Raja Bell

Raja Bell
Player information
birthday	19th September 1976 (age 43)
place of birth	Saint Croix , US Virgin Islands
size	196 cm
Weight	95 kg
position	Shooting Guard / Small Forward
college	Florida International
NBA draft	undrafted ( 1999 )
Clubs as active
2001–2002 Philadelphia 76ers 2002–2003 Dallas Mavericks 2003–2005 Utah Jazz 2005–2008 Phoenix Suns 2008–2009 Charlotte Bobcats 2009–2010 Golden State Warriors 2010–2013 Utah Jazz

Raja Bell (born September 19, 1976 in Saint Croix , US Virgin Islands ) is a retired American basketball player who was active in the NBA from 2001 to 2013 . The 1.96 meter tall Bell has long been one of the best defenders in the league and was voted into the NBA All-Defensive Team twice in his career .

Since October 2014, Bell has been under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers as Director of Player Administration .

Player career

Bell was a member of the Florida International University basketball team in his youth , but was not signed by any NBA team in the 1999 draft . After causing a sensation in the CBA , he was committed to Allen Iverson by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2000 , but initially played no role. During the playoffs he was able to play in the rotation and reached the final round with the Sixers against the Los Angeles Lakers , which they lost 4-1 in five games.

In the following season, Bell established himself as a rotation player who got around 12 minutes of playing time per game. After a rather disappointing year, he joined the Dallas Mavericks around young star Dirk Nowitzki , where he was also initially a bank player.

He then played two years with the Utah Jazz , where coach Jerry Sloan gave him a major role for the first time. He now came to 12 points and 3 rebounds per game and increasingly became a leading player.

Bell moved to the Phoenix Suns for the next season , where coach Mike D'Antoni , who was an advocate of a very offensive " run and gun " tactic, planned Bell as defensive specialist and fastbreak taker from playmaker Steve Nash . Bell now scored almost 15 points per game, was voted twice into the NBA All-Defensive Team of Best Defenders, and twice reached the Western Conference finals with the Suns . There the Suns were unhappy.

During the 2008/2009 season , Bell was transferred to the Charlotte Bobcats along with Boris Diaw . In return, Jason Richardson moved to the Suns. Despite the best season in the history of the Bobcats, the team could not reach the playoffs in the Eastern Conference .

In the summer of 2010, Bell moved to Utah Jazz as a free agent , where he took on the role of the starting Shooting Guard . During the 2011/12 season there were disagreements between Bell and jazz coach Tyrone Corbin , as a result of which Bell was suspended by the jazz management for the 2012/13 season . Efforts to dissolve the contract failed, so Bell did not play any more games for Jazz, but was still under contract. On February 10, 2013, Bell was released from Jazz.

On February 13, 2014, Bell announced his retirement from professional sport.

Private life

Bell is the son of Denise and Roger Bell, an athletic coach and director of sport who were both successful college athletes in their youth. He has a sister named Tombi who also played basketball and became a coach after a successful college career . He spent his childhood in St. Croix before his family moved to Miami .

In July 2004, Bell married his girlfriend, Cindy Green. They have a daughter, Dia Bell, who was born in May 2007. In addition, Bell has been a vegetarian since childhood .

Web links

Commons : Raja Bell  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Raja Bell - player profile on NBA.com
• Raja Bell - player profile on basketball-reference.com
• Article about Bell's family

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jerry Zgoda: Kevin Love in the housepic.twitter.com/9TTaBEjWyq. In: @JerryZgoda. January 31, 2015, accessed April 27, 2020 . 
2. ^ Utah Jazz executive talks Raja Bell and the Lakers
3. ↑ Jazz Waives Guard Raja Bell