Grant Hill

Full Name: Grant Henry Hill	Current Team: Phoenix Suns
Height/Weight: 6'8"/225	Number: 33
Birthdate: October 5, 1972	Entry Draft: 1st round (3rd) in 1994
Birthplace: Dallas, Texas	Drafted By: Detroit Pistons
Position: SF/SG	College: Duke University

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[edit] Biography

Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American NBA basketball player who currently plays for the Orlando Magic. He is 2.04 m (6'8"). Hill was one of the best all-around players of his generation, often leading his team in points, rebounds and assists. He arguably had potential to become one of the best small forwards of all-time, but his stint in the league has been hampered by career-threatening injuries.

[edit] Early Life and College

Hill was born in Dallas, Texas while his father Calvin, a Yale graduate, was starring as a running back for the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys, winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 1969. His mother Janet was a Wellesley graduate who shared a suite with Hillary Clinton when both were freshmen there. After his father's NFL career ended, the family settled in Reston, Virginia, where Grant became a high-school superstar at South Lakes High School.

When the time came to choose a college, Hill's mother wanted him to attend Georgetown University, while his father preferred the University of North Carolina. Hill chose a neutral path and decided to attend Duke University. Hill played four years at Duke, winning national titles in 1991 and 1992 and losing in the championship game in 1994. He was voted the best defensive player in the nation for the 1992-93 season, and in 1994 he was the ACC Player of the Year. During his collegiate career, Hill became the first player in ACC history to collect more than 1900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocked shots during his collegiate career. He became the 8th player in Duke history to have his jersey number retired.

Hill might be best known for his role in a desperation play in an NCAA tournament regional final against Kentucky in 1992, a game many consider to be the greatest college basketball game of all time. With Duke down 103-102 in overtime with 2.1 seconds remaining after Kentucky's Sean Woods hit a floater, an unguarded Hill heaved the in-bounds pass 75 feet across the court into Christian Laettner's hands, who dribbled once and spun before pulling up to make the game-winning jumper from just outside the free-throw line as time expired.

[edit] NBA Career

Grant Hill was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the third pick in the NBA Draft after graduating from Duke in 1994. In his first season, Hill averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.77 steals per game, sharing NBA Rookie the Year honors with Jason Kidd. He was named to the all-NBA first team in 1997 and also regularly played in the NBA All-Star Game, where he made history by being the first rookie ever to lead an NBA All-Star fan balloting (1994-95), narrowly defeating Shaquille O'Neal. In his second season (1995-96), he once again led the fan balloting, this time edging Michael Jordan (his first All-Star game after returning from retirement). During the 1995-96 season, Hill showcased his all-round abilities by leading the NBA in triple doubles (10). He also won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as a member of the U.S. Men's Basketball Team. Hill's 1996-97 season was his finest yet with averages of 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.80 steals per game. Once again, he led the league in triple-doubles, where his 13 represented 35 percent of the league's triple-double total. He was awarded NBA's IBM award, given to the player with the biggest statistical contributions to his team. He finished third in MVP voting, behind Karl Malone and Michael Jordan. Between the 1995-96 and 1998-99 NBA seasons, Hill was the league leader in assists per game among non-guards all four seasons. In the shortened 1999 season, as he led his team in points, rebounds and assists for the third time, Grant Hill joined Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only players in NBA history to lead their teams in scoring, rebounding and assists more than once. Hill and Chamberlain are the only two players in league history to lead their teams in points, rebounds and assists per game three times.

However, despite Hill's accomplishments in Detroit, the Pistons never made it far in the playoffs, consistently losing in the first round. On April 15, 2000, 7 days before the start of the playoffs, Hill sprained his left ankle in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite his hurting ankle, Hill decided to play against the first round opponent, Miami Heat. However, his injured ankle got worse and Hill was forced to leave halfway through game 2. Eventually, the Heat swept the Pistons 3-0. In the summer of 2000, Hill forced the Pistons to send him to the Orlando Magic in what appeared to be a one-sided sign-and-trade deal for Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace. The Magic hoped he would team up with fellow superstar Tracy McGrady, who had recently been signed away from the Toronto Raptors, to return Orlando among the NBA elite. But Hill has been hampered by ankle injuries ever since his arrival in Orlando, playing in only four games in his first season with the Magic, 14 games in his second and 29 in his third. He was forced to sit out his entire fourth year with Orlando (2003-04); meanwhile, the Pistons, who had defeated the Magic in the 2003 Playoffs, won the championship. Furthermore, Wallace eclipsed Hill as an NBA star, winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006.

In March 2003, Hill underwent a major surgical procedure in which doctors re-fractured his ankle and realigned it with his leg bone. Five days after the surgery was performed, the unexpected happened: Hill developed a 40.5 °C (104.5-degree) fever and convulsions. He was immediately rushed to a hospital. Doctors removed the splint around his ankle and discovered that Hill had developed a staph infection, from which he nearly died. He was hospitalized for a week and had to take intravenous antibiotics for six months.

But the 2004-05 season saw a return to the old Grant Hill who was so popular earlier in his career. Hill, though hampered by a bruised shin that caused him to miss several games, started and played 67 games for the Magic, well over the combined amount of games he played for the Magic the previous 4 seasons. He averaged 19.7 points per game on a .509 field goal percentage. Fans voted him an All-Star starter again, and he led the Eastern Conference All-Star Team to a victory over the West. In addition, at the conclusion of the season, Hill was awarded the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the NBA Sportsmanship Award Winner.

During the 2005-06 season, Hill reverted to the oft-injured self as nagging groin injuries kept him sidelined for much of the first half of the season.

