Gerald Wallace

Gerald Wallace

Wallace with the Bobcats
No. 3   Portland Trail Blazers
Forward
Personal information
Date of birth	July 23, 1982 (1982-07-23)
Place of birth	Sylacauga, Alabama
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College	Alabama (2000–2001)
NBA Draft	2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 25th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career	2001–present
Career history
2001–2004	Sacramento Kings
2004–2011	Charlotte Bobcats
2011–present	Portland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Star (2010) NBA All-Defensive First Team (2010) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2000)
Stats at NBA.com

Gerald Jermaine Wallace (born July 23, 1982) is an American professional basketball forward for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA.

High school

Wallace attended Childersburg High School in Childersburg, Alabama, where he had a very successful career. For his senior season efforts he was named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year, an honor given to the best high school basketball player.

College

Wallace attended the University of Alabama for one season before declaring himself eligible for the 2001 NBA Draft.

NBA

Sacramento Kings

In three seasons with the Sacramento Kings, Wallace rarely played, but in the brief appearances he made himself known for his versatility and extraordinary athleticism. In the 2002 Slam Dunk Contest, Wallace finished second to his future teammate and two-time winner Jason Richardson.

Charlotte Bobcats

In 2004, Wallace was drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats in their expansion draft. Wallace started immediately for the club, and went on to have a season of averaging 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks a game. He continued to improve in 2005–06, before getting injured in January, averaging 14.5 points and 7 rebounds, and ranking in the top 10 in the NBA in field goal percentage (54.142), blocks (2.19), and steals per game (2.44). Since the NBA began counting blocks as a statistic in 1973, only two other players (David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon) in league history have averaged over 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game in a single season.

Wallace is known for his somewhat reckless style of play that leads to his frequent injuries. For this, he has earned the nickname "Crash". He missed a total of 39 games in his first two years with the Bobcats, but his energetic and sometimes dangerous behavior that may have caused his injuries was also what contributed to his gaudy defensive stats. Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Wallace "Gerald can only play one way and be effective. Energy -- that's his game." In 2006, Wallace attempted to refine his game in order to avoid being injured, and as a result his numbers suffered. The first month of the season, Wallace had only five total blocks (an average of 0.3 per game) and his averages were down across the statline from 2005. Wallace improved his play in the second month of the season, but he went down with a separated shoulder in a December game against the Indiana Pacers. When he returned, Wallace continued his fine play finishing the season averaging 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 72 games.

Wallace defending Rip Hamilton.

Wallace appeared opposite Tim Duncan in the March 2008 "SLAM-UP" centerfold for SLAM Magazine.

Wallace suffered a Grade 3 concussion on February 23, 2008 after taking an unintentional elbow to the face from Sacramento's Mikki Moore. It was his fourth concussion in as many seasons with the Bobcats. It was not clear when he would return, although Grade 3 concussions are defined by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons as ones that "involve post-traumatic amnesia for more than 24 hours or unconsciousness for more than five minutes. Players who sustain this grade of brain injury should be sidelined for at least one month, after which they can return to play if they are asymptomatic for one week." He returned later on in the season, finishing the year with a new career high in points, assists, and minutes.

He suffered a partially collapsed lung and a fractured rib after being flagrantly fouled while driving for a layup by Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum on January 27, 2009 and was forced to miss seven games. He also was unable to fly and instead crossed the United States en route back to Charlotte by bus.

Wallace was selected to play in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, becoming the first Charlotte Bobcat to do so. Wallace was also selected to participate in the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest. He was also selected to the 2010-2012 USA Basketball Men's National Team to represent the United States in the 2010 FIBA World Championship along with a possible trip with the team to the 2012 Olympics.

In the first-ever playoff game for the Bobcats, Wallace led the team with 25 points. This thus stood as a playoff single game scoring record for the Bobcats until game 2 of the series, when Stephen Jackson broke the record by scoring 27 points.

In 2010, Wallace was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Wallace is the Bobcats' all-time leader in points scored, with 7,437.

Portland Trail Blazers

On February 24, 2011, Wallace was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Joel Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, and two future draft picks.

Personal

Wallace is represented by agent Rob Pelinka.

Wallace started The Gerald Wallace Foundation to provide opportunities for underserved children and their families in his hometown of Childersburg, Ala, and his playing city Portland, Ore.

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	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2001–02	Sacramento	54	1	8.0	.429	.000	.500	1.6	.5	.3	.1	3.2
2002–03	Sacramento	47	7	12.1	.492	.250	.527	2.7	.5	.5	.3	4.7
2003–04	Sacramento	37	1	9.1	.360	.000	.458	2.0	.5	.4	.4	2.0
2004–05	Charlotte	70	68	30.7	.449	.274	.661	5.5	2.0	1.7	1.3	11.1
2005–06	Charlotte	55	52	34.5	.538	.280	.614	7.5	1.7	2.5	2.1	15.2
2006–07	Charlotte	72	71	36.7	.502	.325	.691	7.2	2.6	2.0	1.0	18.1
2007–08	Charlotte	62	59	38.3	.449	.321	.731	6.0	3.5	2.1	.9	19.4
2008–09	Charlotte	71	71	37.6	.480	.298	.804	7.8	2.7	1.7	.9	16.6
2009–10	Charlotte	76	76	41.0	.484	.371	.776	10.0	2.1	1.5	1.1	18.2
2010–11	Charlotte	48	48	39.0	.433	.330	.739	8.2	2.4	1.2	1.0	15.6
2010–11	Portland	23	15	35.7	.498	.338	.767	7.6	2.5	2.0	.6	15.8
Career		615	469	30.7	.475	.320	.717	6.3	2.0	1.5	.9	13.4
All-Star		1	0	15.0	.333	.000	.000	3.0	1.0	.0	.0	2.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002	Sacramento	5	0	2.8	.000	.000	1.000	.2	.2	.0	.2	.8
2003	Sacramento	7	0	2.6	.400	.000	1.000	.7	.0	.0	.1	.9
2004	Sacramento	3	0	6.7	.500	.000	.500	.7	.3	.3	.3	2.3
2010	Charlotte	4	4	41.0	.477	.455	.657	9.0	2.3	1.2	1.5	17.5
2011	Portland	6	6	37.7	.448	.176	.875	9.2	2.8	1.3	.5	15.2
Career		25	10	17.6	.455	.286	.773	4.0	1.1	.6	.5	7.1

Career highs

• Points: 42: vs. New York 01/31/07
• Rebounds: 20: 2 times
• Assists: 10: vs. Philadelphia
• Steals: 8: vs. Milwaukee 01/13/06
• Blocks: 6: 2 times

External links

• NBA.com Profile - Gerald Wallace