Steve Francis

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Revision as of 14:38, 5 April 2012

Steve Francis
Image:act steve francis.jpg
Francis playing for the Kincks.
Shooting guard/Point guard
Personal Information
Date of Birth: February 11, 1977
Place of Birth: Takoma Park, Maryland
Nationality: Image:U.S. Flag.png American
Height: 6 ft 3 in Weight: 210 lbs
Career Information
College: Maryland
NBA Draft: 1999; 1st round / 2nd pick
Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies
Pro Career: 1999-present
Career History
Career Highlights and Awards
Steve Francis

Steven De'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977, in Takoma Park, Maryland, USA) is an American professional basketball Shooting guard. Nicknamed "Stevie Franchise" and self-described as "Steve-O", he was known early in his career for his crossover dribble, driving ability, and flashy dunks.

Contents

Early Life

Francis was born and raised in Takoma Park, Maryland, with little money and no father. He was nicknamed "Wink" as a child. After his mother died of cancer in 1995, his grandmother raised him. He stopped playing schoolboy basketball for two years after his mother's death.

High School

Francis attended the San Jacinto College of Texas in 1997, and the Allegany College of Maryland in 1998. Francis became the first player to take two unbeaten teams into the National Junior College Tournament.

College

Francis attended college at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he played college ball for the Maryland Terrapins. In college, he was named Second Team All-America by AP and first team All-ACC after his junior year at Maryland, where he averaged 17 points and 2.8 steals per game in his only season of Division I basketball. His ACC-leading 95 steals were the second highest total in Terrapin history and he also led Maryland with 45 three-pointers. As a sophomore at Allegany Community College in Maryland, Francis averaged 25.3 ppg, 8.7 apg, 7.1 rpg and 5.3 spg, setting school records for points (885), steals (187) and free throws (204). At San Jacinto State in Texas as a freshman, Francis led the team to a record of 36-1, averaging 12.5 ppg, 7.5 apg and 7.5 rpg.

NBA career

Houston Rockets (1999–2004)

Francis was selected second in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He publicly announced that he did not want to play for the Grizzlies, citing the distance from his Maryland home, taxes, endorsements, and God's will. Heavily criticized for his antics, especially in Vancouver, he relented and briefly considered joining the Grizzlies before contentious negotiations and an incident at the Vancouver airport convinced both the franchise and Francis they needed to go separate ways.

Francis got his wish, being traded before the 1999-2000 season began to the Houston Rockets in a three-team, 11-player deal that brought Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Antoine Carr and Brent Price, plus first- and second-round picks to the Grizzlies. It was the largest trade in NBA history.

Despite sharing Rookie of the Year honors with Elton Brand and finishing as runner-up to Vince Carter in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, the Francis-led Rockets finished with a very subpar 34-48 record.

The next season the Rockets improved to 45-37 but still missed the playoffs. In his 3rd year, Francis upped his game and was chosen by fans to start the 2002 NBA All-Star contest, but ended up playing only 55 games due to a foot injury and recurring Meniere's disease induced migraines. As a result the Rockets posted a dismal 28-54 record, propelling them into the lottery, where they selected 7'6" Chinese center Yao Ming with the first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Francis and Yao gelled their first season together, being selected as 2003 All-Star Game starters. Francis scored a career-high 44 points in a nationally televised game against the Lakers on January 17, 2003. The team, though, fell to 43-39 in and failed to make the playoffs.

Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down in 2003, the team selecting ex-Knick coach Jeff Van Gundy as his successor. Unfortunately for Francis, Van Gundy's coaching style did not fit the speedy shooting guard's style of play. Even though Francis made the All Star game for a third straight year his stats declined in 2003-04, dropping from 21.0 PPG 6.2 APG 6.2 RPG to 16.6 PPG 5.5 RPG 6.2 APG. The team, however, made the playoffs for the first time since 1999, which would prove Francis's only post-season experience. Despite his averaging 19.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 7.6 apg, the Rockets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 1.

As Francis' relationship with Van Gundy deteriorated it was apparent that the Rockets wanted to go in a different direction. While the coach sought to focus the Rockets offense on Yao, the team ended up trading Francis and others for superstar scoring machine Tracy McGrady.

During Francis' first tenure in Houston, he averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.63 steals in 374 games (372 starts).

Orlando Magic (2004–2006)

On June 29, 2004, Francis was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato in a seven-player deal that sent Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines to Houston.

