Rodney McCray (basketball)

Rodney McCray
Personal information
Born	August 29, 1961 (age 63); Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Mount Vernon; (Mount Vernon, New York)
College	Louisville (1979–1983)
NBA draft	1983: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
	Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career	1983–1993
Position	Small forward
Number	22, 1
Career history
1983–1988	Houston Rockets
1988–1990	Sacramento Kings
1990–1992	Dallas Mavericks
1992–1993	Chicago Bulls
Career highlights and awards
	NBA champion (1993); NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988); NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1987); NCAA champion (1980); Metro Conference Player of the Year (1983); First-team All-Metro Conference (1983); Fourth-team Parade All-American (1979);
Career statistics
Points	9,014 (11.7 ppg)
Rebounds	5,087 (6.6 rpg)
Assists	2,750 (3.6 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Rodney Earl McCray (born August 29, 1961) is an American former basketball player. A 6'7" small forward, he spent 10 seasons (1983–93) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), tallying 9,014 career points and 5,087 career rebounds.

College career

McCray attended the University of Louisville and was a key member of the Cardinals team that won the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. His college teammates included his brother, Scooter McCray, as well as Darrell Griffith and Derek Smith. McCray qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. In 2007, he did receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.^[1]

Professional career

He was drafted by the NBA's Houston Rockets with the third pick of the 1983 NBA draft and played four seasons with them, averaging 10.8 points per game with the Rockets,^[2] and further averaging double-digit scoring in eight of his first nine seasons.^[3] A renowned defender, he also earned NBA All-Defensive Team honors in 1987 and 1988, as well as a trip to the NBA Finals in 1986 in a losing cause against Larry Bird's Boston Celtics.^[4] In 1988, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings with Jim Petersen in a package for Otis Thorpe. In 1990, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Bill Wennington. He spent his final season with the Chicago Bulls after being dealt to them in a three-team trade.^[5] He finished his career by winning an NBA championship ring with the Bulls in 1993.^[4]

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
*	Led the league

Regular season


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1983–84	Houston	79	36	26.3	.499	.250	.731	5.7	2.2	.7	.7	10.8
1984–85	Houston	82*	82	36.6	.535	.000	.738	6.6	4.3	1.1	.9	14.4
1985–86	Houston	82	82	31.8	.537	.000	.770	6.3	3.6	.6	.7	10.3
1986–87	Houston	81	81	38.7	.552	.000	.779	7.1	5.4	1.1	.7	14.4
1987–88	Houston	81	80	33.2	.481	.000	.785	7.8	3.3	.7	.6	12.4
1988–89	Sacramento	68	65	35.8	.466	.227	.722	7.6	4.3	.8	.5	12.6
1989–90	Sacramento	82*	82	39.5*	.515	.262	.784	8.2	4.6	.7	.9	16.6
1990–91	Dallas	74	68	34.6	.495	.333	.803	7.6	3.5	.9	.7	11.4
1991–92	Dallas	75	48	28.1	.436	.294	.719	6.2	2.9	.6	.4	9.0
1992–93†	Chicago	64	5	15.9	.451	.400	.692	2.5	1.3	.2	.2	3.5
Career		768	629	32.4	.503	.260	.761	6.6	3.6	.8	.6	11.7

Playoffs


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985	Houston	5	5	36.2	.559	–	.652	6.0	2.2	1.2	.2	10.6
1986	Houston	20	20	41.8	.535	.000	.741	5.9	6.3	.9	1.0	13.0
1987	Houston	10	10	43.6	.564	.000	.796	8.3	5.6	.5	.9	15.7
1988	Houston	4	4	39.8	.387	.000	.667	6.8	2.3	1.0	.8	8.0
1993†	Chicago	7	0	5.6	.167	–	–	1.9	.7	.0	.1	.3
Career		46	39	35.9	.527	.000	.741	5.9	4.5	.7	.7	10.9

References

^ Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (May 2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
^ Roselius, J. Chris (September 1, 2011). Houston Rockets EBook. ABDO. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-61787-779-7. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
^ How Michael Jordan's trash talk forced Rodney McCray into early retirement
^ ^a ^b Mallozzi, Vincent M. (October 1, 1998). Basketball: the legends and the game. Firefly Books. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-55209-247-7. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
^ Ramsay, Dr. Jack (January 5, 2004). Dr. Jack's Leadership Lessons Learned From a Lifetime in Basketball. John Wiley & Sons. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-471-46929-2. Retrieved April 12, 2013.

External links

Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference

[1] Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (May 2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.

[Roselius2011-2] Roselius, J. Chris (September 1, 2011). Houston Rockets EBook. ABDO. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-61787-779-7. Retrieved April 12, 2013.

[3] How Michael Jordan's trash talk forced Rodney McCray into early retirement

[Mallozzi1998-4] Mallozzi, Vincent M. (October 1, 1998). Basketball: the legends and the game. Firefly Books. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-55209-247-7. Retrieved April 12, 2013.

[Ramsay2004-5] Ramsay, Dr. Jack (January 5, 2004). Dr. Jack's Leadership Lessons Learned From a Lifetime in Basketball. John Wiley & Sons. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-471-46929-2. Retrieved April 12, 2013.

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