Rasheed Wallace
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| {{Colspan center 2}} [[NBA Draft]] | {{Colspan center 2}} [[NBA Draft]] | ||
| - | |[[NBA Draft 1995|1995]]; Round: 1 / Pick: 4th | + | |[[NBA Draft 1995|1995]]; 1st round / 4th pick |
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| {{Colspan center}} Selected by the [[Washington Wizards|Washington Bullets]] | {{Colspan center}} Selected by the [[Washington Wizards|Washington Bullets]] | ||
Revision as of 14:52, 5 April 2012
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| Wallace playing for the Celtics. | ||
| No. 30, 36 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Power forward | ||
| Personal information | ||
| Date of birth: September 17, 1974 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
Nationality:  American
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| Height: 6 ft 11 in | Weight: 230 lbs | |
| Career information | ||
| College | North Carolina | |
| NBA Draft | 1995; 1st round / 4th pick | |
| Selected by the Washington Bullets | ||
| Pro career | 1994-2010 | |
| Career history | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
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| Rasheed Wallace at NBA.com | ||
Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is a retired American professional basketball Power forward. At 6 ft 11 in (212 cm) and 230 lb (104 kg), Wallace played at power forward/center. A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he played college basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before joining the NBA.
Originally selected by the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) as the fourth pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, Wallace was named to the All-Rookie second team following his first season. He was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after the season. With Portland he was a key member of the Blazers team that made it to the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, and was an NBA All-Star in 2000 and 2001. Wallace had a career best 19.4 points per game in 2002 for the Blazers.
During the 2003–04 season Portland traded him to the Atlanta Hawks where he played one game before he was traded to the Detroit Pistons. With the Pistons he won the NBA Championship in 2004 and lost in the NBA Final the following season, and individually he was an All-Star in 2006 and 2008. After the 2008–09 season he left Detroit as a free agent and signed with the Boston Celtics.
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Early Life
Rasheed Wallace was born on September 17, 1974, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother, Jackie Wallace, worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare. His father, Sam Tabb, played street basketball and was in and out of his son's life throughout his childhood. Wallace and his two older brothers, Malcolm and Muhammad, lived in the Germantown area of North Philadelphia. Though he played basketball and was destined to make it a career, another of Wallace's passions was art.
High School
During his high school years, at Simon Gratz, Wallace was taught the fundamentals of basketball. Couple that with his natural ability, and he was a force to be reckoned with. He also learned that what mattered was a team win, so he would pass the ball to other players and ask to be taken out of the game so other team members could play whenever Gratz had a big enough lead. In addition to playing basketball, Wallace also ran track and did the high jump. During high school he was named USA Today's High School Player of the Year for the 1992-93 season and was selected to Basketball Digest's All-America First Team. And though he was more known for basketball, Wallace also received honors as a sprinter, ranking fourth in the Philadelphia area. While in high school, Wallace gained much attention from many college scouts.
College
University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith lured Wallace to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for his college years. Smith was a revered mentor to Wallace as he was to Wallace's eventual Detroit coach Larry Brown; Wallace has indicated that this North Carolina bond with Brown helped Wallace adjust quickly to the Piston system. During his time at North Carolina, Wallace had success in the national spotlight. Named a second-team All-American by the AP his second year, Wallace ranks as the leading career field goal shooter in Atlantic Coast Conference history with a .635 percentage.
NBA
Washington Wizards
As a rookie with the Washington Bullets, Wallace played in 65 games, of which he started 51 for the injured Chris Webber. While mostly playing power forward, he also gained experience in the center position although being physically overmatched. Wallace was selected to the rookie team for the All-Star Weekend. Later that year, he fractured his left thumb during a game against Orlando and could not return until the following year. Wallace scored 655 points during his rookie season at Washington. He played 1,788 minutes.
Portland Trail Blazers
After the season, Wallace was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Rod Strickland, a move that proved beneficial for both sides: Strickland averaged 17.2 ppg and 8.9 apg after the trade, helping the Bullets make the playoffs in 1997 for the first time in 8 seasons, and upped those stats to 17.8 ppg and a league-leading 10.5 apg the following year.
Meanwhile, Wallace ranked third in the league in field goal percentage. However, just as his season was gaining momentum, Wallace again broke his left thumb and was forced to miss the next month of the season, but he returned in time for a strong performance in the first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, which the Blazers lost.
His next season was filled with many successes. The young superstar signed a long-term contract to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers. He began extending himself into the community more than ever, most notably with his Rasheed Wallace Foundation, but his career suffered from numerous missteps on and off the court. In the 1999–2000 NBA season, he set an NBA record with 38 technical fouls for the season. However, he would be fifth in the league in field goal percentage. The following year, he would break his own record with 40 technicals. Wallace was also suspended by the NBA for seven games for threatening then referee Tim Donaghy on an arena loading dock after a home game in 2003. That was the league's longest suspension for something that did not involve violence or substance abuse.
