Bruce Bowen

Bruce Bowen
Player information
Full name	Bruce Eric Bowen Jr.
birthday	14th June 1971 (age 49)
place of birth	Merced , California , USA
size	201 cm
position	Small forward
college	California State
NBA draft	1993 , undrafted
Clubs as active
1993–1994 STB Le Havre 1994–1995 Evreux 1995–1996 Rockford Lightning ( CBA ) 1996–1997 Besançon BCD 1996–1997 Miami Heat 1997–1999 Boston Celtics 1999–2000 Philadelphia 76ers 2000–2001 Miami Heat 2001–2009 San Antonio Spurs
National team
000 0 2006	United States	5 games

Bruce Eric Bowen Jr. (born June 14, 1971 in Merced , California ) is a retired American basketball player who was active in the NBA from 1997 to 2009, most of it with the San Antonio Spurs .

career

Most recently Bowen played for the San Antonio Spurs . Prior to that, he was with the Miami Heat (1996–97 and 1999–2001), the Boston Celtics (1997–99) and the Philadelphia 76ers (1999–00).

With the Spurs, with which he was under contract between 2001 and 2009, he was able to win three NBA championships ( 2002/03 , 2004/05 and 2006/07 ).

Bowen was considered one of the best defense players in the NBA. He was elected to an NBA All-Defensive Team six times : three times into the first team (2004 to 2006) and three times into the second team (2001 to 2003). In 2005 and 2006, he finished second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year election behind Ben Wallace .

2006 Bowen was in the selection of the US national team . However, he was deleted from the squad shortly before the 2006 World Cup .

Bowen completed exactly 500 games in a row in the NBA (February 28, 2002 to March 12, 2008) before he was suspended for a game because of a kick against Chris Paul .

On October 7, 2007, Bowen signed a contract extension with the Spurs.

After he was given over to the Milwaukee Bucks in the summer of 2009 , which he released shortly afterwards, Bruce Bowen announced his official retirement from basketball on September 3, 2009.

On January 23, 2012 it was announced that Bowen's jersey number 12 would be withdrawn from Spurs in a ceremony during a season game. This means that the number 12 will subsequently no longer be given to a player of the San Antonio Spurs. Bowen is only the seventh Spurs player to receive this honor. In the summer of 2015 he willingly gave "his" No. 12 to new signing LaMarcus Aldridge and was unretired.

Hardship & controversy

Bruce Bowen was also considered a very tough player. So he broke his opponent Wally Szczerbiak with one kick the cheekbone. To everyone's surprise, this incident was punished as an offensive foul against Szczerbiak.

Some players (including Ray Allen , Vince Carter, and Steve Francis ) complained about Bowen's habit of kicking under them during a throw to provoke possible injury. However, some reviewers view other players' complaints from a different angle. For example, says columnist MJ Darnell, "Bowen's victims whine because he frustrates them, hurts them, or upsets them in any way. He just plays tough, physical defense and plays with no intention of injury."

Individual evidence

1. ^ NN: All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster // B. ( Memento January 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Archived from USA Basketball website; Colorado Springs, CO, undated before 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2019 (in English).
2. ↑ Compulsory break after six years. kicker sportmagazin, March 15, 2008, accessed on May 24, 2008 . 
3. ↑ NBA.com/spurs: Spurs Sign Bowen To Extension. Retrieved October 7, 2007 . 
4. ^ NBA.com: Bruce Bowen retires after 12 seasons. (No longer available online.) September 3, 2009, archived from the original on September 6, 2009 ; Retrieved September 4, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ NBA.com/Spurs: Spurs to Retire Bruce Bowen's No. 12 Jersey on March 21 , January 23, 2012, accessed January 24, 2012 . 
6. ↑ MJ Darnell: Throwin 'Bows. Retrieved March 13, 2004 . 

Web links

• Bruce Bowen - player profile on basketball-reference.com