Vitals
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 247
DOB: 11/29/1972
Biography
Jamal Mashburn is a presently active basketball player who, after a successful career at Kentucky was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the fourth pick in the 1993 NBA draft.
When he was selected, the Mavericks, as evidenced by their lottery position in the draft, were a rebuilding team. The previous year they had selected Jim Jackson (who then went by the name of Jimmy Jackson) with the fourth pick in the draft, and the year following Mashburn's they selected Jason Kidd with the second pick. They were to be the pillars of the Mavericks for years to come, but it was not to be for the Three J's, as the PR folk called them.
Mashburn had a solid rookie year, tying with Jimmy Jackson for the team lead in points per game with 19.2, tops among all rookies. He was All-Rookie first team, but had the misfortune of entering the league at the same time as Chris Webber, and lost soundly in the Rookie of the Year race.
His next year was even better. His Field Goal Percentage went up almost 30 points, and he ranked fifth in the league in scoring with 24.1 a game, taking on a heavier load when Jimmy Jackson missed 30 games.
He spent the next year mostly injured, and in 96-97 the wheels came off and the Three J's were unceremoniously disbanded. All three were traded midseason, with Kidd going to the Phoenix Suns on December 26, 1996, Jackson to the New Jersey Nets on February 17, 1997, and Jamal Mashburn going to the Miami Heat on Valentine's Day in exchange for Kurt Thomas, Sasha Danilovic and Martin Muursepp.
He was only the third option in Miami, behind Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, through all but the last year of his tenure, averaging between 13 and 15 points per game in his first three years as a member of the Heat. However, when Tim Hardaway's stats declined in 99-00, Mashburn stepped up by averaging 17.5 points a game. He was rewarded for this career resurgence with a trade to the Charlotte Hornets with Otis Thorpe, Rodney Buford, Tim James and P.J. Brown for Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis.
On the Hornets his career seems to have resumed; he has led the team in scoring all three years he's been there, and in 2000-01 he also led them in rebounds.
Career Summary
Sources: www.nba.com, The Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball 1998 by Zander Hollander.