This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2008)

Nelison "Nick" Anderson (born January 20, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two years, playing on the team that reached the NCAA Final Four in 1989. That Fighting Illini team gained the moniker "Flyin' Illini" by Dick Vitale while announcing a game during the 1988-89 season. Along with Anderson, the other members of that team included Kendall Gill, Stephen Bardo, Kenny Battle, Lowell Hamilton, and Marcus Liberty. Anderson then spent thirteen years in the NBA beginning in 1989, most of them with the Orlando Magic. He ended his career in 2002.

Anderson was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

NBA career[link]

Orlando Magic[link]

Anderson left school and entered the NBA Draft in 1989, where he was selected with the eleventh pick of the first round by the Orlando Magic. As the Magic were an expansion team that season, Anderson was the first draft pick in franchise history.

Like most expansion franchises, the Magic struggled for several seasons, and as a result were awarded high draft picks in several consecutive years, including Dennis Scott in 1990, Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, and Chris Webber, who was traded for a package including Penny Hardaway in 1993. In his first few seasons, Anderson was the Magic's top scoring option, and led the team in points per game during the 1991-92 season. As the team's talent level increased, Anderson was gradually relegated to a lesser offensive role but remained a consistent member of the team's starting lineup. Exceptions include the April 23, 1993 game at New Jersey, in which he scored a career-high 50 points off-the-bench.^[1] In 1994-95, Anderson led Orlando in three-pointers with 179, and averaged 15.9 points per game. The Magic won 57 games, finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and won their first ever Atlantic Division title.

1994-95 Postseason[link]

Game One of the NBA Finals was against the defending champion Houston Rockets, at the Orlando Arena. With the Magic up by three points late in the game, Anderson, typically a 70% free throw shooter, missed four consecutive free throws that could have sealed the victory for Orlando. Kenny Smith hit a three-pointer for Houston shortly thereafter, tying the game and sending it to overtime. The Rockets went on to win the game in overtime and eventually swept the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. As a result of this incident, some Orlando fans began to label Anderson with the derogatory nicknames of "Nick the Brick" and "Brick Anderson".

Post-1995 Career[link]

Two seasons after the 1995 finals, Anderson's career took an abrupt downward spiral, largely due to a sudden inability to shoot free throws, and he even suffered an injury in Game 3 of the conference finals in a rematch against the Bulls and was out for the season. During the 1996-97 season, Anderson free throw shooting percentage tumbled to a career-low 40.4% and his scoring average to 12.0 points per game. Anderson had to be removed from the closing minutes of several close games due to being undependable at the charity stripe.

His struggles worsened through the first half of the 1997-98 season. Through January 27 of that season, Anderson was averaging only 6.5 points per game, and shooting a paltry 36.3% from the free throw line. However, in the second half of the season, Anderson experienced a sudden career revival, as his scoring average abruptly jumped to 22.6 points per game, and his free throw percentage improved to a 67.6%, a figure close to his former career average. He ended the season with a scoring average of 15.3 points per game.

Anderson would play on with the Magic through the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, after which he was traded to the Sacramento Kings. He left Orlando as the team's career scoring leader. He was the last player remaining from the Magic's original expansion roster, having remained with the franchise for ten seasons.

He played two seasons in Sacramento, averaging a career-low at that point, 10.8 points per contest in 72 games his first season. He played 21 games the next season, and 15 games in his final season, in which he played for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Anderson works for the Orlando Magic in the team's community relations department.^[2]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• historical playerfile
• NBA.com Profile
• Career Statistics
• Nick Anderson's Official Website

Kenny Smith

No. 30, 31
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1965-03-08) March 8, 1965 (age 47) Queens, New York
Nationality	American
High school	Archbishop Molloy (Jamaica, New York)
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1983–1987)
NBA Draft	1987 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career	1987–1997
Career history
1987–1990	Sacramento Kings
1990	Atlanta Hawks
1990–1996	Houston Rockets
1996	Detroit Pistons
1996–1997	Orlando Magic
1997	Denver Nuggets
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA Champion (1994–1995) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1988) Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1987)
Career NBA statistics
Points	9,397 (12.8 ppg)
Rebounds	1,454 (2.0 rpg)
Assists	4,073 (5.5 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men’s basketball Competitor for  United States FIBA World Championship Gold 1986 Spain National team

Kenneth (Kenny) "The Jet" Smith (born March 8, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He currently works as a TV basketball analyst, primarily for Inside the NBA on TNT.

Early life[link]

Smith was born in Queens, New York, and attended Archbishop Molloy High School. He then played basketball at the University of North Carolina.

