Kareem Rush

Kareem Rush

Rush with the Clippers in October 2009
No. 21, 4
Shooting guard
Personal information
Date of birth	October 30, 1980 (1980-10-30)
Place of birth	Kansas City, Missouri
Nationality	American
High school	The Pembroke Hill School
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	Missouri (1999–2002)
NBA Draft	2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall
Selected by the Toronto Raptors
Pro career	2002–2010
Career history
2002–2004	Los Angeles Lakers
2004–2006	Charlotte Bobcats
2006–2007	BC Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
2007–2008	Indiana Pacers
2008–2009	Philadelphia 76ers
2009–2010	Los Angeles Clippers
Career highlights and awards
LKL All-Star (2007) LKL All-Star Game MVP (2007)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who last played at shooting guard with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Rush's younger brother, Brandon, is currently with the Golden State Warriors, while older brother JaRon played college basketball for UCLA.

College career

After graduating from Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Rush attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where he was a standout guard on the basketball team. Rush averaged 19.8 points per game as a junior, leading the Tigers to the Western Regional finals in the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Oklahoma. As a sophomore in 2000–01, he led the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game.

Professional career

Kareem Rush handling the ball for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Los Angeles Lakers

Rush entered the 2002 NBA Draft after his junior season and was selected with the 20th pick overall by the Toronto Raptors, who immediately traded his rights to the Los Angeles Lakers. Rush was projected to be a top 10 pick, but much like what happened to Kareem's elder brother JaRon—a former UCLA star—Kareem slipped down much further than anticipated. At the 2000 draft, JaRon, who left the Bruins after his sophomore season, was not selected. "No one wants to see something like that happen to his brother", JaRon said, weeping. "I mean, I knew he was going to get drafted eventually, but it was still hard."

Over his first two seasons, he played a limited, back-up role on the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant-led club. However, due to his three-point shooting accuracy, he would become a more frequently used reserve player in the 2003–2004 playoffs for coach Phil Jackson. Although the Lakers would lose to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, Rush was able to make somewhat of a name for himself as a sharpshooter, averaging 14 minutes per game and hitting 40% of his three-point shots in the playoffs. He was a major contributor in helping the Lakers clinch the Western Conference Finals against Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he scored 18 points in the sixth and final game, all from 3-point range, where he was 6 for 7.

Charlotte Bobcats

Fourteen games into the 2004–05 season, the Lakers traded Rush to the Charlotte Bobcats for two future second-round draft picks. In Charlotte, Rush found a larger role, often starting and averaging more than 25 minutes and 11.5 points per game. He set a then-Bobcats franchise record by scoring 35 points against the Indiana Pacers. His season ended March 2 when he strained his MCL during a game in New Orleans.

Seattle SuperSonics

During the 2006–07 offseason, Rush signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, but recovered slowly from a groin injury. In November 2006, the club waived him to make room for a replacement for two frontcourt players who had sustained injuries.

Lithuania

Rush spent the next season playing in Lithuania. On December 21, 2006, he signed with ULEB Cup participant Lietuvos Rytas from Vilnius. He was chosen by the Slovenian coach Zmago Sagadin and led his team to the cup final. On February 24, 2007, Rush was named the MVP of the 2007 LKL All-Star Game. On April 21, Rush's team became the champion of the Baltic Basketball League; he was named the Final Four MVP.

Indiana Pacers

On July 3, 2007, Rush signed with the Indiana Pacers, who cited their need for a shooter.

Philadelphia 76ers

On July 28, 2008, Rush signed a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Los Angeles Clippers

Rush eventually signed for the Los Angeles Clippers, because of injuries to other players on the roster. However, Rush himself suffered an ACL tear in his right knee on November 18, 2009. Rush was waived by the Clippers on January 22, 2010.

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
2002–03	L.A. Lakers	76	0	11.5	.393	.279	.696	1.2	.9	.1	.1	3.0
2003–04	L.A. Lakers	72	15	17.3	.440	.348	.596	1.3	.8	.5	.3	6.4
2004–05	L.A. Lakers	14	0	6.5	.200	.200	1.000	.7	.2	.1	.1	.9
2004–05	Charlotte	34	22	25.8	.396	.386	.761	2.3	1.9	.5	.2	11.5
2005–06	Charlotte	47	25	23.6	.386	.348	.714	2.2	1.1	.8	.3	10.1
2007–08	Indiana	71	15	21.2	.401	.389	.714	2.4	1.3	.6	.3	8.3
2008–09	Philadelphia	25	1	8.0	.345	.303	1.000	.6	.6	.2	.0	2.2
2009-10	L.A. Clippers	7	0	8.3	.364	.333	.000	.9	.6	.3	.4	1.3
Career		346	78	17.2	.400	.358	.703	1.7	1.0	.4	.2	6.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002–03	L.A. Lakers	9	0	7.1	.379	.364	1.000	.3	.2	.1	.0	3.3
2003–04	L.A. Lakers	22	0	14.3	.385	.400	.667	.7	.8	.4	.1	3.7
Career		31	0	12.2	.383	.393	.857	.6	.6	.3	.1	3.6

Singing career

In 2010, Rush embarked on an R&B singing career, releasing his debut single "Hold You Down".

External links

• Kareem Rush at NBA.com
• Kareem Rush at Basketball-Reference.com
• Missouri Tigers biography