[edit] Art Collection

Hill owns a substantial collection of African-American art, centering around the work of Romare Bearden and Elizabeth Catlett. A selection of 46 works from the collection were featured in a touring exhibition at a number of American museums from 2003 to 2006. The exhibition was last shown at the Nasher Museum of Art at Hill's alma mater, Duke.

[edit] Trivia

Hill was ranked #74 on SLAM Magazine's "Top 75 NBA Players of All Time" in 2003.
Because of his prolonged injury, Hill's seven-year, $93 million contract was named the worst free agent signing since 1996 by CNN/Sports Illustrated [1]
Grant is married to R&B singer Tamia. The two have a daughter named Myla Grace.
Before Hill's serious ankle injuries, he was among the league leaders in triple-doubles during his tenure with the Detroit Pistons. Hill still holds the record for most consecutive triple-doubles among active players with 3 - spanning from Apr. 11-14, 1997.
Was a spokesperson for the soft drink Sprite.
An academic study of the effect of star players on gate revenue found that Hill had a statistically significant negative effect on gate revenues, although the authors attribute this to his team's poor performance during that season rather than Hill himself.
Hill's two biggest idols growing up were Julius Erving and tennis legend Arthur Ashe.

[edit] External Links

[edit] Transactions

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Totals

Season	Team	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1995	DET	70	69	2678	508	1064	.477	4	27	.148	374	511	.732	125	320	445	353	124	62	202	203	1394
1996	DET	80	80	3260	564	1221	.462	5	26	.192	485	646	.751	127	656	783	548	100	48	263	242	1618
1997	DET	80	80	3147	625	1259	.496	10	33	.303	450	633	.711	123	598	721	583	144	48	259	186	1710
1998	DET	81	81	3294	615	1361	.452	3	21	.143	479	647	.740	93	530	623	551	143	53	285	196	1712
1999	DET	50	50	1852	384	802	.479	0	14	.000	285	379	.752	65	290	355	300	80	27	184	114	1053
2000	DET	74	74	2776	696	1422	.489	34	98	.347	480	604	.795	97	393	490	385	103	43	240	190	1906
2001	ORL	4	4	133	19	43	.442	1	1	1.000	16	26	.615	8	17	25	25	5	2	11	9	55
2002	ORL	14	14	512	83	195	.426	0	2	.000	69	80	.863	29	96	125	64	8	4	37	40	235
2003	ORL	29	29	843	151	307	.492	1	4	.250	118	144	.819	40	166	206	122	28	13	84	46	421
2005	ORL	67	67	2338	517	1015	.509	3	13	.231	280	341	.821	77	241	318	220	97	28	161	144	1317
2006	ORL	21	17	613	119	243	.490	2	8	.250	78	102	.765	15	65	80	48	24	6	35	50	318
2007	ORL	65	64	2009	342	660	.518	2	12	.167	248	324	.765	53	184	237	138	61	25	144	146	934
2008	PHO	70	68	2222	358	712	.503	33	104	.317	170	196	.867	74	279	353	203	65	56	96	153	919
2009	PHO
Career

[edit] Per Game

Season	Team	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1995	DET	70	69	38.3	7.3	15.2	.477	0.1	0.4	.148	5.3	7.3	.732	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.0	1.8	0.9	2.9	2.9	19.9
1996	DET	80	80	40.8	7.1	15.3	.462	0.1	0.3	.192	6.1	8.1	.751	1.6	8.2	9.8	6.9	1.3	0.6	3.3	3.0	20.2
1997	DET	80	80	39.3	7.8	15.7	.496	0.1	0.4	.303	5.6	7.9	.711	1.5	7.5	9.0	7.3	1.8	0.6	3.2	2.3	21.4
1998	DET	81	81	40.7	7.6	16.8	.452	0.0	0.3	.143	5.9	8.0	.740	1.1	6.5	7.7	6.8	1.8	0.7	3.5	2.4	21.1
1999	DET	50	50	37.0	7.7	16.0	.479	0.0	0.3	.000	5.7	7.6	.752	1.3	5.8	7.1	6.0	1.6	0.5	3.7	2.3	21.1
2000	DET	74	74	37.5	9.4	19.2	.489	0.5	1.3	.347	6.5	8.2	.795	1.3	5.3	6.6	5.2	1.4	0.6	3.2	2.6	25.8
2001	ORL	4	4	33.3	4.8	10.8	.442	0.3	0.3	1.000	4.0	6.5	.615	2.0	4.3	6.3	6.3	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.3	13.8
2002	ORL	14	14	36.6	5.9	13.9	.426	0.0	0.1	.000	4.9	5.7	.863	2.1	6.9	8.9	4.6	0.6	0.3	2.6	2.9	16.8
2003	ORL	29	29	29.1	5.2	10.6	.492	0.0	0.1	.250	4.1	5.0	.819	1.4	5.7	7.1	4.2	1.0	0.4	2.9	1.6	14.5
2005	ORL	67	67	34.9	7.7	15.1	.509	0.0	0.2	.231	4.2	5.1	.821	1.1	3.6	4.7	3.3	1.4	0.4	2.4	2.1	19.7
2006	ORL	21	17	29.2	5.7	11.6	.490	0.1	0.4	.250	3.7	4.9	.765	0.7	3.1	3.8	2.3	1.1	0.3	1.7	2.4	15.1
2007	ORL	65	64	30.9	5.3	10.2	.518	0.0	0.2	.167	3.8	5.0	.765	0.8	2.8	3.6	2.1	0.9	0.4	2.2	2.2	14.4
2008	PHO	70	68	31.7	5.1	10.2	.503	0.5	1.5	.317	2.4	2.8	.867	1.1	4.0	5.0	2.9	0.9	0.8	1.4	2.2	13.1
2009	PHO
Career