Michael Finley - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973, in Melrose Park, Illinois

Melrose Park, Illinois

Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a "near-in" suburb of Chicago. The population was 23,171 at the 2000 census. Melrose Park has long been home to a large Italian-American population, though now it is majority Mexican-American. It was the home of Kiddieland...

) is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

player. He last played for the Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

of the NBA.

High school career

Finley attended Proviso East High School

Proviso East High School

Proviso East High School is a public secondary school in Maywood, Illinois which serves the educational needs of Maywood and three other villages within Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois: Broadview, Forest Park and Melrose Park. It is the original campus of Proviso Township High Schools...

in Maywood, Illinois

Maywood, Illinois

Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1869 and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 26,987 at the 2000 census.-Overview:...

, graduating in 1991. In Finley's senior season, Proviso East won the 1991 IHSA class AA boys basketball tournament, and Finley was named to the all-tournament team. Finley's teammates, known collectively as the "Three Amigos", included future NBA draftees Sherrell Ford and Donnie Boyce

Donnie Boyce

Donald Nathaniel Boyce is an American professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA....

.

In 2007, Finley was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA

Illinois High School Association

The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...

Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament.

College career

The 6' 7" shooting guard

Shooting guard

The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...

/small forward

Small forward

The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...

was originally drafted out of University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

by the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

as the 21st overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft

1995 NBA Draft

The 1995 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 1995 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies...

. Finley held the all-time scoring record at Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...

for eleven years, but was passed by Alando Tucker

Alando Tucker

Alando Forest Tucker is an American professional basketball player. Tucker played five seasons at The University of Wisconsin–Madison and wore the number 42...

on March 10, 2007.

Phoenix

Finley had an impressive rookie season, being named to the 1995–96 NBA All-Rookie First Team, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging fifteen points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He became only the third rookie in Suns history to score over 1,000 points in a season. Despite his solid play, he was traded by the Suns on December 26, 1996 to the Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

along with Sam Cassell

Sam Cassell

Samuel James "Sam" Cassell , is a retired American professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards. The , point guard was selected out of Florida State University by the Houston Rockets with the 24th overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft...

, A. C. Green

A. C. Green

A.C. Green, Jr., is a retired American NBA basketball player who played in more consecutive games than any other player in NBA and ABA history. With 1,192 straight games played, he earned the nickname "Iron Man". He played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat...

and a second-round draft pick for Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd

Jason Frederick Kidd is an American professional basketball point guard who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Raised in Oakland, California, Kidd played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley and was drafted second overall by the Dallas...

, Tony Dumas

Tony Dumas

Tony Dumas is a retired American professional basketball player.Dumas played collegiately at the University of Missouri-Kansas City . He was the all-time leading scorer in UMKC history upon the completion of his career, with 2,459 career points. His senior season, he finished seventh in the NCAA...

and Loren Meyer

Loren Meyer

Loren Henry Meyer is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1st round of the 1995 NBA Draft...

Dallas

In his first season with the Mavericks, he led them in scoring, assists and steals. Along with another Sun Steve Nash

Steve Nash

Stephen John "Steve" Nash, OC, OBC is a South African-born Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association . Nash enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara...

and forward Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association...

, he became an integral part of the Mavericks' late '90s "run and gun" offense.

In 2000, he was selected to represent the Western Conference

Western Conference (NBA)

Below is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....

in the 2000 All-Star Game

National Basketball Association All-Star Game

The National Basketball Association staged its first All-Star Game in the Boston Garden on March 2, 1951. From that year on, the game has matched the best players in the Eastern Conference with the best players in the Western Conference....

, in which he scored eleven points. In 2001 he was again selected to represent the Western Conference on All-Star weekend. He played for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship

2002 FIBA World Championship

The 2002 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA from August 29 to September 8, 2002.-Venues:-Squads:...

, which lost a record three games and failed to win a championship for the first time in a major competition since FIBA opened international competitions to NBA players.

