2005. In 2010, a much-publicized free agency process ended with James going to the Miami Heat. He became the third reigning NBA MVP to change teams and the first since Moses Malone in 1982.

The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James led the team to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Off the court

James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio, to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria. His biological father, Anthony McClelland, was an ex-convict who left Gloria and forced her to raise LeBron by herself.

James has two children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The first, LeBron James Jr., was born on October 6, 2004,

Endorsements

James has endorsement contracts with Nike, Sprite, Glacéau, Bubblicious, Upper Deck, McDonald's and State Farm. With Nike, James has released six signature shoe styles, and four additional shoes (20–5–5, Soldier, Soldier 2, Ambassador). He has acted in a 2007 series of commercials called "The LeBrons", as well as had his likeness voiced by Kenan Thompson in a 2009 commercial series titled "MVPuppets". In December 2007, James was ranked at #1 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25 with annual earnings of $27 million.

.]] James and Ice Cube have paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James' life. James will act as executive producer if the show is greenlighted. James appeared on the cover of the February 2009 edition of GQ magazine. He stars in the Lions Gate film, More Than a Game (2009).

Public image

During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James drew criticism when he declined to sign a petition started by his teammate, Ira Newble, regarding the Chinese government's alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, stating that he did not know enough about the issue. A year later, James did talk publicly about the issue, saying, "At the end of the day we're talking about human rights. And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."

James has received criticism from Cleveland fans and critics for attending Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees dressed in a Yankees hat. James said, "As individuals I want every Indian to succeed. I love all these fans for coming out and supporting us. But team-wise I want the Yankees to win." Despite residing in Ohio for all of his childhood, James added that he grew up as a Yankees fan, a Dallas Cowboys fan and a Chicago Bulls fan. In January 2008, Nike released the Air Zoom V LeBron shoe, which featured a Yankees-type motif and was made available only in New York City.

In March 2008, James became the first black man to appear on the cover of Vogue, posing with Gisele Bündchen. He was the third man to appear on the cover of Vogue, after Richard Gere and George Clooney. Some sports bloggers and columnist considered the cover offensive, describing the demeanor of James and his holding Bündchen as a reference to classic imagery of the movie monster King Kong, a dark savage capturing his light-skinned love interest.

In June 2008, James donated $20,000 to a committee to elect Barack Obama. On October 29, 2008, James gathered almost 20,000 people at the Quicken Loans Arena for a viewing of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 30-minute American Stories, American Solutions television advertisement. It was shown on a large screen above the stage, where Jay-Z later held a free concert.

In August 2008, a source close to James said he would strongly consider playing in Europe for Olympiacos if given a $50-million annual salary. James later said he may sign a contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the conclusion of the 2008–2009 NBA season.

On July 6, 2009, James courted controversy when he ordered organizers to confiscate CBS video tape of him being dunked on by Xavier University guard Jordan Crawford at the Nike LeBron James Skills Academy.

On July 23 in an interview for his upcoming book "Shooting Stars", James admitted to smoking marijuana at one point during his high school career to help cope with all the stress resulting from constant media attention he was receiving at the time.

James, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, co-hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards. James himself was nominated for three ESPYs: Best Male Athlete, Best NBA Player (winner), and Best Record Breaking Performance. The performance for which he was nominated was when he scored 48 points in Game 5 of the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, including 29 of the last 30 points and all of the team's 25 points in overtime.

In September, 2010, The Q Score Company ranked James as the sixth most disliked sports personality behind Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Kobe Bryant. James bought a home in Coconut Grove, a Miami, Florida suburb, on November 12, 2010 for $9 million.

Tattoos

James has a number of tattoos on his body. Across his back is an emblazoned banner, "Chosen 1," a name he received from the cover of Sports Illustrated while in high school. On his right leg vertically, "Witness." On his right arm, a lion with a crown and "Gloria" for his mother. On his upper left arm, the word "Beast" and "Hold my own." On his lower left arm, a rendition of the face of his first son, and the words, "Prince James" for his first son, and "Maximus Bryce" for his second son. On his lower right arm, "Akron", and "330" the telephone area code for Akron, Ohio, James' hometown. Additionally on his lower right forearm, the slogan, "No one can see through what I am except for the one that made me." On his chest, the words, "Gifted Child" and a large animal across his pectorals resembling a "lion-dragon."

High school career

James attended St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron, where he became a starter during his freshman year for the Fighting Irish. He averaged 21 points and 6.2 rebounds, and led the team to a 23–1 record, en route to the Division III state title. Keith Dambrot, now head coach at the University of Akron, was the head coach at St. Vincent–St. Mary. Coach Dambrot started working with James doing $1 clinics at a local recreation center.

In James' junior year his stats improved again. He averaged 29.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.3 steals and was again named Mr. Basketball of Ohio. The petition was unsuccessful, but it ensured him an unprecedented level of nation-wide attention as he entered his senior year. By then, James had already appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. His popularity forced his team to move their practices from the school gym to the nearby James A. Rhodes Arena at the University of Akron. NBA stars such as Shaquille O'Neal attended the games, and a few of James' high school games were even televised nationally on ESPN2 and regionally on pay-per-view.

In 2003, James' mother, Gloria James, got approval of a loan to buy a Hummer H2 for her son's 18th birthday. Under the OHSAA guidelines, no amateur may accept any gift valued over $100 as a reward for athletic performance. James appealed and a judge blocked the ruling, reducing the penalty to a two-game suspension and allowing him to play the remainder of the season. James' team was forced to forfeit one of their wins as a result. That forfeit was the team's only official loss that season.

Despite the distractions, the Irish won a third state title, with James averaging 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals on the season. James finished his high school career with 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists.

NBA career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-2010)

Rookie season

James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Facing the Sacramento Kings in his first NBA game, James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and shot 60% from the floor. After recording a season-high 41 points against the New Jersey Nets, James became the youngest player in league history to score at least 40 points in a game. He was scheduled to compete in the 2004 Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star weekend, although due to an ankle injury he suffered in January 2004, he was unable to participate in the contest. James averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game for the season, and was named 2003–04 NBA Rookie of the Year; becoming the first Cavalier and youngest NBA player to ever receive the award. The Cavaliers improved by 18 wins and concluded the regular season with a 35–47 record, but failed to make the playoffs.

2004–05 season

In the 2004–05 season, James was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game and recorded 13 points, 6 assists, and 8 rebounds, as the Eastern All-Stars defeated the Western All-Stars 125–115. During the season, James became the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double and make the All-NBA Team.

2005–06 season

In the 2005–06 season, James was elected to his second straight All-Star Game appearance and led the Eastern All-Stars to a 122–120 victory, with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. He became the youngest All-Star MVP at 21 years, 51 days. He was named NBA Player of the Week for an unprecedented three consecutive weeks and concluded the season with five honors. He scored 35 or more points in nine consecutive games, joining Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players since 1970 to accomplish the feat. The Cavaliers made the playoffs for the first time since 1998, and improved from a record of 17–65 in 2002–03 to 50–32 in 2005–06.

Following the regular season, James was named as one of the candidates for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Although he finished second to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns in MVP voting, he was awarded co-MVP honors with Nash by The Sporting News; an award given by the publication that is based on the voting of thirty NBA general managers.

James made his playoff debut against the Washington Wizards in 2006. He recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards 97–86. He joined Johnny McCarthy and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to register a triple-double in their playoff debut. In the process, James set a new record for turnovers in a 6-game series, with 34. In the second round of the playoffs, James and the Cavaliers lost in seven games to the defending Eastern Conference champion and divisional rival Detroit Pistons. James averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the playoffs. Although it is for fewer years and less money than the maximum he could sign, it allows him the option of seeking a new contract worth more money as an unrestricted free agent following the 2010 season.

2006–07 season

against the Dallas Mavericks]] James was elected to his third consecutive All-Star game appearance during the 2006–07 season. He played a game high 32 minutes and finished with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. In the regular season, the Cavaliers tied the previous season's record with 50 wins and clinched the second seed of the Eastern Conference on the last day of the season. For the season, James averaged 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.

In the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James led the Cavaliers to their first sweep in franchise history over the Washington Wizards in four games. It was the first time the franchise had won consecutive road playoff games.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, James led the Cavaliers from an 0–2 deficit against the Detroit Pistons to win the series in six games. His performance in Game 5 was especially memorable. James recorded a franchise-record 48 points on 54.5% field goal shooting, to go with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. In addition, James scored 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, including the team's final 25 points in a double-overtime victory. He concluded the night with a game-winning lay-up with 2 seconds left. NBA analyst Marv Albert referred to James' performance as "one of the greatest moments in postseason history," while color commentator Steve Kerr called it "Jordan-esque."

In the 2007 NBA Finals, James averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists, as the Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, losing 4 consecutive games. and once again positioning himself as one of the front runners for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He won the 2008 All-Star Game MVP with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated their Western counterparts, 134–128.

On February 19, 2008, James recorded his fifth triple-double of the 2007–08 season by putting up 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists against the Houston Rockets. It was the fifteenth triple-double of his career. He is the third youngest player to post 15 triple-doubles, behind Robertson and Johnson. He scored his sixth triple-double of the season and sixteenth of his career against the Indiana Pacers the very next game. It was the second time during the season that he had a triple-double in back-to-back games. The last player to accomplish that feat was Johnson in 1988. James finished the season with seven triple-doubles, breaking his personal and team records for triple-doubles in a season and 17 career triple-doubles broke his team record as well.

On February 27, 2008, against the Boston Celtics, James became the youngest person to score 10,000 points in his career at 23 years and 59 days, achieving the feat in style with a slam-dunk over 11-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, eclipsing the old mark by more than a year. James did so in 368 games, the ninth fastest in league history. On March 5, 2008, James scored 50 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists on the New York Knicks, becoming only the third player since the ABA-NBA merger to record a 50-point 10-assist game. On March 21, 2008, James scored 29 points against the Toronto Raptors, taking him past Brad Daugherty's all-time Cavaliers scoring record of 10,389 points. Daugherty achieved this record over the course of 548 games, while James took only 380 games to score 10,414 points.

All told, James propelled Cleveland to a 45–37 record, good for second place in the Central Division and the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Prior to Cleveland's first-round series versus the Washington Wizards, Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson said James was "overrated," prompting James to say that he would not return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy." In response, Soulja Boy himself made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards, and his music was played over the PA system. James would later say that he meant no disrespect to Soulja Boy with his comment, and that his young son is a big fan of the rapper. Jay-Z responded by producing a freestyle version of the Too Short single "Blow the Whistle", named "Playoff", in which he "disses" Stevenson and Soulja Boy on James' behalf. The Cavaliers won the series against the Wizards in 6 games (4–2). The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the next round (4–3). During the decisive seventh game, which was played in Boston, James scored 45 points, but opponent Paul Pierce's 41 led the Celtics to a narrow victory.

2008–09 season

In the 2008–09 season James continued to improve facets of his game while setting new career highs. He had 23 chase-down blocks (93 blocks in total, a career-high) and improved his free-throw shooting (78.0%, a career-high, with league-leading 594 free-throws made). He was the NBA Player of the Month four times, making him the second player in NBA history to do that after Kevin Garnett did so in his 2003–04 MVP season. In addition, he became the fourth player in NBA history to lead his team in all five major statistical categories (total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) in one season. of the Boston Celtics in October 2008]] After a win on March 25 against the New Jersey Nets the Cleveland Cavaliers improved their record to 58–13 exceeding their previous franchise best of 57–25 set in the 1988–89 and 1991–92 NBA seasons. They ended the regular season with a league best of 66–16 after losing their final home game to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. The Cavaliers had a chance to tie the 1985–86 Boston Celtics for the all-time best NBA home record but ended at 39–2 after home losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and 76ers. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. James averaged 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the series and became just the third player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a postseason series. At the end of the last game, in which he tallied 36 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists on 16–17 free throw shooting, there were MVP chants for him in The Palace of Auburn Hills. On May 4, he was announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player. He became the first Cavaliers player in history to win the award.

He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career.

In the next series in the playoffs, James once again led his team to a sweep against the Atlanta Hawks.

On May 22, during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu shot a 12-foot jumper to give the Magic a 2-point lead with 1 second left. Following a Cleveland timeout, Williams inbounded the ball to James, but heavy defense by Türkoğlu denied James a chance at a tying layup. James then attempted and successfully made a three-point shot over Türkoğlu, giving the Cavs a 96–95 victory to tie the series 1–1. Following a Game 3 loss, James missed a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in Game 4 and the Cavaliers were down 3-1. After a Game 5 home win, he scored a playoff low 25 points in Game 6 and Cleveland lost the series to Orlando. James' postgame behavior incited some controversy when he left the game floor without shaking hands with his opponents. Jalen Rose, a former NBA player and current ESPN commentator, said James' actions were "immature and ingracious." James later told reporters: }}

2009–10 season

.]] Before the 2009–10 season, Cleveland traded for four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal to address an inside presence that was missing against Orlando. O'Neal's goal was to "Win a Ring for the King." James was selected to his sixth consecutive All-Star game appearance. James recorded 25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated the Western Conference All-Stars 141–139. In a 118–116 loss to the Denver Nuggets, James tallied 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks in a game. All-Star Antawn Jamison was acquired by the Cavs on February 17, 2010. On March 13, 2010, James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 15,000 regular season points during a 92–85 win over the Chicago Bulls.

At the end of the regular season, Cleveland finished with the best regular season record for the second year consecutive year. James won the Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career, becoming the tenth NBA player in history to do so. James received 116 of a possible 122 first-place votes to win. James was criticized for not playing well, especially in Game 5 of the series, in which he shot only 3 for 14 and scored 15 points. He walked off the court in that game, his final home game as a Cavalier, "to a smattering of boos and rows of empty seats" and Cleveland lost 88-120 in their worst home playoff loss in team history. Cleveland was eliminated in Game 6, James' last playing for Cleveland, as he recorded 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, but also 9 turnovers. He filed papers to formally change his jersey number 23 to 6 for the season. James was courted by several teams, including the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, Clippers, and his hometown Cavaliers.

On July 8, 2010, James announced on a live ESPN special, The Decision, that he will be playing for the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season and teaming with Miami's other All-Star free agent signees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Decision was broadcast from the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut.

|Lebron James}}

The Cavaliers were informed of James' decision minutes before the show began. The television program drew high ratings as well as criticism for the prolonged wait until James' actual decision and the spectacle of the show itself.

In Cleveland, fans considered James' departure a betrayal that ranks second to Art Modell's efforts to relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert almost immediately published an open letter to fans, denouncing James' decision as a "selfish", "heartless", "callous", and "cowardly betrayal", while guaranteeing that the Cavs would win an NBA title before the "self-declared former King." Gilbert's sports-memorabilia company Fathead also lowered the price of wall graphics depicting James from $99.99 to $17.41, the birth year of Benedict Arnold. William Rhoden of The New York Times defended James by stating that Gilbert's "venomous, face-saving personal attack", along with the ensuing "wrath of jersey-burning fans", only validated James’ decision to leave Cleveland. Reverend Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, said Gilbert's feelings "personify a slave master mentality", and he was treating James as "a runaway slave". J. A. Adande of ESPN said, however, that James chose to promote the drama of his decision in an hour-long television special instead of showing "common courtesy" to notify Cleveland and other teams of his plans. On July 12, 2010, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Gilbert $100,000 for the letter's contents, while also criticizing the way James handled free agency. On July 14, James told J.R. Moehringer for a GQ article that there was "nothing at all" he would change about his handling of free agency.

Former NBA players criticized his decision to not stay with Cleveland and continuing to try to win a championship as "the guy". Michael Jordan stated that he would not have contacted his rivals from other teams like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to play on one team together, as "I wanted to defeat those guys." Jordan added that "...things are different [now]. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today." Johnson echoed Jordan's sentiments on teaming with rivals.

On September 29, 2010, asked by Soledad O'Brien of CNN if race was a factor in the fallout from The Decision, James said, "I think so, at times. There's always -- you know, a race factor. James had previously stayed clear of racial issues. When the earlier controversy over his cover on Vogue became a national debate, James had no comment. Adande, however, said James "didn't claim to be a victim of racial persecution" and "caused us to examine the bias that's always lurking".

Miami Heat (2010–present)

On July 9, James officially completed a sign-and-trade deal with the Heat. On the same day, the Heat threw a welcome party and introduced James, Wade and Bosh to the 13,000 Heat fans at American Airlines Arena. The rock concert atmosphere featured the trio arriving to plumes of smoke with Bosh and Wade pointing to the crowd and James strutting around. Howard Beck of The New York Times described the national fan reaction to the party: "Everyone saw something: greatness, arrogance, self-indulgence, boldness, cowardice, pride, friendship, collusion, joy, cynicism, heroes, mercenaries."

In New Jersey on October 31, he was booed by Nets' fans as expected. Boos came when James’ name was called during the pregame introductions, and continued whenever he touched the ball. When James was running the point, fans had more time to notice and the booing was more intense. On November 2, James had a game-high 12 assists in a 129-97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Heat public relations announced that James's 12 assists was the highest in franchise history by a forward. On November 9 in a 116-114 loss to the Utah Jazz, James finished with 20 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, his first triple-double with the Heat. It was his 29th career triple-double, the seventh that came in a loss. In a well publicized arrival after spurning the franchise, LeBron James had his second triple double of the season with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in a blowout victory.

International career

in the Group B men's Olympic basketball game between the U.S. and China on August 10, 2008, at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.]] }} After his rookie season, James played on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team in Athens, where the United States won the bronze medal in men's basketball. It was the first time a U.S. Olympic team with NBA players failed to win the gold medal. Limited to 14.6 minutes per game, James averaged just 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. James competed in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan and averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The team finished with an 8–1 record, and was again awarded the bronze medal. After failing to win the 2006 World Championships, the team competed at the 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic qualifiers to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the gold medal game against Argentina, James recorded 31 points, the most by an American in an Olympic qualifier, as the United States captured gold medal honors. He averaged 18.1 points (on tournament-high field-goal percentage (76%) and three-point percentage (62.2%), 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.

James, along with the rest of Team USA reclaimed the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeating Spain 118 to 107. He finished the gold medal game with 14 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists as the U.S. went unbeaten, winning their first Gold Medal since the 2000 Olympics. It was later reported that James' "immaturity and downright disrespectfulness" were a risk to his being included on the Beijing Olympic team as Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo believed that Bryant joining the national team could allow the team to win the gold medal with or without James. with 28 in the regular season and six in the postseason. James' skills have led to many comparisons to NBA legends Robertson, Johnson, and Jordan. James was not named to the NBA All-Defensive Team until the 2008–09 season, when he finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.

James started a petition saying that no one should be allowed to wear the #23 in the NBA to honor Jordan. On March 1, 2010, James filed an application to the NBA to wear the #6 starting the 2010/2011 season.

