Ben Wallace (basketball player)

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Basketball player
Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace 4104263221 (cropped) .jpg
Player information
Full name Benjamin Cameron Wallace
Nickname Big Ben
birthday 10th September 1974 (age 45)
place of birth White Hall, Alabama , United States
size 206 cm
Weight 109 kg
position Center / Power Forward
college Virginia Union University
NBA draft 1996 , undrafted
Clubs as active
1996-1999 United StatesUnited States Washington Bullets / Wizards
1999-2000 United StatesUnited States Orlando Magic
2000-2006 United StatesUnited States Detroit Pistons
2006-2008 United StatesUnited States Chicago Bulls
2008-2009 United StatesUnited States Cleveland Cavaliers
2009–2012 United StatesUnited States Detroit Pistons

Benjamin Cameron Wallace (born September 10, 1974 in White Hall , Alabama ) is a retired American basketball player who served in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1996 to 2012 . He was considered one of the league's top defenders for much of his career and was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year four times from 2002 to 2006 . Together with Dikembe Mutombo, he holds the record for most awards of this kind.

Although he was n't selected by any team in the 1996 NBA Draft , Wallace had a very successful career. In addition to his four best defender awards, he has been voted NBA All-Star four times and the NBA selection five times . In 2004 he won the NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons , where he was active for a total of nine years. Wallace is now widely considered the best undrafted NBA player ever.

Career

Youth and college

Wallace grew up as the tenth of eleven children in rural Alabama. A versatile high school athlete, he has received awards in basketball, baseball, and American football . Since he could not make the direct route to university, he attended a junior college for two years . He then accepted an athletic scholarship from Virginia Union University in 1994 on the recommendation of former NBA pro Charles Oakley . After two more years, he finished his college career and tried the jump into the NBA. In the 1996 NBA Draft , however, he was not drafted by any team.

NBA

After Wallace was not selected in the draft, he was able to get a contract with the Boston Celtics as a free agent on good performance in the NBA Summer League, but they released him before the start of the season. Boston wanted to use Wallace, who was barely more than two meters tall, as a winger , but he lacked the ball and throw feeling. Another team, the Washington Bullets (now Washington Wizards), offered Wallace a contract. Wallace played for the Bullets for three years before they sent him to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Isaac Austin . After only one season with Orlando, Wallace moved to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Grant Hill .

With the Pistons, Wallace became the 2004 NBA Champion and was instrumental in the team's success. The following year the team reached the finals again, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs to superstar Tim Duncan . In the 2001/02 to 2005/06 seasons he was appointed to the NBA All-Defensive First Team every year , and to the second team in the 2006/07 season . As the first player to be excluded from the draft, Wallace was nominated for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game . In 2004, 2005 and 2006 three more participations in the All-Star Game followed. In the 2001/02 season he led the NBA statistics for rebounds and shotblocks , which had only succeeded before him Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1975/76), Bill Walton (1976/77) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1989/90) (Before 1973 the shot blocks were not counted, which is why Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain are not included in this series).

After the 2005/06 season he moved as a free agent to the Chicago Bulls , with whom he had signed a four-year contract worth 60 million US dollars.

Wallace in the Bulls jersey

During the 2007-08 season he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with power forward Joe Smith in exchange for Drew Gooden , Larry Hughes , Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons . From Cleveland, he was sent to Phoenix in one of the NBA's biggest blockbuster trades in 2009 in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal . He then agreed to terminate the contract with the Phoenix Suns.

On August 12, 2009, he signed another contract with the Detroit Pistons. After the 2011/2012 season , he ended his career.

Achievements and Awards

Others

His intimidating way of defending himself earned him the nickname "Big Ben". The striking Westminster blow of Big Ben could always be heard both when the players were introduced at the beginning of a game and when they were successful at home games .

In January 2016, during the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Golden State Warriors , Wallaces with the number 3 was hung under the roof of the Palace of Auburn Hills during half-time . His number is no longer assigned by the Pistons.

literature

  • Jan Hieronimi and Sven Simon: The other Ben , in: Five 01-2004, pp. 30–35.

Web links

Commons : Ben Wallace  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.ogol.com.br/player.php?id=575918
  2. ^ Thesis 10 undrafted NBA superstars proved draft experts wrong. June 22, 2019, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Ryan Davis: 20 Best NBA Players Who Went Undrafted. In: Sportscasting | Pure Sports. August 14, 2017, Retrieved April 22, 2020 (American English).
  4. ↑ The Ones Who Defied the Odds: Top 10 Undrafted NBA Players of All Time. In: ESPN 98.1 FM - 850 AM WRUF. December 19, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2020 (American English).
  5. ^ NBA : Ben Wallace biography ( Memento from May 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ nba.com - Big Ben chimes again: Pistons re-sign Wallace ( Memento from August 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), August 12, 2009
  7. ↑ Wallace wants to end his career ( Memento from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Pistons retire Ben Wallace's jersey, honoring 2004 NBA champ
personal data
SURNAME Wallace, Ben
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wallace, Ben Camey (full name); Big Ben (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH White Hall , Alabama