While Finley began to play more of a supporting role as he aged and teammate Dirk Nowitzki blossomed, he remained a clutch player for the Mavericks. For financial reasons, however, in 2005 he was waived by Dallas to avoid luxury taxes (as part of the league's new labor agreement) on his 51.8 million USD

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

salary over the next three years. Finley became an unrestricted free agent and after being aggressively pursued by Detroit

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

, Miami

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

, Minnesota

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...

and Phoenix

Phoenix Suns

, he elected to remain in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

with the San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....

San Antonio

In San Antonio he adapted well to a secondary role as Manu Ginóbili

Manu Ginobili

Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili is an Argentine professional basketball player. Coming from a family of professional basketball players, he is a member of the Argentine men's national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association .Ginóbili spent the early part of...

's backup, developing and emphasizing his outside shooting. The Spurs were knocked out of the 2006 NBA Playoffs

2006 NBA Playoffs

The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...

by his former team one year after he made the switch. During the series, Finley was punched below the belt by former teammate Jason Terry

Jason Terry

Jason Eugene Terry is an American professional basketball player playing with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He plays shooting guard, although he also can play point guard. His nickname, "JET," derives from his initials...

during Game 5, which earned Terry a suspension for the next game of the series.

In the fifth and final game of San Antonio's first-round series against Denver

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

in 2007, Finley set the Spurs' record for three-point field goals in a playoff game, making eight of nine attempts. He eclipsed the previous record of seven set by teammate Bruce Bowen

Bruce Bowen

Bruce Bowen Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6'7", 200-lb. Bowen played small forward and graduated from Edison High School and Cal State Fullerton...

in 2003.

Finley won an NBA championship in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs in his 12th NBA season. He was given the "game ball" by his teammates, and specifically mentioned in post-game interviews by Robert Horry and Tim Duncan. Out of the original trio from the Dallas Mavericks, he became the first to achieve a title, surpassing the 2006–07 NBA MVP Nowitzki and previous two-time MVP Nash.

At Finley's request, the Spurs bought out the final year of his contract and waived him on March 1, 2010, freeing him to sign with another team.

Boston

On March 4, 2010, Finley reached a verbal agreement with the Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

to join the team for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. He signed with the Celtics on March 6, 2010.

Personal life

He majored in business management at Wisconsin. Finley attended the same high school as current Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers

Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers is a former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics. Rivers was known for his defense while playing in the NBA...

Regular season

Phoenix Suns

| 82 || 72 || 39.2 || .476 || .328 || .749 || 4.6 || 3.5 || 1.0 || .4 || 15.0
|-
| align="left" | 1996–97
| align="left" | Phoenix
| 27 || 18 || 29.5 || .475 || .255 || .812 || 4.4 || 2.5 || .7 || .2 || 13.0
|-
| align="left" | 1996–97
| align="left" | Dallas

Dallas Mavericks

| 56 || 36 || 35.6 || .432 || .387 || .807 || 4.5 || 2.8 || .9 || .4 || 16.0
|-
| align="left" | 1997–98
| align="left" | Dallas
| 82 || 82 || 41.4 || .449 || .357 || .784 || 5.3 || 4.9 || 1.6 || .4 || 21.5
|-
| align="left" | 1998–99
| align="left" | Dallas
| 50 || 50 || 41.0 || .444 || .331 || .823 || 5.3 || 4.4 || 1.3 || .3 || 20.2
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Dallas
| 82 || 82 || 42.2 || .457 || .401 || .820 || 6.3 || 5.3 || 1.3 || .4 || 22.6
|-
| align="left" | 2000–01
| align="left" | Dallas
| 82 || 82 || 42.0 || .458 || .346 || .775 || 5.2 || 4.4 || 1.4 || .4 || 21.5
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Dallas
| 69 || 69 || 39.9 || .463 || .339 || .837 || 5.2 || 3.3 || .9 || .4 || 20.6
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Dallas
| 69 || 69 || 38.3 || .425 || .370 || .861 || 5.8 || 3.0 || 1.1 || .3 || 19.3
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Dallas
| 72 || 72 || 38.6 || .443 || .405 || .850 || 4.5 || 2.9 || 1.2 || .5 || 18.6
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Dallas
| 64 || 64 || 36.8 || .427 || .407 || .831 || 4.1 || 2.6 || .8 || .3 || 15.7
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs

| 77 || 18 || 26.5 || .412 || .394 || .852 || 3.2 || 1.5 || .5 || .1 || 10.1
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 82 || 16 || 22.2 || .412 || .364 || .918 || 2.7 || 1.3 || .4 || .2 || 9.0
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 82 || 61 || 26.9 || .414 || .370 || .800 || 3.1 || 1.4 || .3 || .1 || 10.1
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09