Salaries

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Season !! Team !! Salary |- | 2003–04 || Cleveland || $4,018,920 |- | 2004–05 || Cleveland || $4,320,360 |- | 2005–06 || Cleveland || $4,621,800 |- | 2006–07 || Cleveland || $5,828,090 |- | 2007–08 || Cleveland || $13,041,250 |- | 2008–09 || Cleveland || $14,410,581 |- | 2009–10 || Cleveland || $15,779,912 |- | 2010–11 || Miami || $14,500,000 |}

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 79 || 79 || 39.5 || .417 || .290 || .754 || 5.5 || 5.9 || 1.6 || .7 || 20.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 80 || 80 || 42.4 || .472 || .351 || .750 || 7.4 || 7.2 || 2.2 || .6 || 27.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 79 || 79 || 42.5 || .480 || .335 || .738 || 7.0 || 6.6 || 1.6 || .8 || 31.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 78 || 78 || 40.9 || .476 || .319 || .698 || 6.7 || 6.0 || 1.6 || .7 || 27.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 75 || 74 || 40.4 || .484 || .315 || .712 || 7.9 || 7.2 || 1.8 || 1.1 || 30.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 81 || 81 || 37.7 || .489 || .344 || .780 || 7.6 || 7.2 || 1.7 || 1.1 || 28.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 76 || 76 || 39.0 || .503 || .333 || .767 || 7.3 || 8.6 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 29.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 548 || 547 || 40.3 || .475 || .329 || .742 || 7.0 || 7.0 || 1.7 || .9 || 27.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 6 || 6 || 25.3 || .504 || .350 || .667 || 6.3 || 5.3 || 1.8 || .3 || 23.7 |}

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06 | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 13 || 13 || 46.5 || .476 || .333 || .737 || 8.1 || 5.8 || 1.4 || .7 || 30.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07 | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 20 || 20 || 44.7 || .416 || .280 || .755 || 8.1 || 8.0 || 1.7 || .5 || 25.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 13 || 13 || 42.5 || .411 || .257 || .731 || 7.8 || 7.6 || 1.8 || 1.3 || 28.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 14 || 14 || 41.4 || .510 || .333 || .749 || 9.1 || 7.3 || 1.6 || .9 || 35.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland | 11 || 11 || 41.8 || .502 || .400 || .733 || 9.3 || 7.6 || 1.7 || 1.8 || 29.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 71 || 71 || 43.5 || .459 || .316 || .743 || 8.4 || 7.3 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 29.3 |}

Awards and honors

2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2009, 2010

NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004

NBA Scoring Champion: 2008

2× NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008

6× NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

6× All-NBA:

* First Team: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010

* Second Team: 2005, 2007

2× NBA All-Defensive:

* First Team: 2009, 2010

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004

'''Bronze medal with Team USA, 2004 Summer Olympic Games

'''Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championship

'''Gold medal with Team USA, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship

'''Gold medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games

References

External links

Official website

LeBron: The Moment

U.S. National Team Bio

LeBron James: NBA.com Draft Profile

"LeBron James", n°1 on Times list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"

LeBron James: Monster Dunks – slideshow by Life magazine

LeBron James on ESPN Video Archive

LeBron James on FoxSports Video Archive

Category:1984 births Category:American basketball players Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from Ohio Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Miami Heat players Category:Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year Category:Living people Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Akron, Ohio Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Small forwards Category:United States men's national basketball team members

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Tracy McGrady
Caption	Tracy McGrady during his tenure with the Rockets.
Height ft	6
Height in	8
Weight lb	223
Team	Detroit Pistons
Position	Guard / Small Forward
Number	1
Birth date	May 24, 1979
Birth place	Bartow, Florida
High school	Auburndale High School (Auburndale, Florida) Mount Zion Christian Academy (Durham, North Carolina)
Nationality	American
Draft round	1
Draft pick	9
Draft team	Toronto Raptors
Draft year	1997
Career start	1997
Teams
Highlights

Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., (born May 24, 1979, in Bartow, Florida) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons. He is a shooting guard, but can also play as a small forward and recently as a point guard.

Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets and New York Knicks. McGrady was ranked on SLAM Magazine's "Top 75 Players of All-Time" in 2003. McGrady's style of play has been compared to that of George Gervin.

Early years

Tracy McGrady played high school basketball at Auburndale High School in Auburndale, Florida for three years. He then transferred to Mount Zion Christian Academy, in Durham, North Carolina. McGrady created a national buzz after his performance in the Adidas ABCD Camp, where the best high school players in the U.S. are invited annually. He was named High School Player of the Year by USA Today.

NBA career

Toronto Raptors (1997–2000)

McGrady was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.

In McGrady's first two seasons with the Raptors, he averaged less than 10 points per game, mainly coming off the bench. In his second season, he began playing alongside his third cousin, Vince Carter, who won the Rookie of the Year Award that season. The 1999–2000 season was McGrady's first breakout season in the NBA. He was a starter in 34 games out of 79, averaging 15.4 points per game, and a career-high 1.9 blocks per game. McGrady also competed in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, finishing third, behind Carter and Steve Francis.

In 2000, the duo of McGrady and Carter helped lead the Raptors to the playoffs, for the first time in franchise history. However, the team was swept 3–0 by the New York Knicks in the first round. McGrady was often overshadowed by Carter during his time in Toronto, and he became a free agent in the summer of 2000. In the off-season, he expressed interest in playing for family and friends in his home state of Florida.

Orlando Magic (2000–2004)

On August 3, 2000, McGrady was dealt to the Orlando Magic in a sign-and-trade deal for a first round pick. In Orlando, he played alongside Grant Hill, who had been acquired that summer in hope of bringing Orlando back among the Eastern Conference's elite teams. However, an ankle injury limited Hill to only 4 games and McGrady became the leader and 1st scoring option of the team. For the first time in his career McGrady was selected as an All-Star when he was voted by the fans to start in the midseason classic for the Eastern Conference. At season's end he was presented with the 2001 NBA Most Improved Player Award. Even though McGrady had elevated his game from solid contributor to star, the Magic were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.

The following season, McGrady continued his great play. With Hill struggling with injuries, the Magic were a one-man show. He made his second All-Star team and First Team All-NBA while averaging 26 points per game. The Magic posted a 44–38 record for the year but they were beat again in the first round of the playoffs, this time by the Charlotte Hornets.

In the 2002–03 season, McGrady averaged 32.1 points per game and captured the NBA scoring title, becoming the youngest player to do so since the ABA-NBA merger. Despite McGrady's personal accolades, the Magic failed to reach the second round of the playoffs. In a rather infamous moment, during the 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Magic (who were an #8 seed) surprisingly took a 3–1 series lead against the heavily favored #1 seed Detroit Pistons. Prior to the fifth game in Detroit, McGrady was quoted as saying that how wonderful it was to "finally be in the position to advance to the second round (of the playoffs)". Orlando, however, lost Games 5, 6, and 7 by an average of more than 20 points, and Detroit advanced to the second round.

In the 2003–04 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game, and set a career high with 62 points against the Washington Wizards at the TD Waterhouse Centre on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became the fourth player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game.

Houston Rockets (2004–2010)

.]] On June 29, 2004, McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets in a seven-player deal that sent Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato to the Magic. In his first year with the Houston Rockets, McGrady teamed with 7' 6" center Yao Ming, to end the season ranked 5th in the Western Conference. On December 9, 2004, he scored 13 points in the last 33 seconds of a game against the San Antonio Spurs, with four consecutive 3 pointers (one of which was part of a four-point play), including a steal and the game-winning 3 pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the game that helped the Rockets win 81–80.

The Rockets first season with McGrady started off slowly as they struggled to find a compatible point guard to play with McGrady's skill set in the backcourt. The solution was found when they named Bob Sura, who was returning from an injury, played well enough to earn the starting PG job. The Rockets traded Tyronn Lue for Jon Barry for 3-point shooting off the bench. The Rockets also acquired David Wesley from the Hornets to bolster their backcourt defense, particularly on smaller guards. With these new trades, McGrady was moved to SF, with a starting lineup of Bob Sura, David Wesley, Juwan Howard, and Yao Ming. The Rockets then ran the offense through McGrady, utilized the inside game of Yao, and used the perimeter game of Howard's baseline jumper and 3-point shooting effectively. The Rockets finished the 2004–05 season 51–31 as the 5th seed in the playoffs.

.]] Despite McGrady's stellar play in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs where he averaged 30.7 ppg, 6.7 asg, and 7.4 rpg, Houston was eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in game seven by 40 points, despite having a 2–0 lead to start the series. McGrady missed 6 of his first 7 shots in Game 7 and the Rockets were never able to match the intensity of the Dallas Mavericks. McGrady's signature moment in the Dallas playoffs series was in Game 2, where he blew past Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and dunked over Dallas center Shawn Bradley.

In the early 2005–06 season, McGrady missed eight games because of multiple back spasms. His back problems resurfaced on January 8, 2006 when he had to be taken out at halftime in a game against the Denver Nuggets on a stretcher to the hospital because of severe back spasms. He had been out for five games. Since his return, the spasms have still been a problem for McGrady. In the 2005–06 season the Rockets were 2–15 in games he did not play in and 2–16 in games McGrady did not finish. While McGrady was injured for five games with his back injury, the Rockets did not win a single game. Other injuries include him falling on his back in a game against the Indiana Pacers. Despite his back injuries, McGrady was voted into the 2006 All-Star Game in Houston. His western conference teammates constantly put the ball in his hands to put him in contention for the All-Star MVP award in front of his Houston home crowd. A controversy resulted in the final minute when McGrady attempted a jump shot that would have given the West the lead and control of the game. Replays showed LeBron James, who was guarding McGrady appearing to make contact with McGrady's elbow, causing the shot attempt to fall way short of the basket. However, no foul was whistled, the East won, and LeBron James was named All-Star MVP.

.]] In the 2006–07 season, McGrady started out slowly, and after missing 7 games with back spasms he visited a doctor. In an interview with TNT, McGrady said that he thought that his body was slowing down. He believed that he could no longer be as explosive as he was in the past due to his back injury. Shortly after another bout with back spasms, McGrady went to Waco, Texas where Dr. John Patterson performed "Synergy Release Therapy" to cure his chronic back problems, particularly the back spasms. However, since Yao Ming was having another breakout season, he was deferring to Yao as the number one option. Since Yao went down with a leg injury, McGrady stepped up his overall play, re-establishing himself as one of the game's premier players and by doing so led Houston to the 5th best record in the league. On December 29, 2006, he became the third youngest player in NBA history to reach 14,000 points and 4,000 rebounds. However, in the playoffs, the Rockets lost their first round series to the Utah Jazz 4–3, again preventing McGrady from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. A tear fell down his cheek during the press-conference after losing game seven 103–99 to the Utah Jazz in the 2007 Playoffs. Prior to the series with the Jazz, McGrady had stated in an interview with Stephen A. Smith that if he and the Rockets failed to make it out of the first round again, it was "on me".

After the 2006–07 season, following the Rockets first round playoff defeat, Jeff Van Gundy was fired as head coach by Rockets management. Rick Adelman was hired as head coach as Rockets owner Leslie Alexander wanted a more uptempo offense to utilize the offensive skill set of Yao and McGrady.

The 2007–08 season for the Rockets was decimated by injuries, most notable Yao Ming being placed on injured reserve in February. Incredibly, the Rockets won 22 straight games (10 without Yao). The Rockets finished as the 5th seed in the West and earned a rematch with the Utah Jazz. However, by the time playoffs came, McGrady was already nursing shoulder and knee injuries as he had bandages placed on his shoulder and his knee throughout the playoff series. McGrady took pain-killing injections in and had fluid drained from both his shoulder and knee to allow him to play. The Jazz again eliminated the Rockets in six games, despite McGrady recording 40 points and 10 rebounds in the decisive Game Six, a 113–91 loss.

In May 2008, McGrady underwent arthroscopic surgery on both his left shoulder and left knee.

On February 18, 2009, McGrady announced on his website that he would have surgery on his left knee and would miss the remainder of the 2008–09 season. He had already missed 18 games before the All-Star break, including a two-week stretch in January, and said before the season that his knee was not healed from his off-season surgery. Head coach Rick Adelman, who found out about the announcement when he read the newspaper in the morning, criticized McGrady for not informing the team of the decision. He decided to have microfracture surgery in Chicago on February 24, 2009. The cartilage damage to be repaired by the microfracture surgery was in a small area on a non-weight-bearing surface, and the rest of his knee was otherwise healthy, according to the team doctor.

Despite McGrady being on injured reserve, the Rockets beat the Trail Blazers 4–2 in the first round of the playoffs to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Rockets would compete in a memorable series against the eventual NBA champion LA Lakers, before losing Game 7 in LA. Since McGrady was on the Rockets' roster during the 2009 NBA Playoffs, he officially advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

McGrady only played in six games with the Rockets during the 2009–10 season, all in limited minutes as a reserve due to injuries, before being traded to the New York Knicks in February.

New York Knicks (2010)

On February 18, 2010, McGrady was traded to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade involving Houston, New York, and the Sacramento Kings. On February 20, 2010, McGrady made his debut for the Knicks against the Oklahoma City Thunder, to a sold-out Madison Square Garden, amid many "We Want T-Mac!" chants. He scored 26 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and dished 5 assists in 32 minutes of play as New York lost in overtime. This was McGrady's first game since December 23, 2009 against the Orlando Magic. His first win as a member of the Knicks came six days later, in a 23-point effort against the Washington Wizards.

Detroit Pistons (2010–present)

On August 16, 2010, McGrady signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Pistons. On December 7, 2010, McGrady returned to Houston for the first time and scored 11 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished 3 assists in a 97-83 loss to the Rockets. On December 29, 2010, McGrady scored a season-high 21 points in a 104-92 win over the Boston Celtics. He scored a new season-high of 22 points in a 101-95 win against the Toronto Raptors.

Off the court

Personal life

McGrady has four children—daughters Layla Clarice, Laycee Aloe, and sons Laymen Lamar, Layden—with his wife CleRenda Harris, whom he had dated for 10 years. Their first son was born on December 27, 2005 during a 82–74 loss against the Utah Jazz in which McGrady left during halftime to see his girlfriend going into labor. The couple were married on September 12, 2006 in Mexico. McGrady and Vince Carter are third cousins; McGrady learned that his grandmother and Carter's grandmother were cousins at a family reunion while he was still in high school and Carter played at the University of North Carolina. The two played together with the Toronto Raptors for two years before McGrady left for free agency. After McGrady left, he and Carter had a short feud- but this was resolved in a short period of time.

Tracy's younger brother, Chancellor "Chance" McGrady, played for the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Runner-Up Memphis Tigers basketball team.

In 2008, McGrady was criticized for his comments on the All-Star game being held in New Orleans, only 3 years removed from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. McGrady publicly questioned the quality of public safety and protection of NBA players.

Endorsements

In 2002, McGrady signed a longterm partnership with Adidas, agreeing to an endorsement deal that will last through his playing career and beyond. He also appeared on the cover of NBA Live 07.

Philanthropy

McGrady has traveled to the Darfurian refugee camps in Chad with John Prendergast and Omer Ismail of the ENOUGH Project. McGrady is actively recruiting NBA players to support a sister schools initiative linking schools in Darfurian refugee camps to American middle schools, high schools and universities.

In 2009, McGrady changed his jersey number to #3. He made the switch to promote his humanitarian efforts in the Darfur region of the Sudan and a documentary on his summer 2007 visits to refugee camps in the region. The documentary is called 3 Points.

USA career

}}

He was a member of the United States men's national basketball team in the 2003 Tournament of the Americas where the USA team won the tournament.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Toronto | 64 || 17 || 18.4 || .450 || .341 || .712 || 4.2 || 1.5 || .8 || .9 || 7.0 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Toronto | 49 || 2 || 22.6 || .436 || .229 || .726 || 5.7 || 2.3 || 1.1 || 1.4 || 9.3 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Toronto | 79 || 34 || 31.2 || .451 || .277 || .707 || 6.3 || 3.3 || 1.1 || 1.9 || 15.4 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Orlando | 77 || 77 || 40.1 || .457 || .355 || .733 || 7.5 || 4.6 || 1.5 || 1.5 || 26.8 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Orlando | 76 || 76 || 38.3 || .451 || .364 || .748 || 7.9 || 5.3 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 25.6 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Orlando | 75 || 74 || 39.4 || .457 || .386 || .793 || 6.5 || 5.5 || 1.6 || .8 || 32.1 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Orlando | 67 || 67 || 39.9 || .417 || .339 || .796 || 6.0 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .6 || 28.0 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Houston | 78 || 78 || 40.8 || .431 || .326 || .774 || 6.2 || 5.7 || 1.7 || .7 || 25.7 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Houston | 47 || 47 || 37.1 || .406 || .312 || .747 || 6.5 || 4.8 || 1.3 || .9 || 24.4 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Houston | 71 || 71 || 35.8 || .431 || .331 || .707 || 5.3 || 6.5 || 1.3 || .5 || 24.6 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Houston | 66 || 62 || 37.0 || .419 || .292 || .684 || 5.1 || 5.9 || 1.0 || .4 || 21.6 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Houston | 35 || 35 || 33.7|| .388 || .376 || .801 || 4.4 || 5.0 || 1.2 || .4 || 15.6 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Houston | 6 || 0 || 7.7 || .368 || .500 || .667 || 0.8 || 1.0 || .0 || .3 || 3.2 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | New York | 24 || 24 || 26.1 || .389 || .242 || .754 || 3.7 || 3.9 || .6 || .5 || 9.4 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 814 || 664 || 34.6 || .435 || .337 || .749 || 6.0 || 4.7 || 1.3 || .9 || 21.5 |- | align="left" | All-Star | align="left" | | 7 || 6 || 24.6 || .500 || .351 || .619 || 3.0 || 3.9 || 1.6 || .4 || 17.1

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Toronto | 3 || 3 || 37.0 || .386 || .286 || .875 || 7.0 || 3.0 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 16.7 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Orlando | 4 || 4 || 44.5 || .415 || .200 || .816 || 6.5 || 8.3 || 1.8 || 1.2 || 33.8 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Orlando | 4 || 4 || 44.5 || .462 || .313 || .739 || 6.3 || 5.5 || .5 || 1.8 || 30.8 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Orlando | 7 || 7 || 44.0 || .448 || .340 || .773 || 6.7 || 4.7 || 2.0 || .9 || 31.7 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Houston | 7 || 7 || 43.0 || .456 || .370 || .824 || 7.4 || 6.7 || 1.6 || 1.4 || 30.7 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Houston | 7 || 7 || 40.0 || .394 || .250 || .737 || 5.9 || 7.3 || .7 || .9 || 25.3 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Houston | 6 || 6 || 41.2 || .425 || .208 || .623 || 8.2 || 6.8 || 1.5 || .8 || 27.0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 38 || 38 || 42.2 || .430 || .301 || .756 || 6.9 || 6.2 || 1.3 || 1.1 || 28.5

NBA career achievements

2× NBA Scoring Champion: 2003 (32.1), 2004 (28.0)

7× NBA All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

7× All-NBA:

:* First Team: 2002, 2003 :* Second Team: 2001, 2004, 2007 :* Third Team: 2005, 2008

NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2001

Orlando Magic franchise records

All-Time Free Throws Made (1,819)

Most points in one game with 62 (March 10, 2004 vs. Washington Wizards)

Most points in one half with 37 in the first half (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)

Most points in one quarter with 25 in the second quarter (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)

Most free throws made in one game with 18 (December 25, 2002 vs. Detroit Pistons)

Most points in a playoff game with 46 (in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference playoffs, First Round vs. Detroit Pistons)

Most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers)

Career achievements

Career 40+ point games (regular season): 45

Career 50+ point games (regular season): 4

Career 60+ point games (regular season): 1

Career triple-doubles (regular season): 4

Shares NBA record for most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 Orlando vs. Cleveland)

See also

List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season

List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game

References

External links

Tracy McGrady's Official Website

NBA.com profile

Category:1979 births Category:African American basketball players Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada Category:Living people Category:Detroit Pistons players Category:Houston Rockets players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:New York Knicks players Category:Orlando Magic players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Florida Category:Toronto Raptors draft picks Category:Toronto Raptors players Category:Shooting guards Category:Small forwards

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Caption	Davis with the Miami Heat
League	CBA
Team	Jiangsu Dragons
Position	Shooting guard/Small forward
Height ft	6
Height in	7
Weight lb	226
Nationality	American
Birth date	September 23, 1979
Highschool	Davenport North
Birth place	Las Vegas, Nevada
College	Iowa
Draft	21st overall
Draft year	1998
Draft team	Charlotte Hornets
Former teams	Charlotte Hornets (1998–2000) Miami Heat (2000–2001) Cleveland Cavaliers (2001–2003) Boston Celtics (2003–2006) Minnesota Timberwolves (2006–2007) Miami Heat (2007–2008)Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2010)Türk Telekom B.K. (2010)Jiangsu Dragons (2010–)

Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979 in Las Vegas, Nevada), better known as Ricky Davis, is an American professional basketball player currently playing for Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Biography

Davis attended North High School in Davenport, Iowa. He was a four year starter who immediately attracted recruiting attention. His team made the state tournament his junior and senior years but did not reach the championship.

Davis played one season at the University of Iowa before being selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft, as the 21st pick overall. Davis played two seasons with the Hornets before being traded to the Miami Heat in a massive nine-player trade on August 1, 2000.

