Jamaal Tinsley

Jamaal Tinsley

Tinsley in 2006.
No. 6   Utah Jazz
Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth	February 28, 1978 (1978-02-28)
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
College	Mt. San Jacinto (1997–1999) Iowa State (1999–2001)
NBA Draft	2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall
Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies
Pro career	2001–present
Career history
2001–2009	Indiana Pacers
2009–2010	Memphis Grizzlies
2011	Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League)
2011–present	Utah Jazz
Career highlights and awards
NCAA AP All-America Second Team (2000-01) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2001–02)
Stats at NBA.com

Jamaal Lee Tinsley (born February 28, 1978) is an American professional basketball point guard for the Utah Jazz of the NBA. Tinsley was drafted out of Iowa State University by the Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzlies) with the 27th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, and was immediately dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, and then on to the Indiana Pacers on draft night. He has also played in the NBA for the Pacers and the Grizzlies.

Early years and college career

As a teenager, Tinsley developed his game playing streetball at New York City's legendary Rucker Park. Tinsley's streetball nickname is "Mel Mel The Abuser". He played college basketball for two schools in his four year collegiate career, Mt. San Jacinto Community College (MSJC) and Iowa State.

During the two seasons he played at MSJC, Jamaal was the two-time Foothill Conference MVP (1998 & 1999) and the Eagles' career leader in assists and steals.

In Jamaal's senior year, he received Second Team All-American and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors. He led Iowa State to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament's West region. But, his team was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by the No. 15-seeded Hampton in the tournament's first round.

Collegiate statistics

99/00- 11.0 PPG, 5.1 REBS, 6.6 ASTS, 32.8 MINS

00/01- 14.3 PPG, 3.8 REBS, 6.0 ASTS, 32.2 MINS

NBA career

Tinsley established himself as the starting point guard under Pacers coach Isiah Thomas. He put up statistics of 9.4 points and 8.1 assists per game in 2001–02.

Tinsley played 73 games for the Pacers in 2002–03, starting 69 of them, and his averages dipped to 7.8 points and 7.5 assists per contest.

The following year, Rick Carlisle replaced Thomas as the Pacers' head coach, and promoted veteran guard Kenny Anderson to the starting point guard slot, with Anthony Johnson as his backup.

When Anderson and Johnson went down with injuries, Tinsley regained his status as a starter. As the Pacers advanced to the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, Tinsley started all 16 playoff games.

Tinsley spent the majority of the 2004–05 season on injured reserve due to a bruised left foot, but the team played its way to a 44–38 record and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Tinsley missed the first four games of the Pacers' first-round series against the Boston Celtics, but made a return in a Game 5 victory. In that game on May 3, 2005, Tinsley made 7 assists, 5 steals, and 6 points, and the 5 steals tied the most among all players during the 2005 postseason and his personal high for the playoffs. Tinsley's injury problems continued during the 2007–08 season; he only played in 39 games, during which he averaged a career-high 8.4 assists.

For the 2008–09 season, Tinsley was replaced in the starting lineup by point guard T. J. Ford. O'Brien and Pacers' President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird informed Tinsley that he was not permitted to attend team practices or games during the 2008–09 season while the Pacers worked out a trade for him. Tinsley then requested a contract buyout through his agent. The NBA Players Association filed a grievance against the Pacers on Tinsley's behalf on February 11, 2009. On July 22, 2009, the Pacers waived Tinsley.

On November 14, 2009, the Memphis Grizzlies signed Tinsley as a free agent. Chris Wallace, the General Manager of the Grizzlies, stated that he "was the best available player out on the board." The Grizzlies did not guarantee Tinsley a starting spot, but told him he would be allowed to compete for the point guard position.

On November 3, 2011, Tinsley was picked 1st overall by the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the NBA Development League Draft. Tinsley played eight games with the D-Fenders and averaged 9.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game.

On December 12, 2011, Tinsley was signed by the Utah Jazz.

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	Indiana	80	78	30.5	.380	.240	.704	3.7	8.1	1.7	.5	9.4
2002–03	Indiana	73	69	30.6	.396	.277	.714	3.6	7.5	1.7	.2	7.8
2003–04	Indiana	52	43	26.5	.414	.372	.731	2.6	5.8	1.6	.3	8.3
2004–05	Indiana	40	40	32.5	.418	.372	.744	4.0	6.4	2.0	.3	15.4
2005–06	Indiana	42	27	26.7	.409	.229	.637	3.2	5.0	1.2	.1	9.3
2006–07	Indiana	72	72	31.2	.389	.316	.720	3.3	6.9	1.6	.3	12.8
2007–08	Indiana	39	36	33.2	.380	.284	.720	3.6	8.4	1.7	.3	11.9
2009–10	Memphis	38	1	15.5	.371	.179	.815	1.7	2.8	.9	.1	3.5
Career		436	366	28.9	.395	.303	.716	3.3	6.6	1.6	.3	9.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2001–02	Indiana	5	5	17.6	.421	.000	.667	2.0	5.0	.4	.0	3.6
2002–03	Indiana	6	6	30.8	.571	.615	.500	3.0	6.5	.7	.0	8.5
2003–04	Indiana	16	16	26.4	.398	.296	.938	2.9	5.0	1.8	.2	8.1
2004–05	Indiana	9	9	27.4	.360	.111	.571	3.3	5.7	1.6	.3	8.7
2005–06	Indiana	1	0	7.0	.333	.000	.000	.0	1.0	1.0	.0	2.0
Career		37	36	25.6	.409	.295	.696	2.8	5.3	1.3	.2	7.5

See also

• List of National Basketball Association players with 22 or more assists in a game

External links

• Jamaal Tinsley biography
• NBA in-depth biography of Tinsley, 2001-2008 (archived)
• Jamaal Tinsley at Basketball-Reference.com
• Jamaal Tinsley Iowa State Profile