2008–09 NBA season

The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...

| align="left" | San Antonio
| 81 || 77 || 28.8 || .437 || .411 || .823 || 3.3 || 1.4 || .5 || .2 || 9.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10

2009–10 NBA season

The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....

| align="left" | San Antonio
| 25 || 6 || 15.8 || .381 || .317 || .667 || 1.5 || 0.8 || .2 || .2 || 3.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
| align="left" | Boston

Boston Celtics

| 21 || 1 || 15.0 || .506 || .463 || .333 || 1.6 || 1.1 || .2 || .1 || 5.2
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 1103 || 875 || 34.5 || .440 || .390 || .813 || 4.1 || 2.9 || .9 || .3 || 15.7
|-
| align="left" | All-Star
| align="left" |
| 2 || 0 || 14.5 || .476 || .250 || 1.000 || 2.0 || 2.5 || .0 || .0 || 11.5

Playoffs

|-
| align="left" | 2000–01

2001 NBA Playoffs

The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000–01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers winning their second consecutive championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers...

| align="left" | Dallas

Dallas Mavericks

| 10 || 10 || 43.4 || .360 || .362 || .818 || 5.3 || 4.4 || 1.2 || .2 || 19.7
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02

2002 NBA Playoffs

The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; next year's postseason would see those series expanded to a best-of-7 format...

| align="left" | Dallas
| 8 || 8 || 46.6 || .466 || .378 || .900 || 6.3 || 2.3 || 1.5 || .5 || 24.6
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03

2003 NBA Playoffs

The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....

| align="left" | Dallas
| 20 || 20 || 41.1 || .435 || .412 || .864 || 5.8 || 3.0 || 1.3 || .6 || 18.3
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04

2004 NBA Playoffs

The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...

| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 5 || 39.2 || .382 || .269 || .600 || 3.2 || 2.6 || .8 || .6 || 13.0
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05

2005 NBA Playoffs

The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...

| align="left" | Dallas
| 13 || 13 || 37.8 || .425 || .393 || .889 || 4.3 || 2.2 || 1.3 || .0 || 13.1
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06

2006 NBA Playoffs

| align="left" | San Antonio

San Antonio Spurs

| 13 || 4 || 31.6 || .476 || .383 || .900 || 3.8 || 1.4 || .6 || .2 || 10.5
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07

2007 NBA Playoffs

The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...

| align="left" | San Antonio
| 20 || 20 || 26.9 || .410 || .419 || .897 || 2.9 || 1.1 || .6 || .2 || 11.3
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08

2008 NBA Playoffs

The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....

| align="left" | San Antonio
| 17 || 11 || 23.0 || .402 || .365 || 1.000 || 1.9 || 1.0 || .3 || .2 || 6.7
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09

2009 NBA Playoffs

The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...

| align="left" | San Antonio
| 5 || 5 || 28.6 || .441 || .467 || .750 || 3.0 || 1.0 || .2 || .2 || 8.0
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10

2010 NBA Playoffs

The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...

| align="left" | Boston

Boston Celtics

| 18 || 0 || 6.0 || .250 || .273 || 1.000 || .6 || .2 || .2 || .0 || .8
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 129 || 96 || 30.3 || .418 || .388 || .866 || 3.5 || 1.8 || .8 || .2 || 11.8

External links

Michael Finley at NBA.com
SI.com – Pro Basketball – Michael Finley Player Page
Michael Finley on The Internet Movie Database

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

High school career

College career

Phoenix

Dallas

San Antonio

Boston

Personal life

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

External links