Wallace was named an NBA All-Star in 2000 and 2001 and led the Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, losing to the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. Both teams would go on to win the NBA Finals. The 2000 series against the Lakers was most noted for the underdog Blazers squandering a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter of Game 7.
Atlanta Hawks
On February 9, 2004, Wallace was traded to the Atlanta Hawks along with Wesley Person for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, and Dan Dickau. He played in only one game for the Hawks. In that game, he scored 20 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, made 2 assists, and blocked 5 shots in the Hawks loss to the New Jersey Nets. The trade sent Wallace from the Atlanta Hawks and guard Mike James from the Boston Celtics to the Detroit Pistons. In turn, Detroit sent guards Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter, and a first-round draft pick to Boston and guard Bob Sura, center Željko Rebrača, and a first-round draft pick to Atlanta. The Boston Celtics also sent forward Chris Mills to Atlanta to complete the deal. The shipment of Wallace out of Atlanta was widely rumored.
Detroit Pistons
After falling behind against the Indiana Pacers in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, he stated boldly in an interview that "We will win Game 2", a promise he helped fulfill.
Wallace helped the Pistons win an unexpected NBA title, beating the heavily favored Lakers 4 games to 1. After the championship season, he paid for replica WWE World Heavyweight Championship belts to be made for each of his teammates and presented them as gifts when the 2004–05 regular season started.
In the off-season following the Pistons' championship win, Rasheed Wallace signed a 5-year, $57 million contract to remain with Detroit. He also changed the number of his jersey from #30 to #36.
Throughout the 2004–05 season, Wallace often carried the belt into his locker before games to inspire the Pistons' title defense. He had several notable moments in the playoffs. After the second-round elimination of the Pacers, Wallace played his best series of the postseason in the Eastern Conference finals against the top-seeded Miami Heat. After falling behind again, he again "guaranteed success". He shot a 50% field goal percentage and averaged 14.5 points per game in the series' seven games, and saved his hottest-shooting night for the decisive Game 7. Against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, Wallace was criticized for leaving Robert Horry, one of the greatest clutch shooters of all time, open for the game-winning three-pointer in Game 5. Wallace's tenacious defense and clutch shooting helped the Pistons to split the series 3–3, but in the final game, the Pistons lost 81–74.
In the 2005–06 season, he helped lead them to a 64–18 record, and the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. The Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 4–1 in the first round and then beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-3 in the second round of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons played the Heat in a rematch of the previous year's Conference Finals. The Pistons lost in six games to the Miami Heat, who went on to capture their first NBA title.
On March 26, 2007, in a game against the Denver Nuggets, Rasheed Wallace threw up a 60-foot shot off a stolen inbound pass with 1.5 seconds, called "GLASS!", and banked it in from just behind halfcourt to force overtime letting out a huge roar from what was left of the diminishing Palace crowd, who had assumed the game to be a loss. The Pistons went on to win the game, 113–109.
On June 2, 2007, Rasheed fouled out of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals after committing a foul on LeBron James and then received two technical fouls, resulting in an automatic ejection, for arguing with a referee.
Prior to the 2007–08 NBA season, the Pistons would not re-sign Chris Webber, and putting Antonio McDyess as a starting power forward, put Wallace at center. On February 10, 2008, it was announced that Wallace would be replacing Boston Celtics' injured forward Kevin Garnett in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. The decision was made by NBA commissioner David Stern. This was Wallace's fourth All-Star appearance.
In the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons played Garnett and the Celtics. This marked the sixth consecutive time that the Pistons had made it to this point, and five times they had gotten there with Wallace in the lineup. Still, Detroit lost a third consecutive year in the Conference Finals, losing to Boston 4–2. After the game, Rasheed reportedly told reporters, without taking any questions, "It's over, man," perhaps indicating that Pistons' General Manager Joe Dumars would break up the core of the team in the 2008 offseason. Longtime starting point guard Chauncey Billups was traded during the season's beginning, and Wallace would leave the Pistons after the season's end.
Before the 2008–2009 Season, Wallace changed his number from #36 back to his original #30.
Boston Celtics
Wallace signed a three-year contract with the Boston Celtics on July 8, 2009.
Personal
He and his wife, Fatima, have three sons and one daughter. Has two older brothers. His foundation, RAW, holds annual coat and food drives in Philadelphia and Detroit to help the less fortunate. Runs annual summer basketball camps in Philadelphia and Chapel Hill. Has his own website. Names Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Andre Agassi as the athletes he most admires Is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers and Phillies but not the Eagles, rooting instead for the K.C. Chiefs. He is an avid video game player.
External Links
Categories: NBA Players | College Players (Men) | High School Players (Boys) | Simon Gratz High School(PA) | Detroit Pistons | Atlanta Hawks | Portland Trail Blazers | Washington Wizards | North Carolina Tar Heels | McDonald's All Americans | Players Who Won An NBA Championship | Players Who Made An ABA/NBA All Star Game | Players Who Made An NBA All Star Game
