Nick Van Exel

Nick Van Exel

Nick Van Exel in 2005 with the San Antonio Spurs.
No. 9, 31, 37, 19
Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth	November 27, 1971 (1971-11-27) (age 39)
High school	St. Joseph (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
Career information
College	Trinity Valley CC (1989–1991) Cincinnati (1991–1993)
NBA Draft	1993 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career	1993–2006
Career history
As player:
1993–1998	Los Angeles Lakers
1998–2002	Denver Nuggets
2002–2003	Dallas Mavericks
2003–2004	Golden State Warriors
2004–2005	Portland Trail Blazers
2005–2006	San Antonio Spurs
As coach:
2010–present	Atlanta Hawks (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Star (1998) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1994)
Career statistics
Points	12,658
Assists	5,777
3–pointers	1,528
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Nickey Maxwell "Nick" Van Exel (born November 27, 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player and currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks. Van Exel, a 6'1" (1.85 m) and 170 lb (77 kg) left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during games.

High school and college career

Van Exel attended St. Joseph High School, a private high school in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He played from 1987-’89, scored 1,282 points, including 772 as a senior. He led the WISAA (private schools) state tournament in scoring as a junior and senior when his team lost in the finals both years. He was named to the Associated Press all-state team as a senior.

Van Exel played his college basketball at Trinity Valley Community College^[1] and the University of Cincinnati.

In his senior year, Van Exel led the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in points (18.3 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg). He earned Third Team All-America honors (AP, Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly) and was a finalist for the Wooden Award as a senior. In only two seasons he became Cincinnati's all-time leader in three-point field goals made (147), attempted (411) and percentage (.358). These records have since been surpassed.

NBA career

In a 13-year NBA career, Van Exel played for the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Van Exel's career began when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round as the 37th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft. Van Exel and Eddie Jones were the centerpiece of the Lakers' "rebuilding" plan in the twilight of the "Showtime" era of the early '90s. Led by Van Exel's flashy play, the two guards helped the team to the playoffs in 1995 after the Lakers had missed the postseason for the first time in years in 1994. Van Exel was known for his shooting streaks, buzzer-beating shots, and speed, earning him the nickname "Nick the Quick".

During his career with the Lakers, Van Exel averaged 14.9 points per game as well as 7.3 assists per game, finishing in the top ten in the NBA in that category twice. Van Exel reportedly experienced tensions with several teammates, including 1996 draftee Derek Fisher, as well as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who joined the Lakers in 1996, though his later trade is generally thought to be the result of a major conflict with then-head coach Del Harris.

On June 24, 1998, after five seasons as the starting point guard, Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Tony Battie and the draft rights to Tyronn Lue.

Playing on a Nuggets team which was one of the worst in the league at the time, Van Exel achieved several career highs. Over four seasons he put up averages of 17.9 ppg and 8.3 apg, averaging 21.4 ppg through 27 games of the 2001–02 season.

On February 21, 2002, he was traded by the Nuggets along with Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks for Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway, and a 2002 first-round pick.

In Dallas, Van Exel played a smaller role, but contributed effectively by creating scoring opportunities and scoring key three pointers. He averaged 15.5 ppg during the 2002–03 season, and nearly 20 ppg in the 2003 playoffs, carrying the offensive load for the Mavericks in a tight series against the Sacramento Kings.

Van Exel was traded on August 18, 2003 to the Golden State Warriors along with Evan Eschmeyer, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones, and Antoine Rigaudeau in exchange for Antawn Jamison, Chris Mills, Danny Fortson, and Jiri Welsch. During the 2003–04 season he played in a career low 39 games, averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.3 apg.

On July 20, 2004, he was traded by Golden State to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Dale Davis and Dan Dickau.^[2] With the Blazers he played in only 53 games, averaging 11 ppg.

Van Exel was waived by Portland on August 3, 2005, and he signed with the San Antonio Spurs on August 29. After signing, Van Exel stated that it would be his last season in an NBA uniform. Due to injury, he only played in 65 games during the 2005–06 season. He averaged career lows in almost every statistical category, including points (5.5 ppg) and minutes (15 mpg). In the playoffs, San Antonio was knocked out a seven-game series at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. In this series Van Exel picked up key technical fouls which may have caused his team to lose. Two days later, on May 24, 2006, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon reported on their show Pardon the Interruption that Van Exel would soon announce his retirement.

Van Exel was hired by the 2010-11 Atlanta Hawks as their Player Development Instructor.^[3]

Player highlights

• Van Exel was the last Laker to score in the fabled Boston Garden when he nailed a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers the win.
• He hit a pair of clutch three-pointers for the Lakers in game 5 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. The first one sent the game into overtime, while the second one decided the game[1].
• Recorded a career-high 23 assists on January 5, 1997 against the Vancouver Grizzlies. This record has come under scrutiny when it was admitted by the scorekeeper for the Grizzlies that he intentionally inflated Van Exel's assist total due to the scorekeeper's displeasure with the NBA's scorekeeping system and wanted to prove its lack of accuracy.^[4]
• He finished in the top 15 in assists in 8 of 13 seasons.
• Coming into the 2005–06 season Van Exel was first all-time among Los Angeles Lakers in three point field goals made with 750. Midway through the season he was surpassed by Kobe Bryant.

Other

• Named an NBA All-Star in 1998, along with three of his Lakers teammates
• Member of the 1994 All-Rookie Second Team

Personal

Van Exel once appeared on an episode of MTV Cribs. [2] His son, Nickey Van Exel, was charged with capital murder of a friend in 2010.^[5]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

Notes

1. ^ Cardinals in the Pros
2. ^ Golden State swaps Van Exel for Davis, Dickau
3. ^ http://www.hoopsnotes.com/teams/atlanta/atlanta-hawks-have-hired-nick-van-exel/
4. ^ http://deadspin.com/5345287/the-confessions-of-an-nba-scorekeeper?skyline=true&s=x
5. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/31/texas.van.exel.killing/

External links

• Nick Van Exel NBA Profile
• HoopsHype's Scouting Report
• Nick Van Exel at Basketball-Reference.com

Persondata
Name	Van Exel, Nick
Alternative names
Short description	American basketball player
Date of birth	November 27, 1971
Place of birth	Kenosha, Wisconsin
Date of death
Place of death