Davis injured his ankle and knee with the Heat and only played a total of seven games for them, and was eventually sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal involving the Toronto Raptors a year later on October 26, 2001.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers re-signed Davis on August 21, 2002 to a six year contract. Davis' time with Cleveland was marked by disputes with then head coach Paul Silas and he quickly grew a reputation as a selfish showboater. A prime example occurred on March 16, 2003. In the closing seconds of a game against Utah, Davis was one rebound short of his first career triple-double. In an effort to record that rebound, Davis deliberately missed a shot at his team's own basket (a move which has since earned him the nickname of "Wrong Rim Ricky" in Cleveland). Afterwards, he was fouled by Utah's DeShawn Stevenson in retaliation for his perceived unsportsmanlike behavior, and was later fined by his own team.

Boston Celtics

On December 15, 2003 Davis was traded along with Chris Mihm, Michael Stewart, and a second round draft pick to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Tony Battie, Eric Williams, and Kedrick Brown. With the Celtics, the Davis played the position of shooting guard, as well as small forward on occasion. At the beginning of his career Davis was considered a one-dimensional, though potentially prolific, player. However, Davis has become a formidable rebounder and a steady mid-range jump shooter over the years. Boston was criticized for acquiring him via trade due to Davis's reputation of selfishness, but he became a more consistent player and a fan-favorite in the city. Davis is also a spectacular leaper known for his exciting slam dunks. As a Boston Celtic, Davis lived up to his reputation as both a crowd-pleaser and showboat, once attempting a between-the-legs dunk during a regular season game against the rival Los Angeles Lakers during the 2003–2004 season. Although Davis missed the dunk, he quickly recovered to deliver a windmill dunk before any Lakers could get back on the defensive end of the court. After successfully creating his first ever fan club, Ricky D's Renegades, who were a group of high schoolers that cheered with great intensity at every Cav's home game during the 2002–2003 and 2003–04 seasons, Davis organized a contest to distribute 15 season tickets to his most passionate fans after being traded to Boston. The section was called the Get Buckets Brigade, named after his nickname "Get Buckets", which he got for his high scoring rate.

Minnesota Timberwolves

On January 26, 2006, Davis was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves with Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed, and two second round draft picks for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones and a first round draft pick.

Miami Heat

On October 24, 2007, he was traded to the Miami Heat along with teammate Mark Blount in exchange for the Heat's Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a first-round draft pick. Davis was reunited with Pat Riley, and Riley admitted he made a mistake of trading Davis in the first place; "I made the mistake of trading him. He's a very talented kid. He was not a problem here. We just needed to move and get bigger players at that time. Over the last six years he has been very efficient."

Los Angeles Clippers

On July 28, 2008, Davis signed a multi-year contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. He was waived by the Clippers on February 16, 2010 to make room for newly acquired guard Steve Blake and forward Travis Outlaw.

Turk Telekom

On March 1, 2010, Davis signed a contract with the Turkish club Türk Telekom B.K. It would be his first time playing outside the USA. He said about signing with Telekom: "It will be my first European experience. I never watched matches. I just entered myself, and Turk Telekom B.K. signed me."

Jiangsu Dragons

In October 2010 he signed a contract with the Jiangsu Dragons in China.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Charlotte | 46 || 1 || 12.1 || .405 || .167 || .763 || 1.8 || 1.3 || .6 || .2 || 4.5 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Charlotte | 48 || 4 || 11.9 || .503 || .000 || .765 || 1.7 || 1.3 || .6 || .2 || 4.7 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Miami | 7 || 0 || 10.0 || .414 || 1.000 || .875 || 1.0 || 1.6 || .7 || .3 || 4.6 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Cleveland | 82 || 8 || 23.8 || .481 || .314 || .790 || 3.0 || 2.2 || .8 || .3 || 11.7 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Cleveland | 79 || 76 || 39.6 || .410 || .363 || .748 || 4.9 || 5.5 || 1.6 || .5 || 20.6 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Cleveland | 22 || 22 || 36.2 || .431 || .354 || .680 || 5.5 || 5.0 || 1.1 || .4 || 15.3 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Boston | 57 || 5 || 29.4 || .488 || .380 || .732 || 4.2 || 2.6 || 1.2 || .2 || 14.1 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Boston | 82 || 11 || 32.9 || .462 || .339 || .815 || 3.0 || 3.0 || 1.1 || .3 || 16.0 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Boston | 42 || 42 || 41.6 || .464 || .320 || .787 || 4.5 || 5.3 || 1.2 || .2 || 19.7 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Minnesota | 36 || 36 || 40.6 || .429 || .282 || .807 || 4.6 || 4.8 || 1.2 || .2 || 19.1 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Minnesota | 81 || 81 || 37.3 || .465 || .397 || .839 || 3.9 || 4.8 || 1.0 || .3 || 17.0 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Miami | 82 || 47 || 36.1 || .433 || .405 || .787 || 4.3 || 3.4 || 1.1 || .2 || 13.8 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | L.A. Clippers | 36 || 9 || 21.8 || .339 || .315 || .861 || 1.7 || 2.3 || .5 || .1 || 6.4 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 700 || 342 || 30.6 || .446 || .361 || .784 || 3.6 || 3.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 13.9

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Boston | 4 || 0 || 30.8 || .400 || .400 || .688 || 3.0 || 3.5 || .5 || .0 || 11.8 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Boston | 7 || 2 || 34.3 || .432 || .333 || .769 || 3.6 || 2.0 || 1.3 || .3 || 12.4 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 11 || 2 || 33.0 || .421 || .368 || .738 || 3.4 || 2.5 || 1.0 || .2 || 12.2

Notes

External links

Ricky Davis' Official Web site, RickyDavis31.com

NBA.com Player Page

Stats at Basketball Reference

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from Nevada Category:Basketball players from Iowa Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Charlotte Hornets draft picks Category:Charlotte Hornets players Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Minnesota Timberwolves players Category:Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Category:Miami Heat players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from the Las Vegas metropolitan area Category:People from Davenport, Iowa Category:Shooting guards Category:Small forwards Category:Los Angeles Clippers players

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Ray Allen
Caption	Allen with the Celtics on January 13, 2008
Position	Shooting guard
Height ft	6
Height in	5
Weight lb	205
Team	Boston Celtics
Number	20
Birth date	July 20, 1975
Birthplace	Castle Air Force Base, near Merced, California
Nationality	American
High school	Hillcrest
College	Connecticut
Draft round	1
Draft pick	5
Draft year	1996
Draft team	Minnesota Timberwolves
Career start	1996
Teams
Highlights
Profile	ray_allen

}} Walter Ray Allen (born July 20, 1975) is an American professional basketball player who is currently playing for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. He has played professionally for the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, and the Boston Celtics; and collegiately for the University of Connecticut Huskies. One of the most accurate 3-point and free throw shooters in NBA history, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the 2000 United States Men's Basketball Team. Allen has acted in two films, including a co-starring role in the 1998 Spike Lee film He Got Game.

High school

The third of five children, Allen was born at Castle Air Force Base near Merced, California. A military child, he spent time growing up in Saxmundham in England, Altus in Oklahoma, Edwards Air Force Base in California, and Germany. He attended high school in Dalzell, South Carolina, where he led Hillcrest High School to a basketball state championship.

College career

Allen attended the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1996, where he earned All-American status and was named USA Basketball's Male Athlete of the Year in 1995. In 1995-96, his final college season, Allen was a first-team All-American and won the Big East Player of the Year award. Allen finished his UConn career third on the Huskies' career scoring list with 1,922 points and set a single-season school record by connecting on 115 three-pointers in 1995-96.

In 2001, he was named honorary captain of the 25-member UConn All-Century Basketball Team. On February 5, 2007, his name and number were honored at Connecticut's Gampel Pavilion during the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony at halftime of the men's basketball game against the Syracuse Orange.

NBA career

Milwaukee Bucks (1996–2003)

Allen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1996 NBA Draft. Immediately after his selection, Allen and Andrew Lang were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to fourth pick Stephon Marbury. Allen was a member of the NBA's All-Rookie 2nd Team in 1996. His most successful season with the Bucks occurred during the 2000-01 season as he won the 3-point shootout during All-Star Weekend, was selected to the All-NBA Third Team, and led the Bucks, as part of Milwaukee's "Big Three", alongside Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson, to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in seven games to the Philadelphia 76ers.

After the 2004-05 season, Allen signed a 5-year, $80 million contract extension. In the 2006-07 regular season, he averaged a career-high 26.4 points per game while adding 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

During his Seattle tenure, Allen achieved many individual accomplishments. On March 12, 2006, Allen became the 97th player in NBA history to score 15,000 points. On April 7, 2006, Allen moved into second place on the NBA's list of all-time 3-point field goals made, trailing only Reggie Miller. On April 19, 2006, Allen broke Dennis Scott's ten-year-old NBA record for 3-point field goals made in a season against the Denver Nuggets.

On January 12, 2007, Allen scored a career-high 54 points against the Utah Jazz in a 122-114 overtime win, the second most in Sonics history. Shortly after, he had ankle surgery on both ankles and missed the remainder of the 2006-07 season.

Boston Celtics (2007–present)

of the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Playoffs.]] against the Atlanta Hawks.]]

On June 28, 2007, the Sonics traded Allen and Glen Davis, the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, to the Celtics in exchange for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the fifth overall pick, Jeff Green.

On November 4, 2007, Allen passed 17,000 points for his career with his first of two 3-pointers in overtime in a 98-95 victory against the Toronto Raptors, in which he sank the game winning 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in overtime.

On February 13, 2008, Allen was named by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace injured East All-Star Caron Butler of the Washington Wizards, who was out with a left hip flexor strain, for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. While LeBron James was given the All-Star MVP Award, many analysts, including the TNT commentators of the game, felt it should have gone to Allen, who scored 14 points in a stretch of 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the East team.

On March 28, 2008, Allen was honored as the 3rd best of the 20 greatest players in franchise history during Milwaukee's 40th Anniversary Team Celebration, but couldn't attend the festivities because of the Celtics' game against the New Orleans Hornets.

On June 12, 2008, Allen would play all 48 minutes and contribute greatly with 19 points and 9 rebounds in what would become the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, with the Celtics coming back from a 24-point deficit at one point in the second quarter and a deficit as large as 20 in the third. In that game, Allen would make the game clinching layup with 16.4 seconds remaining to give the Celtics a 5-point lead and put the game away.

On June 17, 2008, in the series-ending Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Allen tied an NBA Finals record with seven three-pointers in the Celtics' 131–92 victory of the Los Angeles Lakers, and also broke the record for three-pointers made in a NBA Finals series with 22, eclipsing the previous record of 17 by Dan Majerle and Derek Harper.

On February 5, 2009, Allen was named as the All-Star replacement for Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson. This marks Allen's ninth time on the All-Star team and the second straight year he has made it alongside teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

On February 22, 2009, with his streak ending at 72, Allen broke the Celtics franchise record in consecutive free throws made previously set by Larry Bird (71).

In the first round of the 2009 playoffs against the Chicago Bulls, game one proved to be tough for Allen. He ended up shooting 1-11 from the field, and the Celtics lost by two. In game 2 however, Allen nailed the game winning three-pointer at the end of regulation with two seconds left to cap off an impressive 30 point night. In Game 6, despite a Boston loss, Allen managed to score 51 points. Boston ended up winning the series in 7 Games. He reunited with former teammate and co-captain of the Seattle Sonics, Rashard Lewis in the Conference Semifinals, this time as opponents, however. After 4 games and a 2-2 series tie, his highest scoring game was a 22 point performance in a Game 2 victory.

On December 10, 2009, Ray Allen scored 18 points to reach the 20,000 point total for his career.

On June 6, 2010, in Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals in a 103-94 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, Allen set the record for most three-pointers made in an NBA Finals game on 8-11 shooting. He broke Michael Jordan's record of six three-pointers in one half by hitting seven in the first half and had tied Scottie Pippen and Kenny Smith's record for most three-pointers in one game in the NBA Finals by half time. Allen also became the first player in NBA history to have two separate games of scoring at least seven three-pointers in the NBA Finals. In the following game, on June 8, 2010, Allen was one miss shy of tying the NBA Finals record of most consecutive missed shots, going 0-13 from the field, including 0-8 from the 3-point line. He did, however, manage to score 2 points from the free throw line.

After becoming a free agent on July 1, 2010, Allen re-signed two year-deal with the Boston Celtics on July 7 worth $20 million.

Acting career

In 1998, Allen co-starred alongside Denzel Washington in the Spike Lee film He Got Game as high school basketball phenomenon Jesus Shuttlesworth. Roger Ebert praised Allen as a "rarity: an athlete who can act," while New York magazine described him as "graceful and fast in the basketball scenes" while giving "a somberly effective minimalist performance." His role as Shuttlesworth earned him the nickname "Jesus" from teammates and fans.

Allen also appeared as Marcus Blake in the 2001 film Harvard Man.

Personal life

Allen has a borderline case of obsessive–compulsive disorder, to which he attributes his consummate shooting style. He is a member of the Air Jordan brand, which is a subsidiary of Nike.

Allen served as NBA Spokesperson for the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program. and was selected as NBA Spokesman for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He also started the "Ray of Hope" Foundation to assist charities in several communities.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1996–97 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 82 || 81 || 30.9 || .430 || .393 || .823 || 4.0 || 2.6 || .9 || .1 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1997–98 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 82 || 82 || 40.1 || .428 || .364 || .875 || 4.9 || 4.3 || 1.4 || .2 || 19.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 50 || 50 || 34.4 || .450 || .356 || .903 || 4.2 || 3.6 || 1.1 || .1 || 17.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999–00 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 82 || 82 || 37.4 || .455 || .423 || .887 || 4.4 || 3.8 || 1.3 || .2 || 22.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 82 || 82 || 38.2 || .480 || .433 || .888 || 5.2 || 4.6 || 1.5 || .2 || 22.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2001–02 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 69 || 67 || 36.6 || .462 || .434 || .873 || 4.5 || 3.9 || 1.3 || .3 || 21.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2002–03 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 47 || 46 || 35.8 || .437 || .395 || .913 || 4.6 || 3.5 || 1.2 || .2 || 21.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2002–03 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 29 || 29 || 41.3 || .441 || .351 || .920 || 5.6 || 5.9 || 1.6 || .1 || 24.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003–04 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 56 || 56 || 38.4 || .440 || .392 || .904 || 5.1 || 4.8 || 1.3 || .2 || 23.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 78 || 78 || 39.3 || .428 || .376 || .883 || 4.4 || 3.7 || 1.1 || .1 || 23.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 78 || 78 || 38.7 || .454 || .412 || .903 || 4.3 || 3.7 || 1.4 || .2 || 25.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 55 || 55 || 40.3 || .438 || .372 || .903 || 4.5 || 4.1 || 1.5 || .2 || 26.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 73 || 73 || 35.9 || .445 || .398 || .907 || 3.7 || 3.1 || .9 || .2 || 17.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 79 || 79 || 36.4 || .480 || .409 || .952 || 3.5 || 2.8 || .9 || .2 || 18.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston || 80 || 80 || 35.2 || .477 || .363 || .913 || 3.2 || 2.6 || .8 || .3 || 16.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 1022 || 1018 || 37.1 || .450 || .396 || .894 || 4.3 || 3.7 || 1.2 || .2 || 20.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 9 || 0 || 20.3 || .421 || .313 || .733 || 2.4 || 2.2 || 1.2 || .2 || 14.8

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 3 || 3 || 40.0 || .532 || .474 || .615 || 7.3 || 4.3 || 1.0 || .3 || 22.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999–00 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 5 || 5 || 37.2 || .444 || .385 || .909 || 6.6 || 2.6 || 1.6 || .0 || 22.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 18 || 18 || 42.7 || .477 || .479 || .919 || 4.1 || 6.0 || 1.3 || .6 || 25.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004–05 | style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 11 || 11 || 39.6 || .474 || .378 || .889 || 4.3 || 3.9 || 1.3 || .4 || 26.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 26 || 26 || 38.0 || .428 || .396 || .913 || 3.8 || 2.7 || .9 || .3 || 15.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 14 || 14 || 40.4 || .403 || .350 || .948 || 3.9 || 2.6 || 1.1 || .4 || 18.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 24 || 24 || 38.5 || .431 || .386 || .863 || 3.3 || 2.6 || 0.9 || .1 || 16.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 101 || 101 || 39.5 || .447 || .402 || .896 || 4.0 || 3.4 || 1.1 || .3 || 19.5

Honors

, Allen threw out the ceremonial first pitch for a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park.]]

NBA Champion: 2008

Olympic gold medalist as member of the United States men's basketball team that played at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

9-time NBA All-Star: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

All-NBA Second Team: 2005

All-NBA Third Team: 2001

NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997

NBA Joe Dumars NBA Sportsmanship Award: 2003

The Sporting News "Good Guy": 2000, 2001, 2005

NBA All-Star Weekend Three-point Shootout champion: 2001

NBA records

Regular season

Seasons leading the league in three-point field goals made: 3 (-, )

Consecutive seasons leading the league in three-point field goals made: 2 (-)

Three-point field goals made, season: 269 ()

Three-point field goals made, half: 8, second half, for Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte Hornets,

Playoffs

Consecutive points scored in a game: 19, for Milwaukee Bucks vs. Philadelphia 76ers, Broken by LeBron James on

Three-point field goals made, 6-game series: 22, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 2008 NBA Finals

Three-point field goals made, 7-game series: 28, for Milwaukee Bucks vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 2001 Conference Finals

Three-point field goals made, game: 9, twice 9, for Milwaukee Bucks vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 9, for Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls, (3 OT)

Three-point field goal attempts, game: 18, for Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls, (3 OT)

Finals

Three-point field goals made, 6-game series: 22, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 2008 NBA Finals

Three-point field goals made, game: 8, for Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers,

Also holds second (see below)

Three-point field goals made, half: 7, first half, for Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goals made, quarter: 5, second quarter, for Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goal attempts, 6-game series: 42, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 2008 NBA Finals

All-Star

Three-point field goals made, career: 20

Three-point field goal attempts, career: 64

Three-point field goal attempts, game: 11 (2005)

Three-point field goal attempts, half: 7, second half (2005)

Ranks 2nd in NBA history

Regular season

Three-point field goals made, career: 2,444

Trailing Reggie Miller

Three-point field goal attempts, career: 6,176

Trailing Reggie Miller

Three-point field goal attempts, season: 653 ()

Trailing George McCloud

Three-point field goal attempts, none made, game: 10, for Seattle SuperSonics vs. Boston Celtics,

Playoffs

Field goal attempts, none made, game: 0—13, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goals made, one postseason: 57 (2001)

Trailing Reggie Miller

Three-point field goals made, 7-game series: 27, for Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls, 2009 First Round

Three-point field goals made, game: 8, for Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goals made, half: 7, first half, for Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goal attempts, 7-game series: 58, for Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls, 2009 First Round

Finals

Field goal attempts, none made, game: 0—13, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goals made, game: 7, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers,

Three-point field goal attempts, 7-game series: 41, for Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 2010 NBA Finals

Three-point field goal attempts, game: 11, for Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers,

All-Star

Three-point field goals made, game: 5, twice (2005, 2008)

Three-point field goal attempts, game: 10 (2002)

Ranks 3rd in NBA history

Regular season

Three-point field goals made, game: 10, for Milwaukee Bucks vs. Charlotte Hornets,

Playoffs

Three-point field goals made, 5-game series: 19, for Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat, 2010 First Round

Ranks 4th in NBA history

Highest free throw percentage, season: .952 (237—249) ()

Franchise records

Holds Milwaukee Bucks franchise records for most consecutive games played (400), most career three-point field goals made (1,051), and most career three-point field goals attempted (2,587)

Holds Boston Celtics franchise record for most consecutive free throws: 72.

See also

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

References

External links

Career Statistics

Ray Allen Video at ESPN Video Archive

Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Ray Allen from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:American basketball players Category:American expatriates in Germany Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from California Category:Basketball players from South Carolina Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Military brats Category:Milwaukee Bucks players Category:Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:People from Jackson County, Oklahoma Category:People from Merced, California Category:People from Saxmundham Category:People from Sumter County, South Carolina Category:Seattle SuperSonics players Category:Shooting guards Category:Connecticut Huskies men's basketball players Category:United States men's national basketball team members

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Ramon Sessions
Height ft	6
Height in	3
Weight lb	190
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers
Number	3
Position	Point guard/Shooting guard
Birth date	April 11, 1986
Birth place	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
High school	Myrtle Beach
College	Nevada
Nationality	American
Draft round	2
Draft pick	56
Draft team	Milwaukee Bucks
Draft year	2007
Teams	Tulsa 66ers (D-League) (2007–2008)Milwaukee Bucks (2007–2009)Minnesota Timberwolves (2009–2010) Cleveland Cavaliers (2010-present)
Career start	2007

Ramon Sessions (born April 11, 1986 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. He was drafted by Milwaukee with the 56th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Sessions played collegiately at the University of Nevada for three years. Sessions ranks second in career assists at Nevada with 478. In Sessions' final season at Nevada he averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game.

