Sean Elliott

Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968)[1] is an American former professional basketball player who starred at small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career as a two-time All-American, winner of the 1989 John R. Wooden Award, the 1989 Adolph Rupp Trophy, the 1989 NABC Player of the Year, 1989 AP Player of the Year, and two time Pac-12 Player of the Year (in 1988–1989).

Sean Elliott

Elliott, circa 1987
Personal information
Born	February 2, 1968 Tucson, Arizona
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Cholla (Tucson, Arizona)
College	Arizona (1985–1989)
NBA draft	1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career	1989–2001
Position	Small forward
Number	32
Career history
1989–1993	San Antonio Spurs
1993–1994	Detroit Pistons
1994–2001	San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1999) 2× NBA All-Star (1993, 1996) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1990) No. 32 retired by San Antonio Spurs John R. Wooden Award (1989) Adolph Rupp Trophy (1989) NABC Player of the Year (1989) AP Player of the Year (1989) 2× Consensus first-team All-American (1988, 1989) 2× Pac-10 Player of the Year (1988, 1989) No. 32 retired by Arizona Wildcats McDonald's All-American (1985)
Career NBA statistics
Points	10,544 (14.2 ppg)
Rebounds	3,204 (4.3 rpg)
Assists	1,897 (2.6 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2018
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States FIBA World Championship 1986 Spain National team Summer Universiade 1987 Zagreb National team

He was the third pick of the 1989 NBA draft, was named to the 1990 NBA All-Rookie Second Team, was a two-time NBA All-Star, and earned an NBA championship in 1999.

His #32 is retired by both the University of Arizona and the San Antonio Spurs.

Early life

Elliott was born in Tucson, Arizona as the youngest of three boys. He attended the G.A.T.E. (Gifted and Talented Education) program at Tolson Elementary School there, then played basketball at Cholla High School (now Cholla High Magnet School) on the city's west side.

College

After graduating in 1985, he remained in Tucson to play college basketball at the University of Arizona. Under the tutelage of Lute Olson, Elliott was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. He was selected as a consensus all-American during his junior and senior years, and led the Wildcats to the Final Four in his junior year (1988). Elliott broke Lew Alcindor's (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) all time Pac-10 career scoring record. After an exceptional senior season, Elliott won the Wooden Award. He is still the University of Arizona's all-time leading scorer.

He played for the US national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning the gold medal.[2]

NCAA 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

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985–86	Arizona	32	...	33.7	.486	...	.749	5.3	2.2	0.7	0.3	15.6
1986–87	Arizona	30	...	34.9	.510	.371	.770	6.0	3.7	0.7	0.2	19.3
1987–88	Arizona	38	...	32.9	.570	.471	.793	5.8	3.6	0.7	0.4	19.6
1988–89	Arizona	33	...	34.1	.480	.504	.841	7.2	4.1	1.0	0.3	22.3
Career[3]	...	133	...	33.8	.512	.456	.793	6.1	3.4	0.8	0.3	19.2

NBA career

San Antonio Spurs (1989–1994)

Elliott was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs as the third pick in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft. Elliot started in 69 of 81 games for the season and averaged 10 points a game. The Spurs made the playoffs where they swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round before falling to the eventual Western Conference Champion Portland Trail Blazers in 7 games.

In the following season, Elliott was moved to the permanent starting line-up and increased his scoring to 15.9 points a game. The Spurs won 55 games but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors in four games. Elliott averaged 16.3 points per game during the 1991–92 season but San Antonio were swept in the first round by the Phoenix Suns.

During the 1992–93 season, Elliott averaged 17.2 points per game, including a career-high 41 points against the Dallas Mavericks on December 18, 1992. He was named to play in the 1993 NBA All-Star Game alongside teammate David Robinson. In the playoffs, San Antonio defeated Portland 3 games to 1, before facing the number one seeded Suns in the conference semifinal. After losing the first two games in Phoenix, the Spurs responded with consecutive games at home, as Elliott scored 17 points in game 3 and 19 points in game 4. The Suns managed to wrap up the series in the next two games. Elliot averaged 15.8 points per game in the playoffs.

Detroit Pistons (1993–1994)

Elliott spent the 1993–94 season with the Detroit Pistons after being traded for Dennis Rodman in a multi-player deal. After Elliott struggled with the Pistons, the Pistons attempted to trade him to the eventual champion Houston Rockets in February 1994 in exchange for Robert Horry, Matt Bullard and two second-round draft choices; the trade fell through when Elliott failed his physical.[4][5][6] After the trade was voided, Elliott held a press conference and announced that he had a kidney problem.[7] Elliott remained in Detroit for the rest of the season and averaged 12.1 points per game. Following the end of the season, he was traded back to the Spurs for the draft rights of Bill Curley.

Return to San Antonio Spurs (1994–1998)

In the 1994–1995 season, the Spurs won 62 games under the leadership of Elliott and the season's NBA Most Valuable Player Robinson. The Spurs clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, and swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round before facing the young Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals. Elliott scored 26 points – his high for the playoffs – in the series-clinching game against the Lakers. The Spurs lost to the Houston Rockets in the conference finals.

The 1995–1996 season was a personal best for Elliott, as he averaged 20 points a game, a career high, in 77 games. Elliott also made a career-high 161 three-pointers on the season. He played in the 1996 NBA All-Star Game and scored 13 points. The following season, Elliott suffered injuries that limited him to 39 games. Injuries limited him again to just 36 games in the 1997–1998 season.

