 Elliott with the San Antonio Spurs. | |
| No. 32 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Small Forward |
| League: | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Full name: | Sean Michael Elliott |
| Born: | February 1, 1968 Tucson, Arizona |
| Nationality: |  American
|
| Physical stats | |
| Listed height: | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight: | 220 lbs (100 kg) |
| National Basketball Association career | |
| Debut: 1989 for the San Antonio Spurs | |
| Final season: 2001 for the San Antonio Spurs | |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Cholla (Tucson, Arizona) |
| College: | Kansas (1949–1952) |
| NBA Draft: | 1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd |
| Selected by the San Antonio Spurs | |
| Playing career: | 1989–2001 (12 years) |
| Career history | |
| 1989–1993 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1993–1994 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1994–2001 | San Antonio Spurs |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| NBA career playing statistics | |
| Points: | 10,544 (14.2 PPG) |
| Rebounds: | 3,204 (4.3 RPG) |
| Assists: | 1,897 (2.6 APG) |
| Steals: | 576 (0.8 APG) |
| Blocks: | 284 (0.4 APG) |
| Stats at NBA.com Stats at Basketball–Reference.com | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 2006) | |
Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player.
Elliott played high school basketball at Cholla High School in Tucson, and played college basketball at the University of Arizona, under the tutelage of Lute Olson, and won the Wooden Award after an exceptional senior season. He was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round in 1989. Elliott spent the majority of his career with the Spurs, with the exception of the 1993–94 season, during which he played for the Detroit Pistons. Elliott was an instrumental part of the Spurs' successful NBA title quest in 1999: he tight-roped the right sideline and launched a three-point basket to edge the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. This play, referred to as the "Memorial Day Miracle", shifted the momentum of the series to the Spurs.
Shortly after the championship run, Elliott announced that he had played despite having a kidney disease, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, and that he would require a transplant. He underwent surgery on August 16 of that year, receiving a kidney from his older brother, Noel. On March 13, 2000, Elliott became the first player to return after a kidney transplant, in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. He announced his retirement in 2001.
Elliott's career-high was 41 points against the Dallas Mavericks on December 18, 1992. He finished his career averaging 14.2 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, and 2.6 assists per game. Elliott is the all-time franchise leader in three-point field goals made (563) and attempted (1,485). He is also the only player in Spurs history to rank among the franchise's top ten in six different statistical categories: games played (third, 669), points (fourth, 9,659), rebounds (sixth, 2,941), assists (seventh, 1,700), steals (eighth, 522), and blocks (ninth, 257).
Elliott was basketball analyst for The NBA on NBC and, during the 2003–04 season, for ABC Sports and ESPN. He left that position for the 2004–05 season and became the color commentator for the Spurs' Local Broadcasting.
Elliott's inspirational comeback and solid career was recognized by the Spurs on March 6, 2005, when his #32 jersey was retired and hung in the rafters of the AT&T Center.