NBA career

Although some felt Sessions should have returned for his senior year at Nevada, he put on a very strong performance at the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando and decided to stay in the draft. Considered by scouts to be a very good ballhandler, passer, and decision-maker, although his athleticism and NBA-scoring ability were questioned.

Sessions was the first NBA player to be assigned to the NBA Development League in the 2007–08 season, when he was sent by the Bucks to the Tulsa 66ers; Sessions was named D-League Performer of the Week for the opening weekend of the season, November 26, 2007, averaging 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He averaged 29.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 12.3 assists in three wins for the 66ers. in a 119-97 home loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 2 points. Later on, due to injuries to starting point guard Mo Williams and reserve Charlie Bell, his playing time increased. Earlier, on April 2, he made a game-winning 19-foot baseline jumper, off a pass from Andrew Bogut, to give the Bucks a dramatic one-point road win against the Washington Wizards in a game where the Bucks never led by more than one point.

On April 14, 2008, Sessions scored a then career-high 20 points, adding 8 rebounds and a Milwaukee Bucks franchise-record 24 assists against the Chicago Bulls in a 151-135 home loss. His performance was also the first "20-20" (also known as a double double-double) with points and assists in Bucks history. Sessions topped his career high again by almost doubling it. On February 7, 2009 in an overtime loss against the Detroit Pistons, he scored 44 points. On April 1, 2009, Sessions recorded his first career triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers scoring 16 points with 16 assists and 10 rebounds.

On September 4, 2009, he signed an offer sheet from the Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly worth $16 million for 4 years. The Bucks had seven days to match the offer but declined. Sessions shared backcourt duties with Timberwolves rookie guard Jonny Flynn.

On July 26, 2010, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with Ryan Hollins and a second-round draft pick for Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 17 || 7 || 26.5 || .436 || .429 || .780 || 3.4 || 7.5 || 1.0 || .2 || 8.1 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 79 || 39 || 27.5 || .445 || .176 || .794 || 3.4 || 5.7 || 1.0 || .1 || 12.4 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Minnesota | 82 || 1 || 21.1 || .456 || .067 || .717 || 2.6 || 3.1 || .7 || .1 || 8.2 |- | align="left" | 2010–11 | align="left" | Cleveland | 38 || 7 || 22.7 || .440 || .000 || .813 || 2.8 || 4.2 || .6 || .0 || 10.3 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 216 || 54 || 24.1 || .447 || .169 || .774 || 3.0 || 4.6 || .8 || .1 || 10.1

See also

List of National Basketball Association players with 22 or more assists in a game

Notes

External links

Sessions' college stats

Pre-draft Sessions scouting report

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from South Carolina Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball players Category:Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Category:Milwaukee Bucks players Category:People from Horry County, South Carolina Category:Point guards Category:Minnesota Timberwolves players Category:Tulsa 66ers players

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Kobe Bryant
Width	233px
Caption	Bryant in February 2007
Position	Shooting guard
Height ft	6
Height in	6
Weight lb	205
Team	Los Angeles Lakers
Number	24
Birth date	August 23, 1978
Birthplace	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
High school	Lower Merion HS, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Draft year	1996
Draft round	1
Draft pick	13
Draft team	Charlotte Hornets
Career start	1996
Teams
Highlights

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals led to O'Neal's departure following the 2003–04 season. In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Edwards, Colorado. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser refused to testify, and Bryant had to rebuild his image while becoming the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process. second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Finals MVP on both occasions.

Bryant currently ranks fourth and ninth on the league's post-season scoring and all-time scoring lists, respectively. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been held with twelve All-Star appearances, winning the All-Star MVP Award three times (2002, 2007, and 2009). He is a twelve-time member of the All-NBA team and ten-time All-Defensive team, and is the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the USA national team. In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.

Early years

Childhood and youth

Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. Bryant was raised Roman Catholic. When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to begin playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish fluently. During summers, Bryant would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, and his favorite team growing up was the Lakers. Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would study. He has said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player; Upon Joe Bryant's retirement from playing basketball in 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the United States.

High school

Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. As a freshman, he played for the varsity (junior and senior) basketball team. His father coached him his sophomore year of high school. Although during his first year the team was mediocre, the following three years the Aces compiled a 77-13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom. While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record. He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a USA Today All-USA First Team player. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates". though the two were/are just friends. His SAT score of 1080 would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges. Ultimately, however, the 17-year-old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA, only the sixth player in NBA history to do so.

NBA career

1996 NBA Draft

The first guard to ever be taken out of high school, Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. However, according to Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent at the time, Bryant playing for the Charlotte Hornets was "an impossibility". However, Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time, said that the Hornets agreed to trade their draft selection to the Lakers the day before the draft. The Lakers didn't tell the Hornets who to select until five minutes before the pick was made. Prior to the draft, Bryant had worked out in Los Angeles, in which he scrimmaged against former Lakers players Larry Drew and Michael Cooper, and according to then-Laker manager Jerry West "marched over these people". On July 1, 1996, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights. Since he was still 17 at the time of the draft, his parents had to cosign his contract with the Lakers until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18 before the season began.

First three seasons (1996–99)

During his rookie season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. At the time he became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game (a record since broken by teammate Andrew Bynum), and also became the youngest NBA starter ever. Initially, Bryant played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. By the end of the season, he averaged 15.5 minutes a game. During the All-Star weekend, Bryant was the winner of the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the youngest player to be named the slam dunk champion at the age of 18. Bryant's performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. His final minutes of the season ended in disaster when he shot 3 air balls at crucial times in the game.

In Bryant's second season, he received more playing time and began to show more of his abilities as a talented young guard. As a result Bryant's point averages more than doubled from 7.6 to 15.4 points per game. Bryant would see an increase in minutes when the Lakers "played small", which would feature Bryant playing small forward along side the guards he'd usually back up. Bryant was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, and through fan voting, he also became the youngest NBA All-Star starter in NBA history. He was joined by fellow team mates Shaquille O'Neal, Nick Van Exel, and Eddie Jones, making it the first time since 1983 that four players on the same team were selected to play in the same All-Star Game. Bryant's 15.4 points per game was the highest of any non-starter in the season.

The 1998–99 season marked Bryant's emergence as a premiere guard in the league. With starting guards Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones traded, Bryant started every game for the lockout-shortened 50 game season. During the season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract extension worth $70 million. The playoff results, however, were no better, as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Three-peat (1999–2002)

Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999. After years of steady improvement, Bryant became one of the premier shooting guards in the league, earning appearances in the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became premier championship contenders under Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who formed an outstanding center-guard combination. Jackson utilized the triangle offense he used to win six championships with the Chicago Bulls, which would help both Bryant and O'Neal rise to the elite class of the NBA. The three resulting championships won consecutively in 2000, 2001, and 2002 further proved such a fact.

Bryant started the 1999–2000 season sidelined for six weeks due to an injury to his hand in a preseason game against the Washington Wizards. With Bryant back and playing over 38 minutes a game, he saw an increase in all statistical categories in the 1999–2000 season. This included leading the team in assists per game and steals per game. The duo of O'Neal and Bryant backed with a strong bench led to the Lakers winning 67 games, tied for fifth-most in NBA history. This followed with O'Neal winning the MVP and Bryant being named to the All-NBA Team Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team for the first time in his career (the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors). While playing second fiddle to O'Neal in the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances including a 25 point, 11 rebound, 7 assist, 4 block game in game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. He also threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal to clinch the game and the series. In the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle in the second quarter of game 2 and missed the rest of the game and game 3. In game 4, Bryant scored 22 points in the second half, and led the team to an overtime victory as O'Neal fouled out of the game. Bryant scored the winning shot to put the Lakers ahead 120–118. With a game 6 victory, the Lakers won their first championship since 1988.

Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant perform similarly to the previous year except Bryant was averaging 6 more points a game (28.5). It was also the year when disagreements between Bryant and O'Neal began to surface. Once again he led the team in assists with 5 per game. The Lakers however, only won 56 games, an 11 game drop off from last year. The Lakers would respond by going 15–1 in the playoffs. They easily swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs, before losing their first game against the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. They would go on to win the next 4 games and bring their second championship to Los Angeles in as many seasons. During the playoffs Bryant played heavy minutes which brought his stats up to 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. In the playoffs teammate O'Neal declared Bryant the best player in the league. Bryant ended up making the All NBA Second team and All NBA Defensive Team for the second year in a row. In addition, he was also voted to start in the NBA All-Star Game for the 3rd year in a row (no game in 1999).

In the 2001–02 season, Bryant played 80 games for the first time in his career. He continued his all-round play by averaging 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He also had a career high 46.9% shooting and once again led his team in assists. While making the All-Star team and All-NBA Defensive team again, he was also promoted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. The Lakers won 58 games that year and finished second place in the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings. The road to the Finals would prove a lot tougher than the record run the Lakers had the previous year. While the Lakers swept the Trail Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1, the Lakers did not have home court advantage against the Sacramento Kings. The series would stretch to 7 games, the first time this happened to the Lakers since the Western Conference Finals in the 2000 NBA Playoffs. However, the Lakers were able to beat their division rivals and make their third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. In the 2002 Finals, Bryant averaged 26.8 points, 51.4% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists per game, which included scoring a quarter of the teams points. At age 23, Bryant became the youngest player to win three championships. This cemented Bryant's reputation as a clutch player.

Coming up short (2002–04)

In the 2002–03 season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game and embarked on a historic run, posting 40 or more points in nine consecutive games while averaging 40.6 in the entire month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all career highs up to that point. Bryant was once again voted on to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st teams,

In the following 2003–04 season, the Lakers were able to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton to make another push at the NBA Championship. Before the season began, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault. This caused Bryant to miss some games due to court appearances or attend court earlier in the day and travel to play games later in same day. In the final game of the regular season the Lakers played the Portland Trail Blazers. Bryant made two buzzer beaters to win the game and the Pacific Division title. At the end of the fourth quarter, Bryant made a three-pointer as time ran out to tie the game and send it into over time. The game eventually went to a second over time and Bryant made another three pointer as time expired to lift the Lakers past the Trail Blazers 105–104. In the Finals, they were defeated in five games by the Detroit Pistons, who won their first championship since 1990. In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.4 assists. He shot a mere 35.1% from the field. Phil Jackson's contract as coach was not renewed, and Rudy Tomjanovich took over. Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant. The following day, Bryant declined an offer to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and re-signed with the Lakers on a seven-year contract.

Playoffs disappointments (2004–07)

in October 2005]] Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized during the 2004–05 season with his reputation badly damaged from all that had happened over the previous year. A particularly damaging salvo came when Phil Jackson wrote . The book detailed the events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003–04 season and has a number of criticisms of Bryant. In the book Jackson called Bryant "uncoachable". Midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion. Without Tomjanovich, stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Despite the fact that Bryant was the league's second leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, the Lakers floundered and missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. The year signified a drop in Bryant's overall status in the NBA, as he did not make the NBA All-Defensive Team and was also demoted to the All-NBA Third Team. During the season, Bryant also engaged in public feuds with Ray Allen and Karl Malone.

The 2005–06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the playoffs. Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments posted resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter, Bryant had outscored the entire Mavericks team 62–61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock. When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, signifying a change in the feud that had festered between the two players. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two were seen laughing together.

in Staples Center, second highest single scoring performance in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.]] On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in a victory against the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, Bryant's 81-point game was the second highest point total in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. In that same month, Bryant also became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games, joining Chamberlain and Baylor as the only players ever to do so. For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 points per game, the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history and highest for any player other than Chamberlain. By the end of the 2005-06 season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise records for most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832). He won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting a scoring average of (35.4). Bryant finished in fourth place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but received 22 first place votes—second only to winner Steve Nash. The Los Angeles Lakers posted a 45–37 record, an eleven-game improvement over the previous season, and the entire squad seemed to be clicking.

Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006–07 NBA season. Bryant's first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. Despite Bryant's 27.9 points per game in the series, the Lakers broke down, and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games. In the 2006 off-season, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.

During the 2006–07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. Over the course of the season, Bryant became involved in a number of on court incidents. On January 28 while attempting to draw contact on a potential game winning jumpshot, he flailed his arm striking San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginóbili in the face with his elbow. Following a league review, Bryant was suspended for the subsequent game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. The basis given for the suspension was that Bryant had performed an "unnatural motion" in swinging his arm backwards. Later, on March 6, he seemed to repeat the motion, this time striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jarić. In his first game back on March 9, he elbowed Kyle Korver in the face which was retroactively re-classified as a Type 1 flagrant foul. The following game, Bryant recorded 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, after which he scored 60 points in a road win against the Memphis Grizzlies—becoming the second Laker to score three straight 50-plus point games, a feat not seen since Michael Jordan last did it in 1987. The only other Laker to do so was Elgin Baylor, who also scored 50+ in three consecutive contests in December 1962. Bryant finished the year with a total of ten 50-plus point games, becoming the only player beside Wilt Chamberlain in 1961–62 and 1962–63 to do so in one season. He also won his second straight scoring title that season. Throughout the 2006–07 season, Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. A number of journalists have attributed the improved sales to Bryant's new number, as well as his continuing All-Star performance on the court. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers were once again eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns, 4–1.

MVP year (2007–08)

On May 27, 2007, ESPN reported that Bryant stated that he wanted to be traded if Jerry West did not return to the team with full authority. Bryant later confirmed his desire for West's return to the franchise, but denied stating that he would want to be traded if that does not occur. However, three days later, on Stephen A. Smith's radio program, Bryant expressed anger over a Lakers "insider" who claimed that Bryant was responsible for Shaquille O'Neal's departure from the team, and publicly stated, "I want to be traded." Three hours after making that statement, Bryant stated in another interview that after having a conversation with head coach Phil Jackson, he has reconsidered his decision and backed off his trade request. Bryant would later be shown on an infamous amateur video saying that center Andrew Bynum should have been traded for All-Star Jason Kidd.

in 6 games during the 2008 NBA Finals.]] On December 23, 2007, Bryant became the youngest player (29 years, 122 days) to reach 20,000 points, in a game against the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden. Despite an injury to his shooting hand's small finger, described as "a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament, an avulsion fracture, and a volar plate injury at the MCP joint" that occurred in a game on February 5, 2008, Bryant played all 82 games of the regular season instead of opting for surgery. Regarding his injury, he stated, "I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer's Olympic Games. But, this is an injury that and the Lakers' medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis." In early September 2008, Bryant decided not to have surgery to repair the injury.

Leading his team to a West best 57–25 record, they swept the Nuggets in the first round and on May 6, 2008, Bryant was officially announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player award, his first for his career. Jerry West, who was responsible for bringing Bryant to the Lakers, was on hand at the press conference to observe Bryant receive his MVP trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern. He stated, "Kobe deserved it. He's had just another great season. Doesn't surprise me one bit." In addition to winning his MVP award, Bryant was the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team on May 8, 2008 for the third straight season and sixth time in his career. He would then headline the NBA All-Defensive First Team with Kevin Garnett, receiving 52 points overall including 24 first-place nods, earning his eighth selection.

The Lakers concluded the 2007–08 regular season with a 57–25 record, finishing first in the Western Conference and setting up themselves for a first-round contest against the Nuggets. In Game 1, Bryant, who said he made himself a decoy through most of the game, scored 18 of his 32 points in the final 8 minutes to keep Los Angeles safely ahead. That made Denver the first 50-win team to be swept out of the first round of the playoffs since the Memphis Grizzlies fell in four to the San Antonio Spurs in 2004. In the first game of the next round against the Jazz, Bryant scored 38 points as the Lakers beat the Jazz in Game 1. The Lakers won the next game as well, but dropped Games 3 and 4, even with Bryant putting up 33.5 points per game. The Lakers then won the next two games to win the semifinals in 6. The Lakers then lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games.

Repeat (2008–10)

record with 61 points]]

In the 2008–09 season, the Lakers opened the campaign by winning their first seven games. Bryant led the team to tie the franchise record for most wins to start the season going 17–2, and by the middle of December they compiled a 21–3 record. He was selected to his eleventh consecutive All-Star Game as a starter, and was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for December and January in addition to being named Western Conference Player of the week three times. In a game against the Knicks on February 2, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points, setting a record for the most points scored at Madison Square Garden. During the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant who tallied 27 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals was awarded All-Star Game co-MVP with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers finished the regular season with the best record in the west with a 65–17 record. Bryant was runner-up in the MVP voting behind LeBron James, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career.

NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers]] In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz in five games and the Houston Rockets in seven games in the opening two rounds. After finishing off the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals in six games, the Lakers earned their second straight trip to the NBA Finals where they defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. Bryant was awarded his first NBA Finals MVP trophy upon winning his fourth championship, becoming the first player since Jerry West in the 1969 NBA Finals to average at least 32.4 points and 7.4 assists for a finals series and the first since Michael Jordan to average 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for a title-winning team in the finals.

During the 2009–10 season, Bryant made six game-winning shots including a buzzer-beating, one-legged three point shot against the Miami Heat on December 4, 2009. Bryant considered the shot one of the luckiest he has made. Despite the injury, Bryant elected to continue playing with it, rather than take any time off to rest the injury. Bryant also became the youngest player (31 years, 151 days) to reach 25,000 points during the season, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain. He continued his dominant clutch plays making yet another game winning three-pointer against the Sacramento Kings, and what would be the game-winning field goal against the Boston Celtics. The following day, he surpassed Jerry West to become the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. After being sidelined for five games from an ankle injury, Bryant made his return and made another clutch three-pointer to give the Lakers a one point lead with four seconds remaining against the Memphis Grizzlies. Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season against the Toronto Raptors.

of the Orlando Magic on January 18, 2010]] (left) and Bryant (center) with Barack Obama (right) on January 25, 2010]]On April 2, 2010, Bryant signed a three-year contract extension worth $87 million. Bryant finished the regular season missing four of the final five games, due to injuries to his knee and finger. Bryant suffered multiple injuries throughout the season and as a result, missed nine games. The Lakers began the playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference against the Oklahoma City Thunder, eventually defeating them in six games. The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz in the second round and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced Phoenix Suns. In Game 2, Bryant finished the game with 13 assists, setting a new playoff career high; it was the most assists by a Laker in the playoffs since Magic Johnson had 13 in 1996. The Lakers went on to win the series in six games capturing the Western Conference Championship and advancing to the NBA Finals for a third straight season. In a rematch against the 2008 Champions Boston Celtics, Bryant, despite shooting 6 for 24 from the field, led the Lakers back from a thirteen-point third quarter deficit in Game 7 to win the championship; he scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, and finished the game with 15 rebounds. Bryant won his fifth championship and earned his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award. This marked the first time the Lakers won a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Bryant said that this was the most satisfying of all of his five championships.

2010–11 season

The Lakers started the 2010–11 season by winning their first eight games. In his ninth game of the season, playing against the Denver Nuggets, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 26,000 career points. Bryant also recorded his first triple double since January 21, 2009.

Player profile

.]] Bryant is a shooting guard who is capable of playing the small forward position. He is considered one of the most complete players in the NBA, has been selected to every All-NBA Team since 1999, and has been featured in the last twelve NBA All-Star games. In 2007, an ESPN poll of sportswriters voted him as the second best shooting guard in NBA history behind Jordan. He is known for his ability to create shots for himself and is a standout three-point shooter, sharing the single-game NBA record for three pointers made with twelve. Bryant is often cited as one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, though his 45.4% career field goal average is considered moderate. He utilizes his wide array of moves and shots to elude defenders and score from virtually anywhere on the floor. Some of Bryant's best moves are his turnaround jump shot, and his ability to post up his defenders and score with a fadeaway jumpshot. Chris Ballard, a Sports Illustrated NBA writer, describes a "jab step-and-pause" as a move Bryant uses where he jabs his non-pivot foot forward to let the defender relax and instead of bringing the jab foot back, he pushes off it and drive around his opponent to get to the basket.

