Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the president of the NBA G League.[1] He was also the director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the general manager of the Reno Bighorns, the Kings' minor-league affiliate. He last played in the NBA for the Kings. On the basketball court, he played both forward and center positions. He left the University of California, Berkeley after one year to enter the 1996 NBA draft.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Abdur-Rahim with the Sacramento Kings in 2006
Personal information
Born	December 11, 1976 Marietta, Georgia
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school	Joseph Wheeler (Marietta, Georgia)
College	California (1995–1996)
NBA draft	1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies
Playing career	1996–2008
Position	Power forward / Small forward
Number	3, 33
Coaching career	2008–2010
Career history
As player:
1996–2001	Vancouver Grizzlies
2001–2004	Atlanta Hawks
2004–2005	Portland Trail Blazers
2005–2008	Sacramento Kings
As coach:
2008–2010	Sacramento Kings (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Star (2002) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1997) Third-team All-American – AP, NABC (1996) Pac-10 Player of the Year (1996) First-team All-Pac-10 (1996) Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (1996) First-team Parade All-American (1995) 2× Mr. Georgia Basketball (1994, 1995)
Career NBA statistics
Points	15,028 (18.1 ppg)
Rebounds	6,239 (7.5 rpg)
Assists	2,109 (2.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Summer Olympics 2000 Sydney Team FIBA Americas U18 Championship 1994 Santa Rosa Team

During his early NBA career, Abdur-Rahim was the star of the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was traded by the Grizzlies in 2001 and then played for the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers before joining his last team, the Sacramento Kings. Nicknamed Reef,[2] Abdur-Rahim was named an NBA All-Star in the 2001–02 season. He also played on the United States men's national basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Prior to joining the Kings, despite the fact that he achieved solid statistics throughout his career, Abdur-Rahim shared the NBA record for most games played without making a playoff appearance. Following persistent injuries to his right knee, Abdur-Rahim announced his retirement from basketball on September 22, 2008.

Early life

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the second eldest sibling in the family of twelve children born to Aminah and William Abdur-Rahim.[2] Abdur-Rahim, whose first name means "noble" and whose last name means "Servant of the Most Merciful One,[3] is a devout Muslim. He values his parents for their guiding influence on him since his youth and credits them with his life philosophy: "remember how you came on all your accomplishments and stay humble."[2] From an early age, Abdur-Rahim was surrounded by family members who played basketball; his brother, Muhammad, played at the University of Detroit while his younger brother, Amir, played at Southeastern Louisiana University.[4] Abdur-Rahim himself started playing competitive basketball at Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. At Wheeler, he was named "Mr. Basketball" in back-to-back seasons, and he led the school to a state title as a junior in 1994. In his senior year, Abdur-Rahim averaged 31 points, 12.4 rebounds and 4 blocks per game.[5]

Abdur-Rahim later attended college at the University of California, Berkeley, where he maintained a GPA of 3.5.[2] At California, he averaged 21.1 points per game (ppg) and 8.4 rebounds per game (rpg) in 28 games.[2] He was the first freshman in Pac-10 history to win Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named Third Team All-America by the Associated Press.[2] Also named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Abdur-Rahim set single-season freshman records for points, scoring average, field goals, and free throws.[2] After a year at California, however, he decided to leave college to enter the 1996 NBA draft.[2]

Professional career

Vancouver Grizzlies (1996–2001)

Abdur-Rahim was selected third overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1996 Draft,[6] behind Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. He made an immediate impact playing for the Grizzlies, becoming the team's leading scorer while setting a franchise record of 18.7 points per game. He also averaged 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He finished third in balloting for the Schick NBA Rookie of the Year behind Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Minnesota's Stephon Marbury, and he was picked for the All-Rookie First Team.[2] By the end of the 1996–97 season, Abdur-Rahim led the team in scoring on 33 occasions, rebounding on 23 occasions.[2]

