Jeff Foster (basketball)

Jeffrey Douglas Foster (born January 16, 1977) is a former American professional basketball player who spent the entirety of his 13-year career with the Indiana Pacers of the NBA.

For other uses, see Jeff Foster (disambiguation).
Jeff Foster
Foster in 2010
Personal information
Born (1977-01-16) January 16, 1977
San Antonio, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolJames Madison (San Antonio, Texas)
CollegeSouthwest Texas State (1995–1999)
NBA draft1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21st overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career1999–2012
PositionCenter / Power forward
Number10
Career history
1999–2012Indiana Pacers
Career statistics
Points3,747 (4.9 ppg)
Rebounds5,248 (6.9 rpg)
Assists703 (0.9 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and college

Foster was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from James Madison High School in San Antonio in 1995. In senior year, he joined the varsity basketball team in high school. He attended Southwest Texas State University and finished college nine credits short of a degree in finance.[1] With the Southwest Texas State Bobcats, Foster averaged 12.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in his junior season and was part of the All-Southland Conference Second-Team in 1998.[2]

NBA career

He was selected 21st overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1999 NBA Draft out of Southwest Texas State University, but his draft rights were immediately traded to the Pacers in exchange for Vonteego Cummings and a future first-round draft pick.[3]

Foster was part of the Pacers' 1999–2000 Eastern Conference championship team, though he played only 19 games that year as he was fourth on the Pacers' depth chart at center behind Rik Smits, Sam Perkins and Zan Tabak. In his second season, he played in 71 games, gaining a spot in the rotation as the Pacers rebuilt for the future. He averaged 3.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while averaging only 16.2 minutes per contest.

Foster began the 2001–02 season as the starter, and started 48 games that year before Brad Miller was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. Nevertheless, Foster played in all 82 games for the first time in his career, averaging 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Miller remained the Pacers' starting center throughout the 2002–03 season, and as such Foster was relegated back to the bench, and he produced his lowest point total yet of his career (2.1 ppg) and grabbed only 3.6 rebounds per game.

Before the 2003–04 season, Brad Miller was traded to the Sacramento Kings, and newly acquired Scot Pollard began as the starting center. But Foster distinguished himself in the Pacers' season opener against the Detroit Pistons and his play, combined with Pollard's poor play, meant a return to the starting line-up for Foster.[4] The energetic, hard-working center became an important rebounding presence for the Pacers, and his offensive rebounds, in particular, combined with well-timed tip-ins, finally endeared himself to Indiana fans.

Foster with the Pacers in 2008.

Foster sustained a back injury in December 2009 and underwent surgery on February 16, 2010.[5]

Foster announced his retirement on March 21, 2012. He cited chronic back issues as the reason for his departure from the game.[6] At the time of his retirement, Foster ranked 8th all-time in total rebound rate and 4th all-time in offensive rebound rate.[7]

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
1999–00 Indiana 1904.5.565.000.6801.7.3.3.12.3
2000–01 Indiana 71916.2.469.286.5165.5.5.5.43.5
2001–02 Indiana 824821.8.449.133.6106.8.9.9.55.7
2002–03 Indiana 77210.4.360.000.5403.6.7.4.32.1
2003–04 Indiana 827923.9.544.000.6697.4.8.9.36.1
2004–05 Indiana 614326.1.519.000.6349.0.7.8.27.0
2005–06 Indiana 633725.1.552.000.6049.1.8.7.45.9
2006–07 Indiana 754323.2.469.000.6398.1.8.8.54.3
2007–08 Indiana 775224.5.550.000.5938.71.7.7.46.4
2008–09 Indiana 742624.7.501.286.6586.91.8.7.76.1
2009–10 Indiana 16315.9.478.000.5565.11.3.2.33.1
2010–11 Indiana 56316.8.479.000.5636.3.8.4.63.3
2011–12 Indiana 11012.8.5001.000.6673.8.4.7.12.3
Career 76434520.6.497.130.6156.9.9.7.44.9

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001 Indiana 4213.0.444.0001.0003.0.5.0.82.5
2002 Indiana 5015.6.538.500.4444.81.4.6.24.0
2003 Indiana 606.3.545.0001.0001.3.3.0.52.3
2004 Indiana 161319.2.581.000.8006.6.8.8.33.6
2005 Indiana 13018.8.596.000.7147.4.4.5.95.9
2006 Indiana 4420.0.364.000.7506.0.81.0.32.8
2011 Indiana 5018.6.583.000.3754.8.8.4.83.4
Career 531916.8.556.400.6615.5.7.5.53.9

References
  1. "Off the court: Jeff Foster". Indiana Pacers. 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  2. "Jeff Foster". Southwest Texas State Bobcats. Archived from the original on November 13, 1999.
  3. Steele, David (July 1, 1999). "Warriors Switch It Up". San Francisco Chronicle. p. E1.
  4. "2003-04 in Review: Jeff Foster". Indiana Pacers. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  5. "Pacers' Foster has successful surgery". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 16, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  6. "Pacers Jeff Foster Announces Retirement". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  7. "Jeff Foster, a True Indiana Pacer Great, Retires Archived 2012-03-26 at the Wayback Machine. Eight Points, Nine Seconds. TrueHoop Network, March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
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