Aside from his scoring ability, he has established himself as a standout defender, having made the All-Defensive first or second team ten of the last eleven seasons. For nine consecutive seasons, Bryant has been selected by an NBA GM survey as the player they most want taking the shot with the game on the line. Both Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 71 || 6 || 15.5 || .417 || .375 || .819 || 1.9 || 1.3 || .7 || .3 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 79 || 1 || 26.0 || .428 || .341 || .794 || 3.1 || 2.5 || .9 || .5 || 15.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 50 || 50 || 37.9 || .465 || .267 || .839 || 5.3 || 3.8 || 1.4 || 1.0 || 19.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 66 || 62 || 38.2 || .468 || .319 || .821 || 6.3 || 4.9 || 1.6 || .9 || 22.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 68 || 68 || 40.9 || .464 || .305 || .853 || 5.9 || 5.0 || 1.7 || .6 || 28.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 80 || 80 || 38.3 || .469 || .250 || .829 || 5.5 || 5.5 || 1.5 || .4 || 25.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 41.5 || .451 || .383 || .843 || 6.9 || 5.9 || 2.2 || .8 || 30.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 65 || 64 || 37.6 || .438 || .327 || .852 || 5.5 || 5.1 || 1.7 || .4 || 24.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 66 || 66 || 40.7 || .433 || .339 || .816 || 5.9 || 6.0 || 1.3 || .8 || 27.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 80 || 80 || 41.0 || .450 || .347 || .850 || 5.3 || 4.5 || 1.8 || .4 || 35.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 77 || 77 || 40.8 || .463 || .344 || .868 || 5.7 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .5 || 31.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 38.9 || .459 || .361 || .840 || 6.3 || 5.4 || 1.8 || .5 || 28.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 36.1 || .467 || .351 || .856 || 5.2 || 4.9 || 1.5 || .4 || 26.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 73 || 73 || 38.8 || .456 || .329 || .811 || 5.4 || 5.0 || 1.6 || .3 || 27.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 1021 || 873 || 36.4 || .455 || .340 || .838 || 5.3 || 4.7 || 1.5 || .6 || 25.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 11 || 11 || 27.1 || .503 || .354 || .778 || 4.5 || 4.6 || 2.7 || .4 || 18.8

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1996–97 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 9 || 0 || 14.8 || .382 || .261 || .867 || 1.2 || 1.2 || .3 || .2 || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1997–98 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 11 || 0 || 20.0 || .408 || .214 || .689 || 1.9 || 1.5 || .3 || .7 || 8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .430 || .348 || .800 || 6.9 || 4.6 || 1.9 || 1.2 || 19.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999–00 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 22 || 22 || 39.0 || .442 || .344 || .754 || 4.5 || 4.4 || 1.5 || 1.5 || 21.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2000–01 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 16 || 16 || 43.4 || .469 || .324 || .821 || 7.3 || 6.1 || 1.6 || .8 || 29.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2001–02 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 19 || 19 || 43.8 || .434 || .379 || .759 || 5.8 || 4.6 || 1.4 || .9 || 26.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2002–03 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 12 || 12 || 44.3 || .432 || .403 || .827 || 5.1 || 5.2 || 1.2 || .1 || 32.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003–04 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 22 || 22 || 44.2 || .413 || .247 || .813 || 4.7 || 5.5 || 1.9 || .3 || 24.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2005–06 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 7 || 7 || 44.9 || .497 || .400 || .771 || 6.3 || 5.1 || 1.1 || .4 || 27.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 5 || 5 || 43.0 || .462 || .357 || .919 || 5.2 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .4 || 32.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 21 || 21 || 41.1 || .479 || .302 || .809 || 5.7 || 5.6 || 1.7 || .4 || 30.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 23 || 40.8 || .457 || .349 || .883 || 5.3 || 5.5 || 1.7 || .9 || 30.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 23 || 40.1 || .458 || .374 || .842 || 6.0 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .7 || 29.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 198 || 178 || 39.4 || .448 || .337 || .815 || 5.2 || 4.8 || 1.4 || .7 || 25.5

Accomplishments and records

International career

at the 2008 Summer Olympics]] }}

Bryant's senior international career with the United States national team began in 2006. He was a member of the 2007 USA Men's Senior National Team and USA FIBA Americas Championship Team that finished 10–0, won gold and qualified the United States men for the 2008 Olympics. He started in all 10 of the USA's FIBA Americas Championship games. He is ranked third on the team for made and attempted free throws, ranked fourth for made field goals, made 3-pointers. Among all FIBA Americas Championship competitors, Bryant is ranked 15th in scoring, 14th in assists, and eighth in steals. Bryant scored double-digits in eight of the 10 games played. Bryant also made the game winning jumper above the foul line with seconds left in the game. He currently averages a .530 shooting percentage, with 16.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.

As a part of his international expansion, he is also featured in a Chinese reality TV show, called the Kobe Mentu show, which documents Chinese basketball players on different teams going through drills, preparing to play each other while Bryant gives advice and words of encouragement to the players while they practice.

On June 23, 2008, he was named to the USA Men's Senior National Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was his first time going to the Olympics. Bryant scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, along with six assists, as Team USA defeated Spain 118–107 in the gold medal game of the 2008 Summer Olympics on August 24, 2008, for its first gold medal in a worldwide international competition since the 2000 Olympics. He averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting .462 from the field in eight Olympic contests.

Bryant has committed to playing for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Off the court

Personal life

In November 1999, 21-year-old Bryant met 17-year-old Vanessa Laine while she was working as a background dancer on the Tha Eastsidaz music video "G'd Up". Bryant was in the building working on his debut musical album, which was never released. The two began dating and became engaged just six months later in May 2000,

They married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. Neither Bryant's parents, his two sisters, longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, nor Bryant's Laker teammates attended. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Reportedly Bryant's parents had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who was not African-American. In an early 2007 interview, it was revealed that Bryant still speaks Italian fluently.

Sexual assault allegation

In the summer of 2003, the sheriff's office of Eagle, Colorado arrested Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by 19-year old hotel employee Katelyn Faber. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera hotel in Eagle in advance of undergoing knee surgery nearby. Faber accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room the night before Bryant was to have the procedure. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied her sexual assault allegation.

The accusation tarnished Bryant's reputation, as the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's and Nutella were terminated. Sales for Bryant's replica jersey fell significantly from their previous highs. However, in September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors after Faber refused to testify in the trial. Afterward, Bryant agreed to apologize to Faber for the incident, including his public mea culpa: "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did." Faber filed a separate civil lawsuit against Bryant, which the two sides ultimately settled with the specific terms of the settlement being undisclosed to the public.

Endorsements

Before starting the 1996–97 NBA season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract with Adidas worth approximately $48 million. His first signature shoe was the Equipment KB 8. Bryant's other earlier endorsements included deals with The Coca-Cola Company to endorse their Sprite soft drink, appearing in advertisements for McDonald's, promoting Spalding's new NBA Infusion Ball, Upper Deck, Italian chocolate company Ferrero SpA's brand Nutella, Russell Corporation, and appearing on his own series of video games by Nintendo. Many companies like McDonald's and Ferrero SpA terminated his contracts when rape allegations against him became public. A notable exception was Nike, Inc., who had signed him to a 5-year, $40–45 million contract just before the incident. However, they refused to use his image or market a new shoe of his for the year, but eventually did start promoting Bryant once his image recovered 2 years later. Bryant was also the cover athlete for NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2 and appeared in commercials for the video games Guitar Hero World Tour (with Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps, and Alex Rodriguez) in 2008 and (alongside Jimmy Kimmel) in 2010.

In 2008 Bryant completed a pair of viral videos showing him doing dangerous stunts to promote Nike's Hyper Dunk shoes. The first showed Bryant jumping over a speeding Aston Martin and the second one showed Bryant with the crew of Jackass jumping over a pool of snakes. Both videos received over 4.5 million views each on YouTube. Bryant later hinted that the stunts were fake, as actually doing them would violate his contract with the Lakers by participating in dangerous activities. After promoting Nike's Hyperdunk shoes, Bryant came out with the fourth edition of his signature line by Nike, the Zoom Kobe IV. In 2010 Nike launched another shoe, Nike Zoom Kobe V. In 2009, Bryant signed a deal with Nubeo to market the "Black Mamba collection", a line of sports/luxury watches that range from $25,000 to $285,000. On February 9, 2009, Bryant was featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. However, it wasn't for anything basketball related, rather it was about Bryant being a big fan of FC Barcelona. CNN estimated Bryant's endorsement deals in 2007 to be worth $16 million a year. In 2010, Bryant was ranked third behind Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan in Forbes list of the world's highest-paid athletes with $48 million.

On 13 December 2010, Kobe signed a two-year deal to become the new global brand ambassador for Turkish Airlines airline company. A global advertising campaign featuring Kobe Bryant is planned for 2011.

Bryant has appeared as the cover athlete for the following video games: Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside NBA Courtside 2002 NBA 3 On 3 Featuring Kobe Bryant NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2

NBA 2K10

Philanthropy

Bryant is the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in 13 US cities. Bryant also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which will partner with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government. The Kobe Bryant China Fund will raise money within China earmarked for education and health programs. On November 4, 2010, Bryant appeared alongside Zach Braff at the launch event at the Santa Monica Airport, where they presented a $1 million check to the Call of Duty Endowment, an Activision-founded nonprofit organization that helps veterans transition to civilian careers after their military service has ended.

See also

Kobe Bryant (song)

Kobe Bryant – Shaquille O'Neal feud

Kobe Doin' Work

List of active NBA players who have spent their entire career with one team

List of 40-plus point games by Kobe Bryant

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

List of National Basketball Association players with most championship rings

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

List of National Basketball Association season scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association top individual scoring season averages

Notes

External links

Official Site

Kobe Bryant at NBA.com

NBA.com – The Ultimate Kobe Page

Kobe Bryant Video on ESPN Video Archive

Kobe Bryant Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Category:1978 births Category:African American basketball players Category:American expatriates in Italy Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania Category:Charlotte Hornets draft picks Category:Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year Category:Living people Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Category:NBA Finals MVP Award winners Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Newport Beach, California Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Shooting guards Category:United States men's national basketball team members

JaVale McGee (born January 19, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who was selected 18th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA Draft. He is a center who is listed at 7'0" and 252 lb. On July 9, 2008, he signed a two-year, $2.4 million deal with the Wizards.

High school and college

McGee was born in Flint, Michigan, and attended two high schools in Michigan: Detroit Country Day and Providence Christian, before transferring to Hales Franciscan in Chicago. McGee was the starting center for the University of Nevada, Reno. According to Hales Franciscan coach Gary London, McGee's natural position in college was ideally small forward, and that he could play both forward spots.

NBA

On January 9, 2010, McGee was fined $10,000 by the Washington Wizards for participating in Gilbert Arenas' antics before a game on January 5, 2010 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Arenas was being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but made light of the accusations by pointing his finger at his teammates, as if he were shooting them. His teammates were photographed smiling and laughing with him.

Team USA

McGee received an invite to the United States men's national basketball team's mini camp in the summer of 2009 and again in the summer of 2010. McGee played with Team USA in a scrimmage at Radio City Music Hall during the 2010 World Basketball Festival but after an uneven performance he did not play in the team's scrimmage against China at Madison Square Garden and was cut on August 15, 2010.

Personal

His father, 6'10" George Montgomery, was a 1985 second-round draft selection by the Portland Trail Blazers.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Washington | 75 || 14 || 15.2 || .494 || .000 || .660 || 3.9 || .3 || .4 || 1.0 || 6.5 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Washington | 60 || 19 || 16.1 || .508 || .000 || .638 || 4.0 || .2 || .3 || 1.7 || 6.4 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 135 || 33 || 15.6 || .500 || .000 || .651 || 4.0 || .3 || .4 || 1.3 || 6.5

Notes

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Small forwards Category:Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from Michigan Category:People from Flint, Michigan Category:Washington Wizards draft picks Category:Washington Wizards players

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Caption	Kidd with the Mavericks
League	NBA
Team	Dallas Mavericks
Position	Point guard
Height ft	6
Height in	4
Weight lb	210
Number	2
Nationality	American
Birth date	March 23, 1973
Birth place	San Francisco, California
College	California
Draft	2nd overall
Draft year	1994
Career start	1994
Teams
Highlights

Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who plays for the Dallas Mavericks. He led the New Jersey Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2002 and 2003). He has played the most playoff games of any active player who has not won a championship. His on-court versatility also makes him a regular triple-double threat, and he is in third place all-time for regular season triple-doubles in the NBA with a career total of 106 and second in playoffs triple-doubles with a career total of 11.

Early life

Kidd was born in San Francisco, California, the oldest of 6 children of Steve and Anne Kidd. His father, now deceased, was African-American and his mother is Irish American. He was raised in Oakland Hills, an upper middle class section of Oakland. He attended St. Paschal's Baylon school in Oakland Hills. He frequented the city courts of Oakland, where he often found himself pitted against future NBA All-Star Gary Payton. The two still reminisce about the playing days of their youth. During his youth, Kidd also excelled at soccer as well as other sports.

At St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, under the guidance of legendary prep coach Frank LaPorte, Kidd led the Pilots to back-to-back state championships, averaging 25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 7 steals his senior season. During that year, he also received a host of individual honors, including the Naismith Award as the nation's top high school player, and was named Player of the Year by PARADE and USA Today. The all-time prep leader in assists (1,155) and the state's seventh-best career scorer (2,661 points), Kidd was voted California Player of the Year for the second time and also a McDonald's All-American.

After a highly publicized recruiting process, Kidd shocked many fans and pundits alike by choosing to attend the nearby University of California, Berkeley -- a school that was coming off a 10–18 season and hadn't won a conference title since 1960—over a slew of top-ranked collegiate programs including the University of Arizona, the University of Kentucky, the University of Kansas, and the Ohio State University.

College

During his first year at California, Kidd averaged 13.0 points, 7.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.8 steals per game which earned him national Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All Pac-10 Team along with teammate and fellow freshman Danny Anderson, making them the fifth and sixth newcomer in conference history to do so. His 110 steals broke both the NCAA record for most steals by a freshman and set a school record for most steals in a season, while his 220 assists that season also was a school record. His play also was a key factor in the resurgence of Cal Basketball and helped The Golden Bears earn an NCAA Tournament bid, where they upset two-time defending National Champion Duke University in the second round of that tournament before losing to Kansas in the Sweet 16.

Kidd continued his success as a sophomore, tallying averages of 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 9.1 assists, breaking his previous school record for most assists in a season with 272, while also leading the nation in that category. He was also selected a First Team All-American, the first Cal player to be so named since 1968, as well as Pac-10 Player of the Year, becoming the first sophomore to receive that honor. The Golden Bears would make the NCAA Tournament again as a 5 seed, but would be upset in the first round by Dick Bennett's twelve-seeded Wisconsin–Green Bay team 61–57. Kidd was also named a finalist for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards as college basketball's top player and subsequently opted to enter the NBA Draft in 1994. In 2004, the University of California, Berkeley retired Kidd's number 5 jersey, cementing his place among the school's all-time greats.

NBA career

Dallas Mavericks (1994-1996)

Kidd was selected as the second pick overall by the Dallas Mavericks, behind Glenn Robinson of Purdue, and just ahead of Duke's versatile swingman Grant Hill. In his first year he averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and led the NBA in triple doubles, sharing 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. The year before the Mavericks drafted Jason Kidd, they ended a season with the worst record in the NBA at 13–69. After Kidd's first season with the Mavericks, their record improved to 36–46 which was the best improvement in the NBA that season. Kidd also was voted in as a starter in the 1996 All-Star Game. At the first 3 years with the Mavericks, the move most people associated him with is "the Baseball pass". Kidd was a member of the "Three J's" in Dallas along with Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. However, that plan did not come to fruition, as all three found themselves playing for other teams shortly thereafter.

Phoenix Suns (1996-2001)

Kidd was traded to the Phoenix Suns with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer for Michael Finley, A. C. Green, and Sam Cassell during the 1996–97 season. In 2001, after five seasons in Phoenix in which the team made the playoffs each year under Kidd, he was traded, along with Chris Dudley to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury, Johnny Newman, and Somailia Samake.

New Jersey (2001–2008)

The 2001–02 season saw Kidd lead the Nets to a surprising 52–30 finish, and marked one of his best all-around seasons as he finished second to the Spurs' Tim Duncan in MVP voting. Many have argued that Kidd deserved to win the award because of his impact in New Jersey—transforming the Nets from perennial league doormats into championship contenders seemingly in the space of a single training camp. His contribution to the Nets during his first season in New Jersey was huge, and resulted in one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history. He was also fortunate to join the team when he did, as the team reaped the benefits of the newly healthy Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn; along with the trading of Eddie Griffin for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong.

Under Kidd's guidance, the young Nets team prospered through the playoffs and ended up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference title and the franchise's first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals. However, New Jersey's season would end without an improbable NBA crown, as Kidd and the Nets were swept in four games by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers. New Jersey enjoyed another stellar season under the helm of Kidd's leadership in the 2002–03 NBA season, during which the team finished 49–33 and reached the NBA Finals once again, only to succumb to Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs in six games. He had his highest scoring season with 18.7 points per game and led the league in assists with 8.9 per game.

On July 1, 2004, Kidd underwent microfracture surgery to repair a damaged knee. He made a full recovery and returned to the court in December of that year, during which the Nets acquired star swingman Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors. With the Nets hanging on the prospect of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001 and with Jefferson injured, Carter and Kidd combined to fuel the team to a late regular-season surge that enabled them to inch past the Cleveland Cavaliers for the eighth and final playoff berth in the East. However, their season would come to an end early as they fell in four games to top-seeded Miami in the first round.

In 2005–06, Kidd averaged 13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.4 assists (5th in the league). On February 1, 2007, Kidd was named a reserve for the NBA All-Star game along with teammate Vince Carter. However, Kidd missed the game because of a strained back and was replaced on the roster by Joe Johnson.

On April 7, 2007, Kidd and Carter became the first teammates to record triple-doubles in the same game since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did it in 1989 for the Chicago Bulls. Kidd finished with 10 points, 16 rebounds, and 18 assists. In the 2006–07 postseason, Kidd notched his 10th postseason career triple-double on April 27, 2007 in game three against the Toronto Raptors. He recorded 16 points on 50% field goal shooting, a playoff career high 19 assists, 16 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block, as the Nets defeated the Raptors 102–89. He tied Larry Bird for second All-time in career postseason triple-doubles. In the first round of the postseason, Kidd averaged 14.0 points, 13.2 assists, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals, as the Nets defeated the Raptors in six games. He joined Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double in multiple playoff series. In Game 3 of the second round in the 2006–07 playoffs, Kidd recorded his 11th postseason triple-double with 23 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds, breaking the tie with Larry Bird for second place on the All-Time career list. He became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire postseason.

In the 2007–08 NBA season, Kidd became the third player to get a triple-double in three straight games since 1989. He did so after he logged his 97th career triple-double in a 99–115 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Kidd was voted by the fans to start in the 2008 All-Star game in New Orleans as a guard along with Dwyane Wade.

After that season Kidd had been mentioned in trade rumors, notably to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the deal fell through when the Lakers refused to give up their young center Andrew Bynum. On January 28, 2008, Kidd revealed that his agent has been talking to the Nets' front office about a trade. On February 19, 2008, Kidd was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, the team that originally drafted him.

Return to Dallas (2008–present)

On February 13, 2008, the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets reached an agreement on a trade to send Kidd and Malik Allen to Dallas for Devin Harris, Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, two first-round drafts picks (in 2008 and 2010), and $3 million, but the trade fell through when George invoked his (Early) Bird rights, as was stipulated in his contract at the time. The trade was retooled, with Trenton Hassell replacing George, and Keith Van Horn, who had agreed to come out of retirement, replacing Stackhouse, because NBA officials informed the Mavericks that if Stackhouse were to be included in the deal, he could not re-sign with the team if the Nets chose to buy out his contract. Antoine Wright was also added to the retooled trade proposal (the two teams originally agreed on a separate deal that would send Wright to the Mavericks for a 2008 second-round pick, but were ultimately able include him in the Kidd deal). On February 19, 2008, Kidd was officially traded to the Mavericks along with Allen and Wright for Van Horn (via a sign and trade deal), Harris, Diop, Hassell, Ager, $3 million, Ryan Anderson (the future 2008 first round pick), and the 2010 first round pick.