At first, Francis was unhappy with the trade, but adapted to his new environment. Francis flourished in the "run n' gun" offense of interim head coach Chris Jent. After posting a career-low 16.6 points per game the previous year with the Rockets, Francis averaged 21.3 PPG, 7.0 APG and 5.8 RPG in his first season with the Magic. The Magic started out the year fast in the 2004-05 season, with Francis hitting several game-winning shots early in the season. In the middle of the season, Mobley was traded to the Sacramento Kings, which upset Francis. The Magic slumped late and missed the playoffs.

The following season, a disgruntled Francis was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. On February 5, 2006, there were rumors that he could be traded to the Denver Nuggets for Earl Watson but they were later dismissed and GM Otis Smith publicly announced that he would not trade Francis. However, rumors persisted that Francis would be traded to the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets.

New York Knicks (2006–2007)

On February 22, 2006, one day before the NBA's trade deadline, Steve Francis was traded to the New York Knicks for small forward Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract of shooting guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. Prior to the trade, the Denver Nuggets reportedly offered both Watson and Kenyon Martin for Francis, but the deal never took place. He made his Madison Square Garden debut on Friday, February 24 when the New York Knicks faced the New Jersey Nets, and scored 16 points in a 94-90 loss for the Knicks. He wore jersey #1 with the Knicks as his usual #3 was already assigned to Stephon Marbury. Francis has endured a recurring injury, tendinitis in his right knee, and as a result began the 2006-07 season averaging only 11.3 ppg, as opposed to his career 18.4 ppg. He returned on February 10, 2007 vs the Utah Jazz. On March 10, Francis hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against the Washington Wizards, ending one of his best games as a Knick in front of his hometown. On 2007 draft night, June 28, the Knicks traded Francis and Channing Frye to the Portland Trail Blazers for Zach Randolph, Dan Dickau, and Fred Jones, who then bought out the remaining two years of Francis's contract for a reported $30 million, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Return to Houston (2007–2008)

The Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and the L.A. Clippers pursued Francis. On July 20, Francis chose the Rockets; signing a two-year $6 million contract with them, although the Heat offered the most money. However, he failed to make Rick Adelman's rotation coming out of the preseason. He averaged 5.5 points and 3 assists in ten games before undergoing season-ending surgery stemming from an earlier left quadriceps tendon injury.

Francis used his contract option to come back to the Houston Rockets for the 2008–09 NBA season. He lost 15 pounds for training camp, but he was not able to play in the beginning of the season due to the recovery period of his injury.

Memphis Grizzlies (2008–2009)

The Houston Rockets traded Francis to the Grizzlies on December 24 (Christmas Eve), 2008. The Rockets sent Francis and a 2009 draft pick that Houston had previously received from the Grizzlies for a conditional pick in 2011. The move allowed the Rockets to drop under the luxury tax threshold.

On January 27, 2009, it was reported that the Grizzlies waived Francis.

They can sign another player, if desired.

Career transactions

NBA career statistics


Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Led League

Regular season


Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Houston 77 77 36.1 .445 .345 .786 5.3 6.6 1.5 .4 18.0
2000–01 Houston 80 79 39.9 .451 .396 .817 6.9 6.5 1.8 .4 19.9
2001–02 Houston 57 56 41.1 .417 .324 .773 7.0 6.4 1.2 .4 21.6
2002–03 Houston 81 81 41.0 .435 .354 .800 6.2 6.2 1.7 .5 21.0
2003–04 Houston 79 79 40.4 .403 .292 .775 5.5 6.2 1.8 .4 16.6
2004–05 Orlando 78 78 38.2 .423 .299 .823 5.8 7.0 1.4 .4 21.3
2005–06 Orlando 46 45 37.7 .433 .257 .797 4.8 5.7 1.1 .2 16.2
2005–06 New York 24 15 27.5 .442 .538 .761 3.0 3.5 1.0 .2 10.8
2006–07 New York 44 30 28.1 .408 .378 .829 3.6 3.9 .9 .3 11.3
2007–08 Houston 10 3 19.9 .333 .235 .565 2.3 3.0 .9 .5 5.5
Career 576 543 37.6 .429 .341 .797 5.6 6.0 1.5 .3 18.1
All-Star 3 3 24.3 .552 .500 .500 2.7 5.3 .7 .0 12.0

Playoffs


Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 Houston 5 5 44.4 .429 .412 .725 8.4 7.6 1.4 .2 19.2
Career 5 5 44.4 .429 .412 .725 8.4 7.6 1.4 .2 19.2
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