Horace Grant
 Grant (center) battles for the tip-off jumpball in November 2003 |
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| No. 54 | |
|---|---|
| Power forward / center | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 4, 1965 Augusta, Georgia |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Clemson |
| NBA Draft | 1987 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
| Pro career | 1987–2004 |
| Career history | |
| 1987–1994 | Chicago Bulls |
| 1994–1999 | Orlando Magic |
| 1999–2000 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2000–2001 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2001–2002 | Orlando Magic |
| 2003–2004 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Points | 12,996 (11.2 ppg) |
| Rebound | 9,443 (8.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,575 (2.2 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Horace Junior Grant (born July 4, 1965) is a retired American basketball player. He attended and played college basketball at Clemson University, before playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he became a four-time champion with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. He was easily recognizable by many NBA fans because of his trademark wraparound protective eyeglasses. His twin brother, Harvey Grant, also played in the NBA. His nephew Jerai Grant played for Clemson's basketball team.
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[edit] Career
Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia and attended Clemson University. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 10th overall pick of the 1987 NBA Draft. The 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall power forward/center immediately teamed with fellow draft-day acquisition Scottie Pippen to form the Bulls' forward tandem of the future, although he initially backed up incumbent Charles Oakley, one of the league's premier rebounders and post defenders.
In 1989, Grant moved into the starting lineup when Oakley was traded to the New York Knicks for center Bill Cartwright. He immediately became the Bulls' main rebounder, and established himself as the Bulls' third scoring option after Michael Jordan and Pippen, forming one of the league's best trios. Grant was noted for his defensive play; he was selected four times for the NBA All-Defensive Team.[1] He helped Chicago win three consecutive NBA championships (1990–91, 1991–92, and 1992–93), securing the third with a last-second block.
After Jordan's first retirement following the 1992–93 season, Grant became the number-two star behind Pippen, and helped the Bulls push the Knicks to seven games in the second-round playoff series before being eliminated. Grant played in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, posting four points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes. After posting career-bests in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (11.0 rpg) and assists (3.4 apg), he left the Bulls as a free agent and joined the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. On May 5, 1995, Grant made the final basket in Boston Garden history in Orlando's series clinching victory over the Boston Celtics. Grant helped the Magic reach the 1995 NBA Finals, where they were swept in four games by the more experienced Houston Rockets. Grant spent the next several seasons with the Magic, until he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics just before start of the 1999–2000 season.
After one year with the Sonics, he was involved in a three-way trade in which Glen Rice of the Los Angeles Lakers was sent to New York, Patrick Ewing of the Knicks was sent to Seattle, and Grant to the defending champion Lakers. He helped them win another championship in 2000–01, but in the offseason decided to leave Los Angeles and sign back with the Magic. Grant was cut by the Magic in December 2002 after then-coach Doc Rivers implied Grant was a "cancer" on the team.[2]
Grant chose to retire after getting cut by the Magic. However, he decided to return for another run with the Lakers for the 2003–04 season as a backup to Karl Malone. He then retired permanently following the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals.
[edit] Family
His nephew, brother Harvey's son, Jerai, who played college basketball for Clemson University, the same school that he and Harvey attended,[3] is playing for the Australasian NBL's Sydney Kings in 2011.[4] Horace Grant's other nephews through Harvey include Jerian, a sophomore for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team,[5] and Jerami, who has committed to play for the Syracuse University Orange men's basketball team in 2012–13.[5]
Grant is also a great-uncle to Jerai's daughter, Halle.[6]
[edit] See also
- List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
- List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
- List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
[edit] References
- ^ NBA Postseason Awards: All-Defensive Teams, nba.com. accessed 24 April 2007.
- ^ "Rivers says 'cancer' had to be cut from team", espn.go.com, 11 December 2002, accessed 8 March 2009.
- ^ "Senior forward Jerai Grant emerging as pleasant inside surprise", www.orangeandwhite.com, January 11, 2011.
- ^ National Basketball League | Sydney Kings: Sydney Kings' Jerai Grant arrives in town
- ^ a b Jerami Grant Commits To Syracuse, Class Of 2012 Officially In Session - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
- ^ Sydney Kings import Jerai Grant keen to extend stay in Australia | thetelegraph.com.au
[edit] External links
- Horace Grant at NBA.com
- Horace Grant at Basketball-Reference.com
- 1965 births
- Living people
- Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Centers (basketball)
- Chicago Bulls draft picks
- Chicago Bulls players
- Clemson Tigers men's basketball players
- Clemson University alumni
- Identical twins
- Los Angeles Lakers players
- Orlando Magic players
- People from Augusta, Georgia
- Power forwards (basketball)
- Seattle SuperSonics players