On July 5, 2009 Kidd verbally committed to re-signing with the Mavericks after being pursued heavily by the New York Knicks. The three-year deal is reportedly worth more than $25 million, all of it fully guaranteed.

On Halloween of 2010 against the Clippers Kidd threw up a shot from 75 feet away from the basket before the half-time buzzer and sank it in.

On November 12, 2010, Kidd dished out his 11,000th assist, an alley-oop dunk to teammate Tyson Chandler.

Milestones

On April 16, 2008, Kidd reached a new career milestone, achieving his 100th career triple-double in the final regular-season game with the Dallas Mavericks that year against the New Orleans Hornets. In the 2008–2009 season, Kidd became just the fourth player in NBA history to reach the 10,000 assist milestone and is now the only player in NBA history with 15,000 points, 10,000 assists and 7,000 rebounds. On April 5, 2009 Kidd passed Magic Johnson at third on the all-time assist list in a convincing 140–116 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Kidd scored 19 points with 6–8 shooting and a season high 20 assists giving him a total of 10142 career assists. On November 26, 2009, Kidd moved into 2nd place on the all-time assists list in a win against the Houston Rockets, surpassing Mark Jackson on the list. Kidd currently holds the record for most games played amongst active players.

USA Basketball

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Jason Kidd's first participation in USA basketball came after his first season at University of California, Berkeley. He was the only freshman chosen to take part in Team USA's 10-member team. The team played five games in Europe and finished with a record of 3–2. Kidd tied for team highs in assists per game with 4.0, and steals per game with 1.4. He also had averages of 8.4 points per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Kidd's next stint with USA basketball came in 1999 where he participated in the USA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The team finished with an undefeated record of 10–0 resulting in a gold medal and earning a berth at the 2000 Olympics. Kidd averaged 7.4 ppg, 6.8 apg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 spg and again led the team in apg and spg.

In 2000, Kidd was appointed as one of Team USA's tri-captains for the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Australia. Kidd again led the team to an undefeated record of 8–0 which resulted in team USA winning the gold medal at the Olympic games. Kidd had averages of 6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and had team highs of 4.4 apg, and 1.1 spg. Kidd also had a FG% of 51.6 and shot 50% from 3-point range.

In November 2002, Kidd was selected to participate in the 2002 USA Basketball Men's World Championship Team. However, he had to withdraw from the team due to an injury.

Kidd came back the next year and participated at the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico. Kidd again led the team to a record of 10–0, bringing home the gold medal and a berth at the 2004 Olympics. Kidd started all 10 games and had averages of 3.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.9 apg, and 1.2 spg.

However, Jason Kidd again had to withdraw from the 2004 Olympic team due to another injury.

In 2007, Kidd participated in the FIBA Americas Championship 2007. Kidd helped the team to a 10–0 record where he brought home another gold medal and a berth at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Kidd had averages of 1.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, and 1.3 spg. He also shot 60% from the field and 62.5% from 3-point. Kidd led the entire tournament with assist-to-turnover ratio of 9.20. With Kidd's help team USA averaged 116.7 ppg, and defeated their opponents by a margin of 39.5 ppg.

In 2008, Kidd participated in the 2008 Olympics where the team yet again went undefeated in winning their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics. The team, given the "Redeem team" moniker because of failures in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and 2004 Summer Olympics, were once again crowned to be the best team in world basketball.

Jason Kidd has an impressive resume in USA basketball. In his professional career, he has an undefeated record of 56–0 including exhibition games. He has brought home five gold medals: three from Olympic qualifying tournaments, one from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and one from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Personal life

In January 2001, Jason Kidd was arrested and pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse charge for assaulting his wife Joumana in anger. As part of his plea, Kidd was ordered to attend anger management classes for six months. Kidd completed the mandatory counseling and continued to attend on his own and it was reported that Kidd has since given up alcohol. He and his wife were both active in their church and were thought to have completely reconciled. On January 9, 2007, Jason Kidd filed for divorce against his wife, citing "extreme cruelty" during their relationship. Kidd contended intense jealousy, paranoia, and the threat of "false domestic abuse claims" to the police as reasons for the divorce. On February 15, 2007 Joumana Kidd filed a counterclaim for divorce, claiming that the NBA star—among countless instances of abuse—"broke her rib and damaged her hearing by smashing her head into the console of a car". The couple have three children (Trey Jason (T.J.), and twins Miah and Jazelle).

Jason Kidd announced on his website that he will marry fiancee Porschla Coleman, with whom he has a son, on September 10, 2010. Porschla is a former model and has taken over the reins of the Jason Kidd Foundation.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 79 || 79 || 33.8 || .385 || .272 || .698 || 5.4 || 7.7 || 1.9 || .3 || 11.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 81 || 81 || 37.5 || .381 || .336 || .692 || 6.8 || 9.7 || 2.2 || .3 || 16.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 22 || 22 || 36.0 || .369 || .323 || .667 || 4.1 || 9.1 || 2.0 || .4 || 9.9 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Phoenix | 33 || 23 || 35.5 || .423 || .400 || .688 || 4.8 || 9.0 || 2.4 || .4 || 11.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 82 || 82 || 38.0 || .416 || .313 || .799 || 6.2 || 9.1 || 2.0 || .3 || 11.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 50 || 50 || 41.2 || .444 || .366 || .757 || 6.8 || 10.8 || 2.3 || .4 || 16.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 67 || 67 || 39.0 || .409 || .337 || .829 || 7.2 || 10.1 || 2.0 || .4 || 14.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Phoenix | 77 || 76 || 39.8 || .411 || .297 || .814 || 6.4 || 9.8 || 2.2 || .3 || 16.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 82 || 82 || 37.3 || .391 || .321 || .814 || 7.3 || 9.9 || 2.1 || .2 || 14.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 80 || 80 || 37.4 || .414 || .341 || .841 || 6.3 || 8.9 || 2.2 || .3 || 18.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 67 || 66 || 36.6 || .384 || .321 || .827 || 6.4 || 9.2 || 1.8 || .2 || 15.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 66 || 65 || 36.9 || .398 || .360 || .740 || 7.4 || 8.3 || 1.9 || .1 || 14.4 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 80 || 80 || 37.2 || .404 || .352 || .795 || 7.3 || 8.4 || 1.9 || .4 || 13.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 80 || 80 || 36.7 || .406 || .343 || .778 || 8.2 || 9.2 || 1.6 || .3 || 13.0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | New Jersey | 51 || 51 || 37.2 || .366 || .356 || .820 || 8.1 || 10.4 || 1.5 || .3 || 11.3 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Dallas | 29 || 29 || 34.9 || .426 || .461 || .815 || 6.5 || 9.5 || 2.1 || .4 || 9.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 81 || 81 || 35.6 || .416 || .406 || .819 || 6.2 || 8.7 || 2.0 || .5 || 9.0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Dallas | 80 || 80 || 36.0 || .423 || .425 || .808 || 5.6 || 9.1 || 1.8 || .4 || 10.3 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 1187 || 1174 || 37.1 || .403 || .349 || .782 || 6.6 || 9.2 || 2.0 || .3 || 13.6 |- | align="left" | All-Star | align="left" | | 9 || 5 || 23.2 || .525 || .478 || .833 || 3.4 || 7.7 || 2.7 || .0 || 6.4

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1997 | align="left" | Phoenix | 5 || 5 || 41.4 || .396 || .364 || .526 || 6.0 || 9.8 || 2.2 || .4 || 12.0 |- | align="left" | 1998 | align="left" | Phoenix | 4 || 4 || 42.8 || .379 || .000 || .813 || 5.8 || 7.8 || 4.0 || .5 || 14.3 |- | align="left" | 1999 | align="left" | Phoenix | 3 || 3 || 42.0 || .419 || .250 || .714 || 2.3 || 10.3 || 1.7 || .3 || 15.0 |- | align="left" | 2000 | align="left" | Phoenix | 6 || 6 || 38.2 || .400 || .364 || .778 || 6.7 || 8.8 || 1.8 || .2 || 9.8 |- | align="left" | 2001 | align="left" | Phoenix | 4 || 4 || 41.5 || .319 || .235 || .750 || 6.0 || 13.3 || 2.0 || .0 || 14.3 |- | align="left" | 2002 | align="left" | New Jersey | 20 || 20 || 40.2 || .415 || .189 || .808 || 8.2 || 9.1 || 1.7 || .4 || 19.6 |- | align="left" | 2003 | align="left" | New Jersey | 20 || 20 || 42.6 || .402 || .327 || .825 || 7.7 || 8.2 || 1.8 || .2 || 20.1 |- | align="left" | 2004 | align="left" | New Jersey | 11 || 11 || 43.1 || .333 || .208 || .811 || 6.6 || 9.0 || 2.3 || .6 || 12.6 |- | align="left" | 2005 | align="left" | New Jersey | 4 || 4 || 45.5 || .388 || .367 || .545 || 9.0 || 7.3 || 2.5 || .0 || 17.3 |- | align="left" | 2006 | align="left" | New Jersey | 11 || 11 || 40.9 || .371 || .300 || .826 || 7.6 || 9.6 || 1.5 || .2 || 12.0 |- | align="left" | 2007 | align="left" | New Jersey | 12 || 12 || 40.3 || .432 || .420 || .520 || 10.9 || 10.9 || 1.8 || .4 || 14.6 |- | align="left" | 2008 | align="left" | Dallas | 5 || 5 || 36.0 || .421 || .462 || .625 || 6.4 || 6.8 || 1.4 || .4 || 8.6 |- | align="left" | 2009 | align="left" | Dallas | 10 || 10 || 38.6 || .458 || .447 || .850 || 5.8 || 5.9 || 2.2 || .3 || 11.4 |- | align="left" | 2010 | align="left" | Dallas | 6 || 6 || 40.5 || .304 || .321 || .917 || 6.8 || 7.0 || 2.3 || .2 || 8.0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 121 || 121 || 41.0 || .395 || .315 || .776 || 7.4 || 8.8 || 2.0 || .3 || 14.8

NBA highlights

10-time NBA All-Star: 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010

6-time All-NBA:

:* First Team: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 :* Second Team: 2003

9-time All-Defensive Selection:

:* First Team : 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006 :* Second Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007

NBA co-Rookie of the Year: 1995 (with Grant Hill)

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 1995

NBA All-Star Skills Challenge champion: 2003

5-time NBA regular-season leader, assists per game: 1999 (10.8), 2000 (10.1), 2001 (9.8), 2003 (8.9), 2004 (9.2)

3-time NBA regular-season leader, total assists: 1999 (539), 2001 (753), 2003 (711)

NBA regular-season leader, total steals: 2002 (175)

NBA records

Regular season

Turnovers, game: 14, Phoenix Suns vs. New York Knicks,

Tied with John Drew

Rebounds by a guard, career: 7,853

Ranks 2nd in NBA history

Regular season

Assists, career: 11,007 (as of November 13, 2010)

Playoffs

Triple-doubles, career: 11

Wilt Chamberlain and Fat Lever also achieved this.

Only player in the past 10 years to record a triple-double in three consecutive games — to

11th player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career steals

Phoenix Suns franchise records

Regular season

Consecutive points scored in a game: 16, at Houston Rockets, Broken by Steve Nash on

Three-point field goals made, game: 8, at Golden State Warriors, Broken by Quentin Richardson on

Free throw attempts, half: 19, second half, vs. Vancouver Grizzlies,

Assists, quarter: 10, first quarter, vs. Charlotte Hornets, Broken by Steve Nash on

Turnovers, game: 14, vs. New York Knicks,

Triple-doubles, career: 25

Triple-doubles, season: 7, twice (, )

New Jersey Nets franchise records

Regular season

Three-point field goals made, career: 813

Three-point field goal attempts, career: 2,377

Assists, career: 4,620

Assists, season: 808 ()

Steals, career: 950

Turnovers, game: 12, twice 12, at Atlanta Hawks, 12, vs. Philadelphia 76ers,

Tied with Kevin Porter

Triple-doubles, career: 61

Triple-doubles, season: 12, twice (, )

Playoffs

Games played, career: 78

Tied with Richard Jefferson

Minutes played, career: 3,245

Minutes played, game: 57, at Detroit Pistons, (3 OT)

Points, career: 1,308

Field goals made, career: 466

Field goal attempts, career: 1,171

Three-point field goals made, career: 121

Three-point field goals made, game: 5, thrice 5, at Boston Celtics, (2 OT) 5, vs. Toronto Raptors, 5, vs. Cleveland Cavaliers,

Three-point field goal attempts, career: 403

Three-point field goal attempts, game: 10, thrice 10, at Boston Celtics, (2 OT) 10, vs. San Antonio Spurs, 10, vs. Miami Heat,

Rebounds, career: 642

Offensive rebounds, career: 149

Defensive rebounds, career: 493

Assists, career: 710

Assists, game: 19, vs. Toronto Raptors,

Steals, career: 144

Dallas Mavericks franchise records

Regular season

Assists, season: 783 () (9.7 apg)

Assists, game (overtime): 25, vs. Utah Jazz, (2 OT)

Assists, game (regulation): 20, vs. Phoenix Suns,

Assists, half: 16, first half, vs. Phoenix Suns,

Assists, overtime: 5, first overtime, vs. Seattle SuperSonics,

Games with 10 or more assists, season: 43,

Consecutive games with 10 or more assists: 8, to

Steals, overtime: 2, first overtime, vs. Utah Jazz,

Tied with four other players

Personal fouls, overtime: 3, first overtime, vs. Vancouver Grizzlies,

Turnovers, half: 7, second half, vs. Los Angeles Clippers,

Tied with Jim Jackson and Antoine Walker

Turnovers, quarter: 6, twice 6, third quarter, at Sacramento Kings, 6, fourth quarter, vs. Los Angeles Clippers,

Triple-doubles, career: 19

Triple-doubles, season: 9 ()

Rookie

Kidd's rookie season was .

Three-point field goals, game: 8, at Houston Rockets, (2 OT)

Three-point field goal attempts, game: 12, at Houston Rockets, (2 OT)

Assists, season: 607

Assists, game: 17, at Golden State Warriors,

Steals, season: 151

Starts: 79

Playoffs

Steals, 5-game series: 12, vs. San Antonio Spurs, 2009 (2.4 spg)

Turnovers, game (regulation): 8, at Denver Nuggets,

Turnovers, half: 6, second half, at Denver Nuggets,

Turnovers, quarter: 4, third quarter, at Denver Nuggets,

Tied with Sam Perkins

Other

1992 Naismith High School Player of the Year

USA Today and PARADE 1992 National High School Player of the Year

Named First Team All-American as a sophomore at UC Berkeley.

Member of the 2000 U.S.A. Dream Team which won gold at the Sydney Olympics.

Member of the 2003 U.S.A. Basketball Men's Senior National Team.

Named to the USA Today All-time All-USA Second Team in 2003.

Featured on the cover of NBA Live 2003.

University of California jersey (5) retired in 2004.

Gold Medal with Team USA, Tournament of Americas Olympic Qualifiers

Named USA Basketball's 2007 Male Athlete of the Year.

Gold Medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Ranked #28 in SLAM Magazine's 2009 revision of the top 50 greatest players of all time (published in the August 2009 issue)

See also

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

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

Notes

External links

NBA.com profile - Jason Kidd

}}

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Irish descent Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:California Golden Bears men's basketball players Category:Dallas Mavericks draft picks Category:Dallas Mavericks players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:New Jersey Nets players Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Oakland, California Category:People from Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Category:Point guards Category:Phoenix Suns players Category:United States men's national basketball team members

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Caption	Anthony with the Nuggets against the Mavericks
Position	Small forward
Number	15
Height ft	6
Height in	8
Weight lb	228
Birth date	May 29, 1984
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York
High school	Towson Catholic, Oak Hill Academy
Team	Denver Nuggets
College	Syracuse
Career start	2003
Nationality	American
Draft round	1
Draft pick	3
Draft team	Denver Nuggets
Draft year	2003
Teams
Highlights

Carmelo Kiyan Anthony (born May 29, 1984), nicknamed "Melo", is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high school career at Towson Catholic High School and Oak Hill Academy, Anthony attended Syracuse University for college where he led the Orangemen to their first National Championship in 2003. He earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award and was named the Most Valuable Player of NCAA East Regional. After one season at Syracuse University, Anthony left college to enter the 2003 NBA Draft, where he was selected as the third pick by the Nuggets.

Since entering the NBA, Anthony has emerged as one of the most well-known and popular players in the league. He was named to the All-Rookie team, to the All-Star team three times and to the All-NBA team four times. Anthony has led the Nuggets to two division titles and to the playoffs every season since his rookie year. In 2009, he helped the Nuggets advance to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1985. As a member of the USA national team, Anthony won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Early life and high school

Anthony was born in the Red Hook projects in Brooklyn, New York City. He was born to a Puerto Rican father and an African American mother. His father, after whom he is named, died of cancer when Anthony was two years old. When Anthony turned eight, his family moved to Baltimore, where he honed not only his athletic skills, but his survival skills. Kenny Minor, one of Anthony's childhood friends, said, "from drugs, to killings, to anything you can name that goes on in the roughest parts of town, we've seen and witnessed hands on. Those are the things that teach you toughness and keep you mentally focused on your goals." Sports would serve as an important diversion from the violence and drug dealing that were pervasive in the housing projects a few blocks from the homes of Anthony and his friends.

Anthony commuted to Towson Catholic High School for his first three years of high school. During the summer of 2000, Anthony grew five inches into the frame of a 6-5 swingman. He suddenly became one of the area’s top players and made a name for himself in the area, being named The Baltimore Sun's metro player of the year in 2001, as well as Baltimore Catholic League player of the year. During his sophomore year, he averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Due to his struggles with the ACT, his family and friends wondered whether Anthony would forget about college and move on to the NBA. Anthony's 33-point outburst against the University of Texas in the Final Four set an NCAA tournament record for most points by a freshman. In the championship game against the University of Kansas, Anthony had 20 points and 10 rebounds. For his efforts during the NCAA tournament, Anthony earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player Award. Afterwards, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim described Anthony as "[…] by far, the best player in college basketball. It wasn't even close. Nobody was even close to him last year in college basketball. That's the bottom line".

Anthony said that he originally planned to stay at Syracuse for two to three seasons, but having already accomplished everything he set out to do, he chose to abandon his collegiate career (with Boeheim's blessing) and declared himself eligible for the 2003 NBA Draft. Some of Anthony's highlights in his time with Syracuse include being named Second-Team All-American by the Associated Press as a freshman, leading his team to a 30-5 record, capturing the school's first ever NCAA title and being the consensus pick for NCAA Freshman of the Year. He was also named to the All-Big East First Team and was the consensus selection for the Big East Conference Freshman of the Year.

NBA career

Rookie season

Anthony's NBA career began on June 26, 2003, when he was chosen in the first round (3rd overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft draft by the Denver Nuggets. He was selected behind LeBron James (1st overall, Cleveland Cavaliers) and Darko Miličić (2nd overall, Detroit Pistons). He made his NBA regular season debut on October 29, 2003, in an 80–72 home win against the San Antonio Spurs. Anthony finished the night with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. In just his sixth career NBA game (November 7 versus the Los Angeles Clippers), Anthony scored 30 points, becoming the second youngest player in NBA history to score 30 points or more in a game (19 years, 151 days; Kobe Bryant was the youngest). It was the fewest number of games a Nuggets rookie took to score 30 points in a contest since the ABA-NBA merger. On February 9, 2004, against the Memphis Grizzlies, Anthony became the third-youngest player to reach the 1,000-point plateau in NBA history with a 20-point effort in an 86–83 win.

