- Bryon Russell
infobox NBA Player
birthname = Byron Demitrise Russell
nickname =
position =Shooting guard /Small forward
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 7
weight_lbs = 225
team =
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1970|12|31
birth_place =San Bernardino, California
college = Long Beach State
draft = 2nd round, 45th overall
draft_year = 1993
draft_team =Utah Jazz
career_start = 1993
career_end = 2006
former_teams = Utah Jazz (1993–2002)Washington Wizards (2002–2003)Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004)Denver Nuggets (2004–2006)
awards =Bryon Demetrise Russell (born December 31, 1970 in
San Bernardino, California ), is a formerbasketball player in the NBA. During a 12 season NBA career that spanned most of the 1990s and into 2005, he played for theDenver Nuggets ,Washington Wizards andLos Angeles Lakers and was a key member of theUtah Jazz , including helping Utah to back-to-back NBA finals appearances in 1997 and 1998. He was also a part of theSeattle SuperSonics roster for a brief time but never appeared in a game for them.Russell, although known for hard-nosed defense, is most remembered for an unsuccessful defensive play. Near the end of Game 6 of the
1998 NBA Finals , he was assigned the task of defendingMichael Jordan on theChicago Bulls ' final possession. Russell appeared to slip as he tried to follow Jordan, but replays also showed Jordan pushing off to create space. No foul was called and Russell did not indicate one should have been. Jordan sank the shot that would win the Bulls the game and the championship in his last NBA Finals appearance. He would later become teammates with Jordan on theWashington Wizards .Russell had his best season with the Jazz in 1999-2000, when he averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. From 1997-2000, he played in every regular season game.
References
*cite news | url = http://www.sportingnews.com/exclusives/20050314/607149.html | title = Crying Foul | publisher = SportingNews.com | date =
14 March 2005 External links
*NBA-profile
*basketball-reference
* [http://www.nba.com/history/greatest_video_moves.html Greatest NBA clutch shots]
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