For the next few seasons, Abdur-Rahim remained the centerpiece of the Grizzlies team. In his sophomore season, he averaged 22.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.[7] The following season, he elevated his performance with 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.[7] Despite his best efforts, the Grizzlies remained at the bottom two spots of the Midwest Division in his first four seasons.[8][9][10][11] In the 2000–01 season, Abdur-Rahim finished with a 20.5-point average for the fourth straight season[7] and was ranked in the top 20 in 13 NBA statistical categories, once again leading the Grizzlies in both points and rebounds per game.[2] Abdur-Rahim's importance to the team was highlighted in a game against the Indiana Pacers on December 1, 2000, when he earned all of the 20 points scored by the Grizzlies in the final quarter of the game.[2]

Atlanta Hawks (2001–2004)

On June 27, 2001, the Atlanta Hawks reached an agreement to acquire Abdur-Rahim and the 27th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft from the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Brevin Knight, Lorenzen Wright and Pau Gasol, the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.[12] Abdur-Rahim's return to his hometown, and expected partnership with sophomore Jason Terry, provided a significant amount of buzz around the league.[13] While the Hawks finished the 2001–02 campaign with a 33–49 win-loss record, Abdur-Rahim's performances, including a career-high 50-point game,[7] ensured that he would be selected to the NBA All-Star game for that season.[13]

In his second season with the Hawks, Abdur-Rahim achieved another personal milestone on December 28, 2002, when his jump shot against the Washington Wizards made him the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 10,000-points.[2] Although Glenn Robinson, Jason Terry and Abdur-Rahim combined to average 57.9 points per game and become the highest-scoring trio in the league for the 2002–03 season,[13] the Hawks failed to make the playoffs again. With an average of 19.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, Abdur-Rahim played in all but one of the Hawks' games.[7] By the end of the season, Hawks General Manager Billy Knight decided major changes had to be made for the franchise to move forward, and Abdur-Rahim was traded the next season.[13]

Portland Trail Blazers (2004–2005)

Abdur-Rahim was sent, along with Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau, to the Portland Trail Blazers on February 9, 2004 in exchange for Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person.[14] His impact in the two seasons with the Trail Blazers was considerably less than in previous seasons. His averages were 16.3 points/7.5 rebounds and 16.8 points/7.3 rebounds for the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons respectively.[7] At the end of the 2004–05 season, Abdur-Rahim became a free agent.[14]

During the 2005 off-season, he was traded via a sign and trade agreement (in principle) to the New Jersey Nets for a first-round draft pick (which Portland planned to trade to the Phoenix Suns for Leandro Barbosa). On August 4, 2005, though the news conference was planned to announce the postponement of his arrival, it was revealed that he failed a required physical due to scar tissue found in his knee. The trade was put on hold, pending a second opinion from other medical sources. On August 7, Abdur-Rahim was quoted saying: "I don't feel I want to be a Net".[15] He felt the knee was a non-issue, claiming that he never missed a game in his entire career because of the knee injury. Two days later, it was announced that New Jersey decided to rescind the trade.[14]

Sacramento Kings (2005–2008)

On August 12, 2005, Abdur-Rahim signed a free-agent contract with the Sacramento Kings.[14] In his first season with them, Abdur-Rahim started in 30 of the 72 games he played. As a starter, he averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He shot .543 for field goal percentage, and almost .800 from the free throw line.[2] The Kings went on to qualify for the 2006 playoffs. Abdur-Rahim made his postseason career debut against the San Antonio Spurs.[2] At the same time, he ended a streak of having played the most games in NBA history without participating in the post-season.[16] In his second season with the Kings, Abdur-Rahim continued to be deployed as a sixth man; however, the Kings failed to secure a playoff berth as Abdur-Rahim recorded 9.9 points per game.[7] The 2007–08 season proved to be Abdur-Rahim's last, as he played only six games and his persistent knee injury forced him to announce his retirement on September 22, 2008.[17] He joined the Sacramento Kings' coaching staff as an assistant the following week.[18] On October 7, 2010 Abdur-Rahim was hired to be the assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings. He later became the team's director of player personnel, a position he held in 2014 after new ownership had taken over in 2013.[19] Abdur-Rahim left the team in September 2014.[20] League sources would later report his departure occurred after the 2014 NBA draft, where Abdur-Rahim had arguments with coach Mike Malone and general manager Pete D'Alessandro.[21]