On February 13, 2004, Anthony participated in the Got Milk? Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend. On March 30, 2004, he scored 41 points against the Seattle SuperSonics to set a new Denver Nuggets franchise record for most points in a game by a rookie. He also became the second-youngest player (19 years, 305 days) to score at least 40 points in a game in NBA history. After winning the Rookie of the Month award for the Western Conference in the month of April, Anthony became the fourth player in NBA history to capture all six of the Rookie of the Month awards in a season. Anthony averaged 21.0 ppg during the season, which was more than any other rookie. Anthony was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, finishing as the runner-up to the Cavaliers rookie standout, James.

Anthony was a major part in the turn around of the Denver Nuggets from league laughingstock to playoff contender. In the season before Anthony was drafted by the team, the Nuggets finished with a 17–65 record, which tied them for worst in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They finished the 2003-04 campaign with a 43–39 overall record, qualifying them as the eighth seed for the post-season. Anthony became the first NBA rookie to lead a playoff team in scoring since David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs during the 1989–90 season. The Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets in five games.

2004–05 season

In Anthony's second season, he averaged 20.8 points per game, ranking him 19th in the NBA. Anthony placed 16th in the NBA for points per 48 minutes. On December 4, 2004, versus the Miami Heat, Anthony became the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career points. Only James and Bryant were younger when they reached that plateau. Anthony played again in the Got Milk? Rookie Challenge, this time suiting up for the sophomore squad. In front of his home fans of Denver (who were hosting the 2005 All-Star Game), Anthony scored a game-high 31 points to go along with 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, en route to becoming the MVP of the game.

With Anthony's help, the Nuggets improved their season record by six games from the previous season, ending with a mark of 49–33. The Nuggets finished seventh place in the Western Conference (one spot higher than they finished the previous season). Denver faced the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round, winning the first game in San Antonio, 93–87. However, the Spurs won the next four games, eliminating the Nuggets from the playoffs.

2005–06 season

during the 2005-06 season.]] Anthony played and started in 80 games during the 2005–06 season. He averaged 26.5 ppg (8th, NBA), 2.7 apg, 4.9 rpg and 1.1 spg. His eighth place finish in NBA scoring was the highest finish by a Denver player since the 1990–91 season, when Nuggets guard Michael Adams finished the season sixth in NBA scoring. On November 23, 2005, with the Nuggets facing the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champion Detroit Pistons, Anthony hauled down his 1,000th career rebound. A month later, Anthony recorded a then career-high 45 points in a losing effort against the Philadelphia 76ers. On March 17, 2006, versus the Memphis Grizzlies, he scored 33 points to push his career point total over the 5,000 mark. Also, in doing so, he became the second youngest player to accomplish that feat (behind James). As the month of March came to a close, the Nuggets finished 11–5, and Anthony was named as the NBA Player of the Month for March. He also took home Player of the Week honors for March 13, 2006 – March 19, 2006.

During the season, Anthony made five game-winning shots in the last five seconds: at Houston on January 8, 2006; at home versus Phoenix on January 10; at Minnesota on February 24; at Indiana on March 15; at home versus the Los Angeles Lakers on April 6. All five of those game-winners were made on jump shots, while the shot against Minnesota was a three-point field goal. Anthony also made a shot in the final seconds to force overtime vs. the Dallas Mavericks on January 6. He made shots in the final 22 seconds against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 18, 2006, and the Philadelphia 76ers on March 9, which gave the Nuggets leads they would never lose. Anthony was named to the All-NBA Third Team for the season, alongside Phoenix' Shawn Marion, Houston's Yao Ming, Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Washington's Gilbert Arenas.

The Nuggets finished the season in third place, winning the Northwest Division for the first time in Anthony's career. Denver faced the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers held home court advantage in the series, due to ending the regular season with a better record (Denver finished 44-38; Los Angeles finished 47–35). The Clippers won the first two games of the series on their home floor. The Nuggets split their games at home in Denver (winning game three; losing game four). Denver then lost game five at Los Angeles, which eliminated the Nuggets from the playoffs. After the season, Anthony signed a 5 year, $80 million extension with the Nuggets.

2006–07 season

In the eighth game of the season (a 117-109 home win against the Toronto Raptors), Anthony tied the franchise record of six-straight 30-point games recorded by Alex English (1982-83 season). Coincidentally, Alex English witnessed Anthony tie his record as English is now an Assistant Coach with the Toronto Raptors. Anthony fell short of establishing a new record in his ninth game (a 113–109 home victory over the Chicago Bulls) on November 21, as he finished with 29 points. After the Chicago victory, Anthony again tied the club record of six-straight 30-point games, failing to break it the second time around, as he scored 24 points in his 16th game (a 98-96 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks) on December 6. During a game at Madison Square Garden on December 16, Anthony was one of many players involved in the infamous Knicks–Nuggets brawl. Footage showed Anthony laying a punch on the face of New York's Mardy Collins and subsequently backing away. As a result of his actions, Anthony was suspended for 15 games by NBA commissioner David Stern. Shortly thereafter, the Nuggets traded for Allen Iverson in a bid to form a deadly combination with Anthony. The duo didn't get to play alongside one another until a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 22, which was the day Anthony was allowed to return from his 15-game suspension. Anthony finished the game with 28 points, as he and Iverson combined for 51 points.

On February 2, 2007, Anthony and fellow teammate J.R. Smith were involved in a minor car accident. Neither player was injured in the collision. The only information released by the team was that the car Smith was driving belonged to Anthony. Three days later, Anthony recorded his first career triple-double, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in a 113–108 loss to the Phoenix Suns. When the reserves for the Western Conference All-Star team were announced, Anthony was not included on the roster. However, with Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer out with injuries, NBA commissioner David Stern chose Anthony as a replacement (along with Josh Howard). Anthony scored 20 points with 9 rebounds in his All-Star debut. Anthony was the first Denver Nugget to be named an All-Star since Antonio McDyess in 2001.

Anthony won Player of the Week honors three times during the season (November 20–November 26; November 27–December 3; and February 5–February 11), and received Player of the Month honors for April, after leading the Nuggets to a 10-1 record for the month and into sixth place in the final regular season standings of the Western Conference. Anthony finished the season as the league's second leading scorer behind Bryant, with an average of 28.9 ppg, while adding 6.0 rpg, 3.8 apg and 1.2 spg. He was named to All-NBA Third Team for the second straight year, along with Miami's Dwyane Wade, Detroit's Chauncy Billups, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and Orlando's Dwight Howard. For the second time in three years, Anthony and the sixth-seeded Nuggets faced the third-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. In a virtual repeat of the 2005 first round playoff matchup between the two teams, Denver won the first game in San Antonio, 95-89, only to lose the next four games. The Nuggets were eliminated in the first round for the fourth straight year. In the playoff series against the Spurs, Anthony averaged a team-high 26.8 ppg to go along with 8.6 rpg, 1.2 apg and 1.0 spg.

2007–08 season

On January 24, 2008, Anthony was named to his second consecutive NBA All-Star Game—his first as a starter. He finished as the leading vote-getter among Western Conference forwards (1,723,701 votes) and second in overall voting to Kobe Bryant (2,004,940 votes) among all Western Conference players. He had a field goal percentage of .760 on a 19-of-25 shooting effort, and his shooting percentage was the second highest in the last 13 years for a player who took 25 or more shots in a game (Bryant was first with a .769 field goal percentage on a 20-of-26 shooting effort, in a 99–94 road victory over the Houston Rockets on December 21, 2000). On March 27, in a home win over the Dallas Mavericks, Anthony scored his 9,000th career point. He played in 77 games during the regular season, finishing as the NBA's fourth-leading scorer with 25.7 points per game, and had career-highs in rebounds per game (7.4) and steals per game (1.3). He tied his career-high in blocks per game (0.5), and ended the season with 3.4 assists per game, which was the second-best mark of his career.

The Nuggets finished the 2007–08 season with exactly 50 wins (50–32 overall record, tied for the third-best all-time Nuggets record since the team officially joined the NBA in 1976), following a 120-111 home victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the last game of the season. It was the first time since the 1987-88 NBA season that the Nuggets finished with at least 50 wins in a season. For the series, Anthony averaged 22.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg (playoff career-high), 2.0 apg and 0.5 spg.

2008–09 season

The 2008–09 campaign began with Allen Iverson being traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guard Chauncey Billups. On December 10, 2008, in a 116-105 home win over the Timberwolves, Anthony tied George Gervin for the most points scored in one quarter in NBA history by scoring 33 points in the third quarter. Gervin had set the record when he was competing against David Thompson for the scoring title on the last day of the 1977–78 season. Anthony shot 12 of 15 (80%) in the third quarter and finished the game with 45 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. On January 4, 2009, Anthony broke a bone in his hand in a game against the Indiana Pacers. He opted to have the hand splinted rather than have surgery; his recovery time was estimated at three to four weeks. He had already missed three games in late December with a sore elbow. Anthony returned from injury and to the Nuggets starting lineup on January 30, 2009 in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats in which he scored 19 points. Anthony was suspended for one game by the Nuggets for staying on the court and refusing to leave the game after coach George Karl benched him during a game against the Pacers.

The Nuggets won the Northwest Division and placed 2nd in the Western Conference, finishing the season with a franchise record-tying 54 wins (54–28 overall). Anthony averaged 22.8 ppg and made a career high 37.1% of his shots from three-point range. After losing in 5 straight playoff appearances (2004–2008), on April 29, 2009, Anthony won his first playoff series when the Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets at home 107–86 where Anthony finished with a playoff career high 34 points and 4 steals. In a post-game conference Anthony said "Yeah, finally.. Took me 5 years to get that gorilla off my back, it's a great feeling." The Nuggets beat the Hornets in five games in the first round of the playoffs and proceeded to beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the conference semifinals with Anthony scoring 30 points in a solid game 5 performance. In the third game of the semifinals, Anthony made a last second three point shot to give the Nuggets the win after being down by 2 points (103–105). Denver advanced to the conference finals, but was eliminated, 4-2, by the Los Angeles Lakers on his birthday.

2009–10 season

in Taiwan.]] In the opening two games of the 2009–10 season, Anthony totaled 71 points, scoring 30 points in the home opener and 41 the next night, in wins against division rivals Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers respectively. Anthony became one of three players in the Nuggets' history to open with 70 or more points through two games—tied with Nick Van Exel with 71 points—surpassed only by Alex English who did it twice, in 1985 (79) and 1988 (74). It was also only the second time since 1987 that the Nuggets started the season 2–0. a game after his 41-point explosion against the Blazers, becoming the first Nugget to have scored back-to-back 40-point games since Michael Adams did it in 1991. It was the first time they went 3–0 since 1985.

In the fifteenth regular season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony entered the game leading the league in points per game (30.2) and was the only player in the league to score at least 20 points in every game. He finished the game with 22 points which was his fifteenth consecutive game with at least 20 points breaking the previous franchise record of 14 straight set by English. The following game, Anthony scored a career-high 50 points in a home game against the New York Knicks while teammate Chauncey Billups added 32 points in the game, making them only the third duo in NBA history to score at least 50 and 30 points respectively. Two days later, Anthony scored 19 points in the first quarter—tying a season-high he made in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers—in a home loss to the Timberwolves. On January 21, 2010, Anthony was named as a starter for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game leading the Western Conference ballots in votes for forwards. This was Anthony's third All-Star appearance and second as a starter. He finished the game with a team-high 27 points and 10 rebounds, in a losing effort as the team bowed to the Eastern Conference team.

In the team's first game after the All-Star Game, the Nuggets visited the Cleveland Cavaliers in a highly-anticipated game with the Cavaliers having a 13-game winning streak. While LeBron James posted a triple-double of 43 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists, Anthony compiled 40 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in an overtime win as Anthony nailed a jumper over the outstretched arms of James with just 1.9 seconds left in the game, ending the Cavaliers' win streak. On March 26, 2010, Anthony made a game-winning shot at the buzzer, after missing his first attempt, against the Toronto Raptors. The Nuggets concluded the 2009–10 regular season with a 53-29 record and the Northwest Division title for the second straight season facing the Utah Jazz in the first-round. In Game 1, Anthony scored a playoff-career high 42 points. This also matched a franchise-playoff high for scoring in a single playoff game, tied with Alex English. However, the Nuggets lost the series to the Utah Jazz 4-2, with Anthony averaging a playoff career-high 30.7 points per game, along with 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals.

2010–11 season

On November 15, 2010, Anthony had 20 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the first 20-20 game of his career against the Phoenix Suns. He also hit game-winning jumper at the buzzer against the Bulls on November 26, 2010. In December 2010, Anthony missed five games due to the death of his sister Michelle. He returned to the lineup in a game against the Kings on January 1, 2011.

United States national team

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Anthony was one of 12 players named to the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team in the summer of 2002. He was a member of the bronze-medal winning Team USA at the 2002 Men’s Junior World Championship held in La Asuncion, Margarita, Venezuela. He started all five contests and averaged a team-best 15.6 ppg despite playing an average of just 22.2 minutes an outing. His 6.2 rebound mark ranked second on the club. Anthony had 15 points and nine rebounds in a first-round win against Dominican Republic. He had 21 points and seven boards in 21 minutes versus Mexico, another Team USA triumph. He keyed a 75-73 victory against Argentina with a team-leading 23 points. In a two-point semifinal loss to host Venezuela, Anthony contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. Team USA earned the bronze by beating Argentina, 71-65. The squad was coached by Oregon mentor Ernie Kent. Anthony had previous USA Basketball experience as a participant in the 2001 Youth Development Festival.

After his rookie season, Anthony was chosen as a member of the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He averaged 2.4 ppg and 1.6 apg. Anthony was named co-captain (along with fellow 2003 draftees LeBron James and Dwyane Wade) of Team USA at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The team won the bronze medal. On August 23, 2006, Anthony set the U.S. scoring record in a game with 35 points against Italy in the said FIBA tournament. The record was previously held by Kenny Anderson with 34 points in 1990. Anthony was named to the FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Team, posting averages of 19.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.6 apg.

Anthony was also named to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, again alongside James and Wade, with Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd among others. The team won its games by an average winning margin of 32.2 points, eliminating Australia in the quarterfinals by 31 and beating Argentina by 20 points. Anthony scored 21 points against Argentina, making 3 of 14 field goals and 13-of-13 in free throws, setting USA Olympic game records for made free throws and free throw percentage. In the gold medal game, the United States defeated 2006 World Champion Spain, with Anthony scoring 13 points. Anthony posted averages of 11.5 ppg (92 points/8 games), 4.3 rpg (34 rebounds/8 games) and 1.0 spg (8 steals/8 games).

Player profile

Anthony plays the small forward position though he is also capable of playing power forward. His scoring prowess is considered his best asset with his ability to take over any game on the offensive end; he shares the single-game NBA record for mosts points in one quarter with thirty-three. On offense, Anthony is recognized for being a prolific scorer with a variety of crafty offensive moves. Listed at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and 228 pounds (103 kg), he has strength and quickness to be an immediate and consistent scoring threat in the post. He also likes creating space from his defenders which allows him to step into his jump shot or put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket and get to the free throw line. Anthony is often known for being one of the premier clutch performers in the NBA; during the 2005–06 season, Anthony made five game-winning shots in the last five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime. Despite being a prolific scorer, he has been criticized for his defense and has never been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Denver | 82 || 82 || 36.5 || .426 || .322 || .777 || 6.1 || 2.8 || 1.2 || 0.5 || 21.0 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Denver | 75 || 75 || 34.8 || .431 || .266 || .796 || 5.7 || 2.6 || .9 || 0.4 || 20.8 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Denver | 80 || 80 || 36.8 || .481 || .243 || .808 || 4.9 || 2.7 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 26.5 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Denver | 65 || 65 || 38.2 || .476 || .268 || .808 || 6.0 || 3.8 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 28.9 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Denver | 77 || 77 || 36.4 || .492 || .354 || .786 || 7.4 || 3.4 || 1.3 || 0.5 || 25.7 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Denver | 66 || 66 || 34.3 || .443 || .371 || .793 || 6.8 || 3.4 || 1.1 || 0.4 || 22.8 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Denver | 69 || 69 || 38.2 || .458 || .316 || .830 || 6.6 || 3.2 || 1.3 || 0.4 || 28.2 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 514 || 514 || 36.5 || .459 || .308 || .801 || 6.2 || 3.1 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 24.7 |- | align="left" | All-Star | align="left" | | 3 || 2 || 25.0 || .574 || .250 || .500 || 8.7 || 1.3 || .3 || 0.0 || 21.7

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Denver | 4 || 4 || 35.8 || .328 || .182 || .800 || 8.3 || 2.8 || 1.2 || .0 || 15.0 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Denver | 5 || 5 || 36.0 || .422 || .000 || .813 || 5.4 || 2.0 || .6 || .2 || 19.2 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Denver | 5 || 5 || 38.6 || .333 || .000 || .750 || 6.6 || 2.8 || .8 || .2 || 21.0 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Denver | 5 || 5 || 42.0 || .480 || .500 || .795 || 8.6 || 1.2 || 1.0 || .0 || 26.8 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Denver | 4 || 4 || 36.5 || .364 || .250 || .828 || 9.5 || 2.0 || .5 || .2 || 22.5 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Denver | 16 || 16 || 38.3 || .453 || .364 || .826 || 5.8 || 4.1 || 1.8 || .6 || 27.2 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Denver | 6 || 6 || 42.3 || .464 || .316 || .877 || 8.5 || 3.2 || 2.0 || .5 || 30.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 45 || 45 || 38.6 || .424 || .339 || .818 || 7.1 || 3.0 || 1.3 || .4 || 24.5

Awards and honors

4× All-NBA selection:

:*Second team: 2010 :*Third team: 2006, 2007, 2009

3× NBA All-Star: 2007, 2008, 2010

NBA Rookie Challenge MVP: 2005

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004

'''Bronze medal with Team USA, 2004 Summer Olympic Games

'''Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championship

'''Gold medal with Team USA, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship

'''Gold medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games

Controversies

Since entering the NBA, Anthony has been the subject of numerous controversies. In 2004, he was cited for marijuana possession, after inspectors at Denver International Airport found marijuana in his backpack. Charges were later dropped after Anthony’s friend, James Cunningham, of St. Louis, signed an affidavit taking responsibility for the marijuana. That same year, Anthony appeared in a video entitled, Stop Snitchin', which warned that residents of Baltimore who collaborated with the police would face violence. Anthony later distanced himself from this video. In 2006, Anthony’s friend, Tyler Brandon Smith, was pulled over in Anthony’s vehicle and cited for marijuana possession and three traffic violations. He was suspended 15 games as a result. Police spokesperson Detective Sharon Hahn said Anthony, who was alone in the car, failed a series of sobriety tests. He was ticketed and then released at police headquarters to a "sober responsible party."

Personal life

Anthony has two brothers, Robert and Wilford, and a half-sister, Daphne. His mother, Mary, is African American and his father was Puerto Rican. Anthony and La La were married by Michael Eric Dyson on 10 July 2010 at Cipriani's in New York City before 320 guests. The ceremony was filmed by VH1 for use in a reality series on the couple, titled La La's Full Court Wedding.

Charity work

on June 17, 2003]] Off the court, Anthony donates time and money to causes in Denver and Baltimore. In Denver, Anthony is a spokesman for the Family Resource Center and helps organize a Christmas party, entitled "A Very Melo Christmas," for less well-off children. In Baltimore, Anthony hosts an annual 3-on-3 tournament, known as "Melo's H.O.O.D. Movement 3 on 3 Challenge (Holding Our Own Destiny)" and is helping fund the revitalization of a local community center for local youth. Anthony opened "The Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center" in Baltimore on December 14, 2006. He contributed $1.5 million to the Living Classrooms Foundation, a non-profit organization that "provides innovative hands-on-education, job-training and community service programs for over 35,000 children, youth and young adults in the east Baltimore community."

After the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, Anthony donated $35,000 to relief efforts. He donated $1,000 per point scored against San Antonio and Houston on January 8 and 9, 2005 respectively. The practice facility will be called the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center. For charitable contributions totaling $4,282,000, Anthony was listed as number eight in "The Giving Back 30 List of Largest Charitable Donations by Celebrities in 2006"

Other activities

Anthony was a guest star in the "Lost and Found" episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. He also appeared in the music video for Common's song "Be" from the album Be in 2005. Anthony is the only player to appear on the cover of all three EA Sports basketball franchises (NCAA March Madness, NBA Live and NBA Street). In January 2009, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame selected Anthony as its professional athlete of the year for 2008. He and wrestler Henry Cejudo, also a 2008 gold medalist, were chosen to be the special award headliners for the induction banquet held on April 14, 2009. On August 24, 2010, it was announced that Anthony and Dwight Howard will star in a movie together titled Amazing.

