Larry Hughes

Infobox NBA Player
name = Larry Hughes
number = 32

---

image_size =
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 5 | weight_lbs=195
team = Chicago Bulls
position = Point guard/Shooting guard
birth_date = birth date and age|1979|1|23
birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri
highschool= Christian Brothers College
college = Saint Louis University
nationality = USA
draft = 8th overall
draft_team = Philadelphia 76ers
draft_year = 1998
former_teams = Philadelphia 76ers (1998–2000) Golden State Warriors (2000–2002) Washington Wizards (2002–2005) Cleveland Cavaliers (2005–2008)
career_start = 1998
awards =

Larry Hughes (born January 23 1979 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player who plays point guard for the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. He is a6'5" (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) guard.

Early years

Hughes started his basketball career at Christian Brothers College High School, winning the Missouri state championship with his team in 1997.

Hughes played 1 season of college basketball at Saint Louis University. He finished the 1997-98 season with per game averages of 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.16 steals.

NBA career

Hughes has previously played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, and was drafted by Philadelphia in the 1st round of the 1998 NBA Draft out of Saint Louis University, where he was named Freshman of the Year. [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/larry_hughes/bio.html NBA.com : Larry Hughes Bio Page ] ] He led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament that year, making it to the second round after a win over University of Massachusetts. He is known for being a versatile guard with strong defensive abilities, and was selected to the 2004-05 NBA All-Defensive 1st Team as a member of the Wizards. He led the league in steals per game with 2.89 in 2004-05.

Larry participated in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest in Oracle Arena (home of the Golden State Warriors) in Oakland, California. He is notable for not completing a dunk in the time limit.

Hughes signed a five-year 70 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent in the summer of 2005. He was brought into Cleveland to provide assistance to young superstar LeBron James, the Cavs' first overall draft pick in 2003. In the 2005-06 season he helped Lebron and the Cavs to an 18-10 record before requiring surgery on his broken finger. His last performance before the injury came in a 97-84 home upset of the Detroit Pistons, in which he scored 16 points on 7-10 shooting to go with two steals, five rebounds and three assists.

The 6'5" 182 pound guard features an average game that includes, on special occasion, spurts of offense and defensive prowess. Prior to injuries in 2005, he averaged 16.2 points, and 37.6 minutes per game. Both of those statistics were the second best on the team, to Lebron James. He has an ongoing rivalry with former backcourt partner Gilbert Arenas, with whom he played with for three seasons, two in Washington and one in Golden State.

On May 2, 2006 Hughes was recipient of the inaugural Austin Carr Good Guy Award, designed to recognize the Cavaliers player who is cooperative and understanding of the media, the community and the public.

Whereas Hughes' career has been plagued with injuries, his younger brother Justin's life included a serious medical condition that resulted in his death at the age of 20 on May 11, 2006.

At the start of the 2007-2008 season, one fan who was particularly enraged with his low shooting percentage and high-paying contract created a site titled HeyLarryHughesPleaseStopTakingSoManyBadShots.com. [cite web
url=http://heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com/ |title=HeyLarryHughesPleaseStopTakingSoManyBadShots |accessdate=2008-02-22]

On February 21, 2008, Hughes was traded to the Chicago Bulls, in a three-team trade, along with Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown in exchange for Ben Wallace, Delonte West, and Joe Smith. [cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/transactions/current_month_transactions.html |title=NBA.com: February 2008 Transactions |accessdate=2008-02-21]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 1998–99
align="left" | Philadelphia
50 || 1 || 19.8 || .411 || .154 || .709 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .9 || .3 || 9.1
-
align="left" | 1999–00
align="left" | Philadelphia
50 || 5 || 20.4 || .416 || .216 || .746 || 3.2 || 1.5 || 1.1 || .2 || 10.0
-
align="left" | 1999–00
align="left" | Golden State
32 || 32 || 40.8 || .389 || .243 || .736 || 5.9 || 4.1 || 1.9 || .5 || 22.7
-
align="left" | 2000–01
align="left" | Golden State
50 || 45 || 36.9 || .383 || .187 || .766 || 5.5 || 4.5 || 1.9 || .6 || 16.5
-
align="left" | 2001–02
align="left" | Golden State
73 || 56 || 28.1 || .423 || .194 || .737 || 3.4 || 4.3 || 1.5 || .3 || 12.3
-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Washington
67 || 56 || 31.9 || .467 || .367 || .731 || 4.6 || 3.1 || 1.3 || .4 || 12.8
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Washington
61 || 61 || 33.8 || .397 || .341 || .797 || 5.3 || 2.4 || 1.6 || .4 || 18.8
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Washington
61 || 61 || 38.7 || .430 || .282 || .777 || 6.3 || 4.7 || 2.9 || .3 || 22.0
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Cleveland
36 || 31 || 35.6 || .409 || .368 || .756 || 4.5 || 3.6 || 1.5 || .6 || 15.5
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Cleveland
70 || 68 || 37.1 || .400 || .333 || .676 || 3.8 || 3.7 || 1.3 || .4 || 14.9
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Cleveland
40 || 32 || 30.3 || .377 || .341 || .815 || 3.6 || 2.4 || 1.5 || .3 || 12.3
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Chicago
28 || 25 || 28.9 || .387 || .353 || .775 || 3.1 || 3.1 || 1.4 || .2 || 12.0
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
618 || 473 || 31.8 || .409 || .298 || .751 || 4.4 || 3.3 || 1.6 || .3 || 14.9
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Playoffs

-
align="left" | 1998–99
align="left" | Philadelphia
8 || 2 || 24.8 || .403 || .000 || .833 || 4.6 || 2.0 || 1.9 || 1.1 || 10.3
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Washington
10 || 10 || 40.1 || .376 || .212 || .831 || 7.1 || 3.7 || 2.0 || .7 || 20.7
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Cleveland
9 || 8 || 37.3 || .319 || .278 || .742 || 3.0 || 4.0 || 2.2 || .1 || 11.1
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Cleveland
18 || 18 || 35.5 || .347 || .352 || .746 || 3.9 || 2.4 || 1.4 || .4 || 11.3
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
45 || 38 || 35.0 || .358 || .277 || .790 || 4.6 || 3.0 || 1.8 || .6 || 13.2
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Career highs

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/larry_hughes/ NBA.com Profile - Larry Hughes]
* [http://basketballboards.net/forum/showthread.php?t=202315 Larry Hughes Pictures and Videos]