National team career

Prior to joining the NBA, Abdur-Rahim was the USA's leading scorer and rebounder at the 1994 COPABA Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament held in Argentina.[3] He averaged a double-double of 16.8 points and 10.1 rebounds. While trying for a team high in blocked shots averaging 1.6 blocks per game, he helped push the American squad to an 8–0 record, the gold medal, and a qualifying berth in the 1995 FIBA Junior World Championship.[3] The following May he was named to USA Basketball's 1995 Junior Select Team that captured an 86–77 victory over an International Select Team in the inaugural Hoop Summit Game.[3]

While playing for the Grizzlies, Abdur-Rahim was selected as a replacement for the injured Grant Hill to be part of the USA Men's basketball team, a team that included several NBA stars such as Kevin Garnett and Tim Hardaway and won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.[22]

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
1996–97	Vancouver	80	71	35.0	.453	.259	.756	6.9	2.2	1.0	1.0	18.7
1997–98	Vancouver	82	82	36.0	.485	.412	.784	7.1	2.6	1.1	.9	22.3
1998–99	Vancouver	50	50	40.4	.432	.306	.841	7.5	3.4	1.4	1.1	23.0
1999–2000	Vancouver	82	82	39.3	.465	.302	.809	10.1	3.3	1.1	1.1	20.3
2000–01	Vancouver	81	81	40.0	.472	.188	.834	9.1	3.1	1.1	1.0	20.5
2001–02	Atlanta	77	77	38.7	.461	.300	.801	9.0	3.1	1.3	1.1	21.2
2002–03	Atlanta	81	81	38.1	.478	.350	.841	8.4	3.0	1.1	.5	19.9
2003–04	Atlanta	53	53	36.9	.485	.217	.880	9.3	2.4	.8	.4	20.1
2003–04	Portland	32	3	22.8	.447	.364	.832	4.5	1.5	.8	.6	10.0
2004–05	Portland	54	49	34.6	.503	.385	.866	7.3	2.1	.9	.5	16.8
2005–06	Sacramento	72	30	27.2	.525	.227	.784	5.0	2.1	.7	.6	12.3
2006–07	Sacramento	80	45	25.2	.474	.150	.726	5.0	1.4	.7	.5	9.9
2007–08	Sacramento	6	0	8.5	.214	.000	1.000	1.7	.7	.2	.0	1.7
Career		830	704	34.8	.472	.297	.810	7.5	2.5	1.0	.8	18.1
All-Star		1	0	21.0	1.000	1.000	.000	6.0	.0	.0	.0	9.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2006	Sacramento	6	0	21.5	.535	.000	.600	4.8	1.2	.3	.0	9.2
Career		6	0	21.5	.535	.000	.600	4.8	1.2	.3	.0	9.2

Coaching career

Sacramento Kings

On October 2, 2008, Abdur-Rahim was named as the assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.[23][24]

Executive career

Sacramento Kings

On October 7, 2010, the Kings announced Abdur-Rahim as their assistant general manager.[25]

Reno Bighorns

On August 29, 2013, Abdur-Rahim was named as the new general manager of the Reno Bighorns for the 2013–14 season.[26]

NBA

Abdur-Rahim was the associate vice president of basketball operations of the NBA.[27]

NBA G League

On December 11, 2018, Abdur-Rahim was named the president of the NBA G League, and replaced Malcolm Turner who stepped down on January 11, 2019, to become the Athletics Director at Vanderbilt University.[28]

Personal life

Abdur-Rahim and his wife Delicia have two children: a son Jabri, and a daughter, Samiyah.[2] Jabri Abdur-Rahim is (as of 2019) rated as an ESPN Top 30 player in the high school Class of 2020 and has committed to play for the Virginia Cavaliers under Tony Bennett.[29]