See also

List of famous Puerto Ricans

List of famous African-Americans

Kross Over Entertainment

Air Melo Line

References

External links

Official Website

Camelo Anthony's U.S. Olympic Team bio

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Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:American people of Puerto Rican descent Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Denver Nuggets draft picks Category:Denver Nuggets players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:Puerto Rican basketball players Category:Small forwards Category:Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Category:United States men's national basketball team members

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Brandon Jennings
Caption	Jennings with the Bucks
Team	Milwaukee Bucks
Number	3
Position	Point guard
Height ft	6
Height in	1
Weight lb	169
Nationality	American
Birth date	September 23, 1989
Birth place	Compton, California
Draft round	1
Draft pick	10
Draft year	2009
Draft team	Milwaukee Bucks
High school	Dominguez HS (Compton, California)Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
Career start	2008
Teams
Highlights

Brandon Jennings (born September 23, 1989 in Compton, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays at point guard.

Jennings was a highly acclaimed high school player, averaging 32.7 points and 7.4 assists as a senior, and won all major player of the year awards in his senior year. After graduating from Oak Hill Academy, he decided to play professional basketball with the Italian club Lottomatica Roma instead of playing collegiately for the University of Arizona Wildcats, leading to controversy and debate on the NBA's "prep-to-pro" policy adopted in 2006. After a year in Italy, Jennings declared for the 2009 NBA Draft and was selected as a lottery pick by the Bucks, as the tenth overall pick in the draft.

Early life

Brandon Jennings was born to Alice Knox and Bryan Jennings. He has a brother named Terrence Phillips.

High school

In his last year of high school, Jennings averaged 32.7 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game and set the school record for points in a season. This performance earned him some of high school basketball’s most prestigious awards: the 2008 Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, 2007–08 Gatorade Player of the Year (Virginia), 2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year and 2008 EA Sports Player of the Year. He led his 2006–2007 team to a 41–1 record and the top ranking in the USA Today Super 25 list of high school teams.

College plans

In August 2006, he chose to attend USC. On April 24, 2007, he decided instead to join the University of Arizona Wildcats, citing Arizona's quality academic faculty and his desire to play with Jerryd Bayless. (Bayless left after one season to enter the 2008 NBA Draft.) In November 2007, SLAM Magazine’s third edition of PUNKS featured Jennings on the cover along with three other top-rated high school guards (Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Lance Stephenson).

In June 2009, Jennings attended the premiere of Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch's basketball movie Gunnin' For That #1 Spot at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem. Also attending were Kevin Love, Lance Stephenson, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, DJ Augustin, and Adam Yauch. The film follows eight top high school players—including Jennings—from their hometowns to NYC, for the 2006 Elite 24 at Rucker Park.

In June 2008, Jennings announced that he was considering becoming the first American to skip college to play professionally in Europe. The NBA requires players to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school before entering the league, meaning that Jennings could not enter the 2008 NBA draft. Jennings declared that his goal was to play in the NBA and that playing overseas instead of at an American college could be his best route to gain experience and make money until he was eligible to join the NBA. At the time, Jennings was ranked as the No. 1 prospective college freshman by Scout.com, No. 1 by ESPN.com and No. 4 by Rivals.com.

Italian career

On July 16, 2008, Jennings signed with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian Lega A. The contract he signed with Roma was for $1.65 million net income guaranteed and after earning the contract with Lottomatica, Under Armour gave Jennings a $2 million contract to showcase their products in the Euroleague. Jennings was the first player to play for a European team rather than play for a college basketball team since the NBA's age restriction rule was implemented.

In the Italian Lega A 2008-09 season, Jennings averaged in 27 games, 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals in 17.0 minutes per game. He shot 35.1 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from 3 point range in Lega A play. In 16 Euroleague games, Jennings averaged 7.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 19.6 minutes per game. In the Euroleague he shot 38.7 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from 3 point range.

NBA career

.]] Jennings was selected tenth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2009 NBA Draft. He became the first player who skipped college to play professional basketball in Europe to be drafted by an NBA team. Jennings also made a notable appearance at the draft. He had initially decided not to attend the draft and preferred to be at a family function during the draft. After he was drafted by the Bucks, he left the family function and headed to Madison Square Garden. He later came out on stage after the 14th pick was announced to have his picture taken with NBA commissioner David Stern, just like all drafted players who attend the draft.

During Jennings's NBA regular season debut on October 30, 2009, against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jennings recorded 17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and hit 2 three-point shots, just shy of a triple-double, and played 34 minutes. In his second game, on October 31, 2009, against the Detroit Pistons, also the debut in Bradley Center, Jennings scored 16 points during the third quarter and a team-high 24 points for the game to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their first victory of the 2009–10 regular season.

On November 14, 2009, after a scoreless first quarter, Jennings scored 29 points in the 3rd quarter against Golden State en route to a total of 55 points in the game to break the team record for most points by a rookie previously set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970. Jennings's performance was the most points scored by a rookie since Earl "The Pearl" Monroe scored 56 in 1968. He became the youngest player to ever score 55, collecting the second-highest total for a player under 21, behind only LeBron James's 56 points in March 2005, and the second-most points scored by a Milwaukee Buck (behind Michael Redd's 57 in 2006). On February 2, 2010, he was selected to compete in the Skills Challenge.

On October 30, 2010, Jennings recorded his first ever triple double, with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Charlotte Bobcats. On December 15, 2010, Jennings broke his left foot against the San Antonio Spurs when he came down awkwardly on his ankle. Despite the injury, he played 30 minutes the following game against the Jazz. The team later confirmed that Jennings would miss the next four to six weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot.

NBA career statistics

Regular Season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 82 || 82 || 32.6 || .371 || .374 || .817 || 3.4 || 5.7 || 1.3 || .2 || 15.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 82 || 32.6 || .371 || .374 || .817 || 3.4 || 5.7 || 1.3 || .2 || 15.5

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009-10 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 7 || 7 || 35.6 || .408 || .293 || .808 || 3.0 || 3.6 || 1.1 || .6 || 18.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 7 || 7 || 35.6 || .408 || .293 || .808 || 3.0 || 3.6 || 1.1 || .6 || 18.7

Awards

2005 Press Telegram Freshmen Player of the Year

Named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Les Schwab Invitational Tournament

Co-MVP of the 2007 Elite 24 Hoops Classic (with Tyreke Evans)

2007 Las Vegas Easter Classic Most Valuable Player

2007 NBAPS Top 100 High School Camp Best Playmaker

2007 The Goazcats.com Showdown Most Valuable Player

2008 Naismith Male Player of the year

2007–08 Gatorade Player of the year Virginia

2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year

2008 EA SPORTS National Player of the Year

2008 McDonald's All-American

2007–08 MaxPreps National Player of the Year

2008 Jordan Brand Classic Most Valuable Player for the East

No. 1 rated senior by ESPN (2008)

No. 1 rated senior by Van Coleman Hoopmaster (2008)

No. 1 rated senior by Clark Franics Hoopscoop (2007 and 2008)

No. 1 rated senior by Dave Telep Scout.com 2008

Eastern Conference NBA Rookie of the Month (Oct./Nov. 2009)

Eastern Conference NBA Rookie of the Month (Dec. 2009)

Eastern Conference NBA Rookie of the Month (Jan. 2010)

2009-10 NBA 1st Team All-Rookie (unanimous selection)

Records

NBA records

Youngest player in NBA history to score 50 or more points in a game

:* :*55, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors,

Ranks 2nd in NBA history in:

Field goals made, quarter

:*12, third quarter, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors, :*Tied with six other players who have made 12 field goals in a quarter :*NBA record is held by David Thompson, with 13

Milwaukee Bucks franchise records Rookie Points, game, rookie: 55, vs. Golden State Warriors, :*Tied with multiple players for 4th highest tally in NBA history by a rookie Field goals made, game, rookie: 21, vs. Golden State Warriors,

Franchise Points, half: 45, second half, vs. Golden State Warriors, Points, quarter: 29, third quarter, vs. Golden State Warriors, Field goals made, half: 17, second half, vs. Golden State Warriors, Field goals made, quarter: 12, third quarter, vs. Golden State Warriors,

Charity

After an earthquake in Italy while he was playing there in April 2009, Jennings donated $50,000 to support victims.

Jennings participated in Steve Nash's Showdown in Chinatown charity soccer match in New York City on June 24th, 2010.

References

External links

Brandon's Official Website

NBA.com Profile

Profile on Rivals.com

Profile on Scout.com

Brandon Jennings News

High school hoops star struggles abroad: Picking Italy over college starts to backfire for Jennings

Category:1989 births Category:American basketball players Category:American expatriate basketball people in Italy Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from California Category:Basketball players from Virginia Category:Living people Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Compton, California Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles, California Category:Point guards Category:Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Category:Milwaukee Bucks players

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Blake Griffin
Caption	Blake Griffin during his tenure at Oklahoma.
Height ft	6
Height in	10
Weight lb	251
Team	Los Angeles Clippers
Number	32
Position	Power forward
Birth date	March 16, 1989
Birth place	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
High school	Oklahoma Christian School (Edmond, Oklahoma)
College	Oklahoma
Nationality	American
Draft round	1
Draft pick	1
Draft team	Los Angeles Clippers
Draft year	2009
Teams
Career start	2009
Highlights

Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Griffin had an outstanding high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father who was the head coach. He played college basketball for the University of Oklahoma Sooners and was awarded numerous accolades in his second year including the Naismith College Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy and the John Wooden Award. After two seasons at Oklahoma, Griffin left college to enter the 2009 NBA Draft where he was selected first overall by the Clippers. Listed as a power forward, he is known as one of the NBA's most prolific dunkers with outstanding leaping ability.

Early life

Childhood

Griffin was born on March 16, 1989 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Gail and Tommy Griffin. Griffin and his older brother, Taylor Griffin, were home-schooled by their mother from first grade until Taylor was in the tenth grade and Griffin was in eighth. He grew up playing basketball games in his driveway with his older brother and was a fan of the Chicago Bulls. Growing up, he was good friends with Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams and played on the same Athletes First AAU basketball team along with Xavier Henry of the Memphis Grizzlies. Griffin’s parents owned a trophy company that Bradford’s father would use and Bradford’s father owned a gym where Griffin and his brother Taylor played basketball. Apart from basketball, he also played baseball, preferring to play as first baseman, soccer and football as a wide receiver, safety and a tight end.

High school

Griffin and his brother Taylor attended Oklahoma Christian School for high school where they played under their father who was the head coach. They played together during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 high school seasons, winning two state high school basketball championships together. In his sophomore year, the Saints repeated as Class 3A state champions and finished the season with a 24–2 record, while averaging 13.6 points per game in what was his final high school season with his brother. He was named to the Little All-City All-State team and his brother was named The Oklahoman Player of the Year. After the season, his brother went off to college to play for the Oklahoma Sooners. During the summer of 2005, Griffin played against Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson while playing for the Athletes First AAU team.

As a junior, he averaged 21.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, leading the Saints through the playoffs and earning a berth in the Class 2A championship game, beating Washington High School for a third straight state championship and was named the state tournament MVP. He gained national attention as a high school junior and caught the attention of the new head coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, Jeff Capel, who first heard of Griffin through his brother Taylor.

During his senior year, he averaged 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game while leading the team to a 26–3 record. On March 10, 2007, he played his final high school game in the state title game against Pawnee High School. He was named the Player of the Year by both the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman and named a Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team, EA Sports Second Team and a Parade Third Team All-American. He was ranked as the nation's #13 high school senior by HoopScoop, #20 by scout.com and #23 by rivals.com, and as the country's third-best power forward by HoopScoop, sixth by rivals.com and the seventh by scout.com. At the McDonald's All-American game in Louisville, Kentucky he won the Powerade Jam Fest slam dunk contest.

College career

After accepting a scholarship to play for the University of Oklahoma Sooners over University of Connecticut, Duke University, University of Florida, University of Illinois, University of Kansas, Michigan State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in-state Oklahoma State University, he was one of the highest rated and most decorated recruits ever at Oklahoma. He ranked ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage in Big 12.

Less than two months after injuring his left knee, he injured his right knee in a home victory against Texas A&M;. The injury this time was torn cartilage, and he had arthroscopic surgery on March 2, 2008. but was back on the court a week after the injury with 14 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes versus the Missouri Tigers, a win for the Sooners on their home floor. He was expected to be a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA Draft but decided to forgo the NBA draft and return to college for a second season to give himself time to mature physically and make Oklahoma a contender for the NCAA championship. In the third game of the season against the Davidson Wildcats, he scored 25 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, after which he scored 35 points and 21 rebounds against Gardner–Webb, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

On February 21, he received a concussion in a loss to the Texas Longhorns, when he caught an inadvertent shot to the face from the open hand of Texas center Dexter Pittman. He sat out the second half during the Sooners loss with a bloody nose. After sitting out the next game, a loss to Kansas Jayhawks, Griffin was cleared by the medical staff and returned a week later to get 20 points and 19 rebounds in a victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Sooners fell short to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in the second-round win over the Michigan Wolverines, just the second player in the 2000s decade with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. However, the Sooners lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the South Regional final.

Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during the regular season and earned All-American First Team honors. He led the Big 12 in scoring and rebounds, and recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds 15 times, which is a Big 12 record. With 30 double-doubles during the season, he was one short of the NCAA record of 31 set by David Robinson in 1986–1987. His total of 504 rebounds where the most in a season by an NCAA Division I player since Indiana State's Larry Bird had 505 in 1978–79 and his rebounding average of 14.4 was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 in 1996–97.

Towards the end of his sophomore season, Griffin was awarded numerous accolades. He was a unanimous choice by voters in all nine geographical districts for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and was named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, receiving 66 of the 71 national media panel members' votes. Griffin was announced as the winner of the prestigious Naismith College Player of the Year on April 5 in Detroit. Three days after announcing that he would turn pro, he won the John Wooden Award as college basketball's top player. A press conference announcing his decision was aired nationally on ESPNews. He was selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Griffin played for the Clippers' Summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. In their final preseason game, he injured his kneecap as he landed after a dunk. The day before the 2009–10 season started it was confirmed that Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, delaying his NBA debut for seven weeks. Griffin had surgery on his broken left kneecap and it was reported that he would miss the rest of the season.

After missing the entire 2009–10 season, Griffin was still considered a rookie during the 2010-11 season. In his debut for the Clippers against the Portland Trail Blazers, Griffin scored 20 points and registered 14 rebounds. At the beginning of the season, Baron Davis and Chris Kaman were out with injuries and the Clippers got off to a slow start, losing thirteen of their first fourteen games. On November 20, 2010, he set a Clippers record for most points scored by a rookie with 44 in a home loss to the New York Knicks. Griffin was named the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November and December. He also set a franchise record for most consecutive double-doubles with 23 in a home game against the Golden State Warriors. On February 19, 2011, he will participate in the NBA's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 34 || 34 || 37.1 || .523 || .667 || .588 || 12.5 || 3.2 || .7 || .6 || 21.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 34 || 34 || 37.1 || .523 || .667 || .588 || 12.5 || 3.2 || .7 || .6 || 21.7

Awards

McDonald's All-American (2007) Oscar Robertson Trophy (2009) Unanimous AP All American (2009) Sports Illustrated Player of the Year (2009) Sporting News Player of the Year (2009) Athlon Sports Player of the Year (2009) NBA Western Conference T-Mobile Rookie of the Month - November 2010 He started a fundraiser called Dunking for Dollars, in which he donates $100 to fight childhood obesity for every dunk he makes.

See also

2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders

References

External links

Official Site

Blake Griffin at NBA.com

Blake Griffin at ESPN.com

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American basketball players Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from Oklahoma Category:Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Category:Los Angeles Clippers players

Coordinates	50°29′17″N18°1′26″N
Name	Andray Blatche
Position	Forward/Center
Height ft	6
Height in	11
Weight lb	260
Team	Washington Wizards
Number	7
Nationality	American
Birth date	August 22, 1986
Birth place	Syracuse, New York
High school	Henninger (Syracuse), South Kent School (Connecticut)
Draft round	2
Draft pick	49
Draft year	2005
Draft team	Washington Wizards
Career start	2005
Teams	Roanoke Dazzle (D-League)Washington Wizards

Andray Blatche (born August 22, 1986 in Syracuse, New York) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA for the Washington Wizards.

Blatche attended Henninger High School in Syracuse before attending the South Kent School in South Kent, Connecticut. He declared for the 2005 NBA Draft out of high school, and while originally thought of as a first-round prospect, he slipped to the second round and was taken by the Washington Wizards with their only selection, the 49th pick.

Blatche was shot in a carjacking on September 25, 2005, and as a result missed training camp. Given that he did not play college basketball, the Wizards split Blatche's playing time between the Roanoke Dazzle, their then-affiliate in the NBA Development League, and the Wizards in the 2005–06 season.

With the injuries to Wizards centers Etan Thomas and Michael Ruffin, Blatche was occasionally pressed into service as a backup center in the 2006–07 season.

On August 17, 2007, the Wizards re-signed Blatche to a multi-year deal, terms of which were not disclosed.

During the 2007–08 season Blatche continued showing improvement, and with center Etan Thomas out with a season-ending heart condition, his minutes increased.

On January 9, 2010, Blatche was fined $10,000 by the Washington Wizards for participating in Gilbert Arenas' antics before a game on January 5, 2010 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Arenas was being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but made light of the accusations by pointing his finger at his teammates, as if he were shooting them. His teammates were photographed smiling and laughing with him.

On February 28, 2010, he scored a career high 36 points on 17-31 shooting during the Wizards' 89-85 victory against the New Jersey Nets. Blatche has continued to be the starter on the team, and his stats significantly improved. He is a dominant rebounder, and he has shown that he can be a potent scorer.

Andray Blatche just missed a triple-double as he had 20 points, a career-high 13 assists, nine rebounds and two steals in the Wizards' 109-99 victory over the New Jersey Nets on April 4.

On September 24, 2010, Blatche received a contract extension that will pay him $35M over the next five years.

Personal life

On the Sunday morning of September 25, 2005, three months after the Wizards selected him with the 49th overall pick in the NBA draft, Blatche was shot in an attempted carjacking that took place near his home in Alexandria, Virginia. As a result of his injuries he missed the Wizards' training camp, although he could walk on his own three days after the shooting and one day after being released from the hospital.

Blatche was arrested on June 4, 2008, in Virginia on charges of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license for the third time. Blatche was going 86 mph in a 70 mph zone in a Mercedes on Interstate 85. He was released on bond.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Washington | 29 || 0 || 6.0 || .388 || .231 || .833 || 1.3 || .3 || .2 || .2 || 2.2 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Washington | 56 || 13 || 12.2 || .437 || .148 || .612 || 3.4 || .7 || .3 || .6 || 3.7 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Washington | 82 || 15 || 20.4 || .474 || .231 || .695 || 5.2 || 1.1 || .6 || 1.4 || 7.5 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Washington | 71 || 36 || 24.0 || .471 || .238 || .704 || 5.3 || 1.7 || .8 || 1.0 || 10.0 |- | align="left" | 2009-10 | align="left" | Washington | 81 || 36 || 27.9 || .478 || .295 || .744 || 6.3 || 2.1 || 1.0 || .9 || 14.1 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 319 || 100 || 20.3 || .470 || .237 || .712 || 4.8 || 1.3 || .7 || .9 || 8.6

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Washington | 2 || 0 || 12.5 || .667 || .000 || 1.000 || 3.5 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 4.5 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Washington | 6 || 0 || 14.8 || .429 || .000 || .333 || 3.3 || .2 || .3 || 1.0 || 3.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 8 || 0 || 14.1 || .481 || .000 || .385 || 3.4 || .1 || .2 || .8 || 3.9

Notes

External links

nbadraft.net profile

CollegeHoopsnet

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:American shooting survivors Category:Basketball players from New York Category:Basketball players from Virginia Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:People from Alexandria, Virginia Category:People from Syracuse, New York Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Washington Wizards draft picks Category:Washington Wizards players