NBA championship, kidney transplant, and comeback (1998–2001)

The 1998–1999 season was shortened to 50 games as a result of a league lockout, but the Spurs won 37 of the games for the west's best record led by Duncan and Robinson, with Elliott starting in all 50 games with an average of 11.2 points a game. The Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the conference finals. During game 2, the Trail Blazers held a 2-point lead with 9 seconds left to play in regulation. Elliott received a pass nearly stolen by Blazer Stacey Augmon in the corner, before Elliott caught the ball within an inch of the sideline. He managed to stay on his tiptoes rather than planting his feet, before releasing a 21-foot three-point attempt just over the outstretched arms of 6 foot 11 forward Rasheed Wallace. The shot went in, giving the Spurs a 1-point lead and the eventual victory. The shot was named the "Memorial Day Miracle" because of its improbability and the date on which it was made. Elliott finished the game with 22 points. The Spurs made the NBA Finals and faced the New York Knicks. The Spurs defeated the Knicks in five games to win their first NBA Championship. Elliott averaged 11.9 points in 17 games in the playoffs while shooting 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Shortly after the championship run, Elliott announced that he had a kidney disease known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, that his kidney function was worsening, and that he would require a transplant as soon as a matching donor became available.[8] Elliott also disclosed that he had been aware of his kidney ailment since 1993.[9] He underwent surgery on August 16, 1999, after he received a kidney from his older brother, Noel.

On March 13, 2000, in a game against the Atlanta Hawks, Elliott became the first player to return to the NBA after a kidney transplant. He played in only 19 games in the 1999–2000 season. Elliott started in 34 of 52 games in the 2000–2001 season; the Spurs held the best record in the league, but lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Retirement

Elliott announced his retirement in 2001. He finished his career averaging 14.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Elliott is the fifth all-time franchise leader in three-point field goals made (563) and fourth for three-point attempts (1,485).

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
†	Won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1989–90	San Antonio	81	69	25.1	.481	.111	.866	3.7	1.9	0.6	0.2	10.0
1990–91	San Antonio	82	82	37.1	.490	.313	.808	5.6	2.9	0.8	0.4	15.9
1991–92	San Antonio	82	82	38.0	.494	.305	.861	5.4	2.6	1.0	0.4	16.3
1992–93	San Antonio	70	70	37.2	.491	.356	.798	4.6	3.8	1.0	0.4	17.2
1993–94	Detroit	73	73	33.0	.455	.299	.803	3.6	2.7	0.7	0.4	12.1
1994–95	San Antonio	81	81	35.3	.468	.408	.807	3.5	2.5	1.0	0.5	18.1
1995–96	San Antonio	77	77	37.7	.466	.411	.771	5.1	2.7	0.9	0.4	20.0
1996–97	San Antonio	39	39	35.7	.422	.333	.755	4.9	3.2	0.6	0.6	14.9
1997–98	San Antonio	36	36	28.1	.403	.378	.718	3.4	1.7	0.7	0.4	9.3
1998–99†	San Antonio	50	50	30.2	.410	.328	.757	4.3	2.3	0.5	0.3	11.2
1999–2000	San Antonio	19	19	20.6	.358	.351	.781	2.5	1.5	0.6	0.1	6.0
2000–01	San Antonio	52	34	23.6	.434	.426	.714	3.3	1.6	0.4	0.5	7.9
Career		742	712	33.0	.465	.375	.800	4.3	2.6	0.8	0.4	14.2
All-Star		2	0	18.5	.333	.333	.800	3.5	1.0	0.0	0.0	9.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1990	San Antonio	10	10	29.1	.552	.000	.724	4.1	1.8	0.9	0.6	12.7
1991	San Antonio	4	4	33.0	.425	.000	.781	5.5	4.0	1.0	0.3	14.8
1992	San Antonio	3	3	45.7	.475	.625	.889	4.3	2.7	1.0	1.3	19.7
1993	San Antonio	10	10	38.1	.472	.214	.925	4.8	3.6	0.8	0.3	15.8
1995	San Antonio	15	15	38.3	.435	.364	.776	4.8	2.7	0.7	0.5	17.3
1996	San Antonio	10	10	38.9	.402	.294	.797	3.9	2.5	1.1	0.4	15.5
1999†	San Antonio	17	17	33.8	.444	.400	.763	3.4	2.6	0.5	0.2	11.9
2000	San Antonio	4	4	29.8	.375	.385	.625	5.5	1.3	0.0	0.5	10.0
2001	San Antonio	12	0	19.9	.373	.364	1.000	2.2	1.2	0.4	0.5	4.8
Career		85	73	33.4	.445	.356	.801	4.0	2.4	0.7	0.4	13.2

Post-NBA

After retiring, Elliott became a basketball analyst for The NBA on NBC and, during the 2003–2004 season, for ABC Sports and ESPN. He left that position for the 2004–2005 season and became the color commentator for the Spurs' local broadcasting. On January 5, 2013, he joined Fox Sports 1, calling his first college basketball game with the network.[10]

On March 6, 2005, his #32 was retired by the San Antonio Spurs and was hung in the rafters of the AT&T Center. His #32 is also retired by the University of Arizona.

References

1. "Sean Elliott Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
2. 1986 USA Basketball Archived November 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. Sean Elliott, basketball-reference.com, accessed March 20, 2010.
4. PRO BASKETBALL; Kidney Failure Imperils Career of Spurs' Elliott
5. ELLIOT FAILS PHYSICAL TRADE TO ROCKETS VOIDED
10. FOX Sports: NBA [@HoopsOnFOX] (January 5, 2014). "REMINDER: Sean Elliott has joined the FOX College Hoops team & will be calling His 1st game will NEXT #USC vs #UCLA 3 pm ET on @FOXSports1!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

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