Abdur-Rahim has started his own foundation, the Future Foundation, which provides after-school and other support services for youth at-risk in Atlanta.[3] On television, Abdur-Rahim has appeared on an episode of The Jamie Foxx Show with fellow NBA players Gary Payton and Vin Baker.[2] After retiring, Abdur-Rahim returned to U.C. Berkeley, graduating with a degree in sociology in 2012 with a 3.8 GPA.[30] Abdur-Rahim earned an MBA at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business in 2016.[31]

Abdur-Rahim is referenced in the Latyrx song "The Quickening (The Wreckoning Part II)", from their 1997 album The Album.[32]

References

1. "Shareef Abdur-Rahim named NBA G League President as Malcolm Turner steps down". NBA.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
2. "Shareef Abdur-Rahim Info Page – Bio". nba.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009.
3. Bio – Mens – Abdur-Rahim Archived 2006-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, usabasketball.com, accessed June 6, 2007.
4. Five Things You Didn't Know About..., nba.com/playoffs2006, accessed June 5, 2007.
5. "HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-USA HONORABLE MENTIONS". USA Today. April 21, 1995. p. 11C.
6. Player Card, sports.espn.go.com, accessed June 21, 2007.
7. Shareef Abdur-Rahim Info Page – Career Stats and Totals Archived May 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, accessed June 21, 2007.
8. 1996–97 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed June 21, 2007.
9. 1997–98 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed June 21, 2007.
10. 1998–99 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed June 21, 2007.
11. 1999–2000 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed June 21, 2007.
12. Hawks Transaction Archive, nba.com/hawks, accessed June 21, 2007.
13. Hawks History, nba.com/history, accessed June 21, 2007. Archived December 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
14. NBA Players Archived September 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, sportsnet.ca, accessed March 20, 2007.
15. "Abdur-Rahim wants to move on past Nets", sports.espn.go.com, August 8, 2005, accessed March 20, 2007.
16. DuPree, David, "Kings' Abdur-Rahim courts shot at playoffs", usatoday.com, February 28, 2006, accessed March 20, 2007.
17. Shareef Abdur-Rahim retires with knee woes, thestar.com, September 22, 2008, accessed September 24, 2008.
18. Kings hire retired forward Abdur-Rahim as assistant coach, sports.espn.go.com, October 1, 2008, accessed December 22, 2008.
19. Kings bosses come to Las Vegas to check out DeMarcus Cousins Archived August 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
20. Abdur-Rahim no longer with Kings, sources say
21. Now Coachless, the Kings Never Fail to Disappoint
22. Men's Olympics History – 2000 Archived February 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, usabasketball.com, accessed June 21, 2007.
23. "Kings hire retired forward Abdur-Rahim as assistant coach". ESPN. October 2, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
24. "Kings hire retired Abdur-Rahim as assistant". GMA Network. October 2, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
25. "Shareef Abdur-Rahim named Kings Assistant GM". NBA. October 7, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
26. "Shareef Abdur-Rahim Named Reno Bighorns General Manager". NBA. August 29, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
27. Murphy, Mark (July 14, 2016). "Celtics notebook: Former All-Star Shareef Abdur-Rahim goes way back with top pick Jaylen Brown". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
28. "Shareef Abdur-Rahim Named NBA G League President as Malcolm Turner Steps Down". NBA.com. December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
29. Top 30 Guard Abdur-Rahim Commits to Virginia, accessed July 13, 2019
30. Jones, Jason (May 11, 2012). "Shareef Abdur-Rahim to receive his degree from Cal on Monday". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015.
31. Schmitt, Jeff (August 3, 2016). "My Story: From The NBA To An MBA". Poets&Quants. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
32. "Thursdays with Thurl: Bay Area Edition," freedarko.com, September 8, 2005.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com or Basketball-Reference.com
• Future Foundation website