Damon Stoudamire

1996 ROY

Damon was a workhorse, not only getting important minutes as a rookie, but MOST minutes. He was the second in the league in minutes played averaging 40.9 minutes per game. Not only did he play a lot, but he produced too, averaging 9.3 assists per game, for the fifth best in the NBA. He set an NBA Rookie record for the best 3 point field goal percentage with .395.

Damon was a Unanimous first team All-American at Arizona in 1995. A native of Portland, Oregon, this tiny PG was Pac-10 co-player of the year for Arizona in 1995 along with Ed O'Bannon of UCLA. In 1994 he led the Wildcats to the Final Four. Damon and Gary Payton are the only two Pac-10 players to accumulate 1,800 points, 600 assists and 400 rebounds in their college careers. Many didn't think he would go as high as number seven, but now teams with picks one through six might have wished they had the insight to take him higher. Since Damon was only 5-10, teams were wary of him, but his height has not been a problem. Damon was clearly the premier Raptor and go-to guy. He's already recorded Toronto's first triple double, ever, on 11/8/96 against the LA Lakers with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. It was only 10 games into his rookie campaign, too. He earned every penny of his 1,345,000 rookie salary. He had an even better second year, elevating his play to be one of the top PGs in the east, deserving, but not getting, all-star status. In his third season he continued to play well, but Toronto knew they didn't have what it took to sign him to a long-term deal, so on February 13, 1998, they traded him to Portland along with Walt Williams and Carlos Rogers for Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams and 2 draft picks. Portland also sent cash and it is rumored they will pay Kenny Anderson's contract. Damon returns home to Portland, where he inked a long term deal, 81 million dollars over seven years. On August 5, 2005 Memphis signed Damon Stoudamire to a 4 year, $17 million contract.

This Page maintained by:
Larry Brooks