Career[link]

Smith was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the sixth pick of the 1987 NBA Draft. He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. In his professional career, Smith scored 9,397 points and recorded 4,073 assists. He won two NBA championships with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995.^[1] In the first game of the 1995 Finals against the Orlando Magic, Smith made seven three-pointers, including a game-tying shot which sent the game into overtime. The Rockets won the game 120–118.^[2]

Smith joined Turner Sports in 1998.^[3] He has teamed with Ernie Johnson, Jr. and Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA, a winner of the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show.^[4] Smith has been described as a "straight man" to Barkley, known for his offbeat antics.^[5] He occasionally appears on NBA TV as an analyst. He also served as an analyst during the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments.

Smith married model Gwendolyn Osborne on September 8, 2006. His wife is a model on The Price Is Right.^[6] They have a son, Malloy,^[7] and are expecting a second child.

References[link]

External links[link]

• KennyTheJet.com, official website of Kenny Smith Boys & Girls Basketball Camp
• Kenny Smith at Basketball-Reference.com
• Kenny Smith on Twitter

Hakeem Olajuwon

No. 34, 15
Center
Personal information
Born	(1963-01-21) January 21, 1963 (age 49) Lagos, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian / American
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
College	Houston (1981–1984)
NBA Draft	1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Pro career	1984–2002
Career history
1984–2001	Houston Rockets
2001–2002	Toronto Raptors
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA Champion (1994–1995) NBA Most Valuable Player (1994) 2× NBA Finals MVP (1994–1995) 12× NBA All-Star (1985–1990, 1992–1997) 2× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1993–1994) 6× All-NBA First Team (1987–1989, 1993–1994, 1997) 3× All-NBA Second Team (1986, 1990, 1996) 3× All-NBA Third Team (1991, 1995, 1999) 5× All-Defensive First Team (1987–1988, 1990, 1993-1994) 4× All-Defensive Second Team (1985, 1991, 1996–1997) NBA All-Rookie Team (1985) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
Career statistics
Points	26,946 (21.8 ppg)
Rebounds	13,747 (11.1 rpg)
Blocks	3,830 (3.1 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals Competitor for  United States Men's Basketball Gold 1996 Atlanta National team

Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (/ɵˈlaɪdʒəwɒn/; [olaɟuwɔ̃]; born January 21, 1963) is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) (but closer to 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) by his own admission),^[1] Olajuwon is considered one of the greatest centers ever to play the game.^[2][3]

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olajuwon traveled from his home country to play for the University of Houston under Coach Guy Lewis. His college career for the Cougars included three trips to the Final Four. At the time, he spelled his first name Akeem. Olajuwon was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall selection of the 1984 NBA Draft, a draft that included Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton. Olajuwon joined the Houston Rockets and was nicknamed "Akeem The Dream" for his grace on and off the court. He combined with the 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) Ralph Sampson to form a duo dubbed the "Twin Towers". The two led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Boston Celtics. After Sampson was traded to the Warriors in 1988, Olajuwon became the Rockets' undisputed leader. He led the league in rebounding twice (1989, 1990) and blocks three times (1990, 1991, 1993). Raised as a Muslim, Olajuwon became more devoted to the faith during this period and changed the spelling of his name from Akeem to Hakeem. Despite very nearly being traded during a bitter contract dispute before the 1992–93 season, he remained with the team. In 1993–94, he became the only player in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards in the same season. His Rockets won back-to-back championships against the New York Knicks (avenging his college championship loss to Patrick Ewing), and Shaquille O'Neal's Orlando Magic. In 1996, Olajuwon was a member of the Olympic gold-medal-winning United States national team, and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He ended his career as the league's all-time leader in blocks, with 3,830.

Early life[link]

Olajuwon was born to Salim and Abike Olajuwon, middle-class Yoruba owners of a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria.^[4][5] "Olajuwon" translates to "always being on top" in Yoruba.^[4] He was the third of six children. He credits his parents with instilling virtues of hard work and discipline into him and his siblings; "They taught us to be honest, work hard, respect our elders, and believe in ourselves".^[4] Olajuwon has expressed displeasure at his childhood in Nigeria being characterized as backwards. "Lagos is a very cosmopolitan city...There are many ethnic groups. I grew up in an environment at schools where there were all different types of people."^[6]

During his youth, Olajuwon was a soccer goalkeeper, which helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his size and strength in basketball, and also contributed to his shot-blocking ability.^[7] Olajuwon did not play basketball until the age of 15, when he entered a local tournament.^[4] However, he quickly became taken with the game: "Basketball is something that is so unique. That immediately I pick up the game and, you know, realize that this is the sport for me. All the other sports just become secondary."^[8]