Grant Hill (basketball)

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Grant Hill

Position	Small forward
League	NBA
Height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Team	Orlando Magic
Nationality	United States
Born	October 5, 1972 Dallas, Texas
High school	South Lakes
College	Duke
Draft	3^rd overall, 1994 Detroit Pistons
Pro career	1994 – present
Former teams	Detroit Pistons 1994 – 2000

Olympic medal record
Men's Basketball
Gold	1996 Atlanta	United States

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 ft 8 in). Hill was one of the best all-around players of his generation, often leading his team in points, rebounds and assists. His stint in the league has been hampered by career-threatening injuries, notably towards the late part of his career. He is married to R&B singer Tamia.

1 Early life and college
2 NBA career and Team USA
- 2.1 Detroit Pistons
- 2.2 Orlando Magic
3 Trivia
4 External links

[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^{[citation needed]}. 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 states in the Fox Sports "Beyond the Glory" documentary about Hill's career, that she 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, where Duke became the first college to win consecutive titles since UCLA in 1973. He led Duke to the championship game once again in 1994, but ended up losing to Arkansas. Hill 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. As a result of his successful college career, he became the 8th player in Duke history to have his jersey number (33) 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 and Team USA

[edit] Detroit Pistons

A Grant Hill ad for sportswear company Fila during the 1996 Olympic Games.

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 all-NBA second teams in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Hill 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) with 1,289,585 votes, narrowly defeating Shaquille O'Neal. In fact, Hill became the first rookie in all major sports to get most votes for an All-Star game.

In his second season (1995-96), he once again led the fan balloting, this time edging Michael Jordan (Jordan's first All-Star game after returning since retiring in 1993). 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. He became the first player since Larry Bird in 1989-90 to average 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in a season; an accomplishment which has not been duplicated since. Once again, Hill led the league in triple-doubles, where his 13 represented 35 percent of the league's triple-double total that season. He was the league's Player of the Month for January and was also 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 lockout-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. Hill was selected to play in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, but in the end no NBA players played in this tournament due to the lockout.

Hill's 1999-2000 season showed that he could be one of NBA's truly dominant scorers. He averaged 25.8 points while shooting 49% from the field, the season's third highest scoring average, behind MVP Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. He maintained solid overall numbers, averaging 6.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. However, despite Hill's individual accomplishments in Detroit, the Pistons never made it far in the playoffs, consistently losing in the first round (1996, 1997 and 1999). The 2000 playoffs would be no different. 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. Hill was initially selected for the 2000 Summer Olympics U.S. team, but couldn't play due to his ankle injury, which would prove to be a major liability for many years to come.

[edit] Orlando Magic

On August 3, 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.

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 left 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, limiting him to 21 games. He got a sports hernia that was caused by an uneven pressure on Hill's feet while he was running, due to concerns that he could reaggrevate the injury on his left ankle if it got too much pressure. Hill underwent surgery for the hernia and has since stated that he would consider retirement if he has to get another surgery.

As of the 2006-07 season, Hill returned from injuries despite numerous rumors surrounding his retirement. Hill received ankle rotation therapy from specialists in Vancouver, BC during the offseason and has stated that he has regained much motion in his left ankle. Hill has returned to the Magic lineup, starting at the shooting guard position.

[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 married R&B singer Tamia on July 24, 1999. 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, watchmaker TAG Heuer and sportswear companies Fila, and later Adidas.
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.
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 University.