Eduardo Nájera

infobox NBA Player


name = Eduardo Nájera|250px
nickname = Eddie
position = Forward
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 8
weight_lbs = 220
league = NBA
team = New Jersey Nets
number = 14
nationality = MEX
birth_date = birth date and age|1976|7|11
birth_place = Ciudad Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico
college = Oklahoma
draft = 2nd round, 38th overall
draft_year = 2000
draft_team = Houston Rockets
career_start = 2000
career_end =
former_teams = Dallas Mavericks (2000–2004)
Golden State Warriors (2004–2005)
Denver Nuggets (2005–2008)
awards = 1996-97 Big 12 All-Freshman Team
1998-99 Second Team All-Big 12
1999-2000 Big 12 All-Defensive Team
1999-2000 First Team All-Big 12
1999-2000 Third Team AP All-American
2000 Chip Hilton Player of the Year
2006 Chopper Travaglini Award
profile = eduardo_najera

Eduardo "Eddie" Alonso Nájera (pronounced NA-he-RAH) (born July 11 1976 in Chihuahua, Mexico) is a Mexican professional basketball player in the NBA, currently playing reserve forward for the New Jersey Nets. He is known for his rebounding and his tenacity on defense.

Basketball career

Najera played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, US, from 1997-2000, becoming a major star there. He helped the team to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances during his college career, as well as finishing in the school's all-time top ten in nine statistical categories. Before being drafted into the NBA in 2000, Najera received rave reviews from scouts, who boasted on Najera's quick first step and extraordinary rebounding ability. He is only the second Mexican-born player to join the NBA. [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/eduardo_najera/bio.html NBA.com: Eduardo Najera Bio Page] ]

Najera helped Mexico achieve fourth place finishes in the 1999 World Games and World University Games.

He saw significant action as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000-01 and 2001-02, but recurrent knee injuries limited his action in his last two years in Dallas.

He was then traded to the Golden State Warriors, where he put in modest minutes and was a solid contributor.

He was then sent to the Nuggets, where he has flourished despite injuries.

On April 27 2006, Najera started his first playoff game for the Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round series facing the Los Angeles Clippers. He replaced Kenyon Martin who was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team".

He was partly involved in the December 2006 Knicks-Nuggets brawl. While not involved in the actual fighting, he did try to separate the players. He was ejected from the game.

In a game against the Sacramento Kings on December 8, 2007 in Denver, Najera suffered a knee contusion when he hyperextended when he collided with Kings center Spencer Hawes with 2:23 left in the first quarter. He did not return. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271208007 Iverson, Martin combine for 43 as Denver edges Sacramento] ]

On July 11, he signed a contract with the New Jersey Nets for 4 years $12 million. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/07/11/nets.moves.ap/index.html Nets reach agreements with Najera, Hayes - NBA - SI.com ] ]

College Career Stats

{| class="wikitable"!Season!Age!College!G!MP!FG!FGA!3P!3PA!FT!FTA!TRB!AST!STL!BLK!TOV!PF!PTS!FG%!3P%!FT%!MP!PPG!RPG!APG
-
1996-97
20
Oklahoma
30
739
72
178
3
15
64
92
167
32
38
17
36
87
211
.404
.200
.696
24.6
7.0
5.6
1.1
-
1997-98
21
Oklahoma
30
855
119
280
13
49
64
101
163
42
37
20
56
93
315
.425
.265
.634
28.5
10.5
5.4
1.4
-
1998-99
22
Oklahoma
32
1100
187
451
51
149
70
109
266
69
59
27
83
87
495
.415
.342
.642
34.4
15.5
8.3
2.2
-
1999-00
23
Oklahoma
34
1162
234
514
18
82
139
202
314
72
59
25
82
97
625
.455
.220
.688
34.2
18.4
9.2
2.1
-

###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Off the court

In 2000, Eduardo Najera was named Third Team All-American by both the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

In 2000, Eduardo Najera graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in sociology.

In 2000, Najera received the Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame, an award given to a player who has demonstrated personal character both on and off the court.

In 2001, Najera served as the United Nations Drug Control Programme Goodwill Ambassador for Sports Against Drugs.

In 2004, Najera established the Eduardo Najera Foundation for Latino Achievement, which provides college scholarships for outstanding Latino students facing barriers to their educations.

In 2006, Najera received the Chopper Travaglini Award for demonstrating outstanding charity work in the Denver community. [(http://www.nba.com/nuggets/community/eddie_choppers_award_2006.html)]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 2000–01
align="left" | Dallas
40 || 4 || 10.8 || .523 || .333 || .424 || 2.4 || .7 || .3 || .2 || 3.3
-
align="left" | 2001–02
align="left" | Dallas
62 || 11 || 21.9 || .500 || .000 || .676 || 5.5 || .6 || .9 || .5 || 6.5
-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Dallas
48 || 12 || 23.0 || .558 || .000 || .681 || 4.6 || 1.0 || .8 || .5 || 6.7
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Dallas
58 || 7 || 12.4 || .444 || .500 || .652 || 2.7 || .4 || .6 || .3 || 3.0
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Golden State
42 || 4 || 14.5 || .407 || .400 || .644 || 2.8 || .9 || .4 || .2 || 4.2
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Denver
26 || 0 || 22.1 || .500 || .000 || .630 || 4.8 || 1.1 || .9 || .5 || 6.9
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Denver
64 || 3 || 22.6 || .422 || .333 || .781 || 5.1 || .8 || .8 || .5 || 5.4
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Denver
75 || 36 || 22.1 || .576 || .083 || .715 || 4.1 || .9 || 1.0 || .3 || 6.6
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Denver
78 || 3 || 21.3 || .473 || .361 || .708 || 4.3 || 1.2 || .9 || .5 || 5.9
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
493 || 80 || 19.4 || .493 || .332 || .686 || 4.1 || .8 || .8 || .4 || 5.5
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Playoffs

-
align="left" | 2000–01
align="left" | Dallas
7 || 0 || 6.3 || .529 || .750 || .000 || 2.1 || .1 || .1 || .1 || 3.0
-
align="left" | 2001–02
align="left" | Dallas
8 || 4 || 15.3 || .696 || .000 || .625 || 1.6 || .1 || .4 || .0 || 4.6
-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Dallas
19 || 5 || 20.7 || .453 || .000 || .792 || 3.9 || .8 || .7 || .2 || 6.1
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Dallas
5 || 0 || 11.4 || .455 || .000 || 1.000 || 3.4 || .6 || .6 || .4 || 2.4
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Denver
2 || 0 || 6.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .5 || .0 || .0 || .0
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Denver
4 || 3 || 22.3 || .214 || .000 || .500 || 3.8 || .5 || .8 || .0 || 2.0
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Denver
5 || 0 || 19.2 || .235 || .000 || .500 || 5.6 || .4 || .4 || .2 || 1.8
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Denver
4 || 0 || 19.5 || .500 || .400 || .000 || 3.3 || 1.5 || .8 || .2 || 4.0
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
54 || 12 || 16.5 || .451 || .417 || .750 || 3.3 || .6 || .5 || .2 || 4.1
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/eduardo_najera/?nav=page NBA.com: Eduardo Najera]
* http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/najered01.html