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Dennis Scott (basketball)

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Dennis Scott
Scott in 2013
Personal information
Born (1968-09-05) September 5, 1968 (age 56)
Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolFlint Hill (Oakton, Virginia)
CollegeGeorgia Tech (1987–1990)
NBA draft1990: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Orlando Magic
Playing career1990–2000
PositionSmall forward
Number3, 4, 7, 9
Career history
19901997Orlando Magic
1997–1998Dallas Mavericks
1998Phoenix Suns
1999New York Knicks
1999Minnesota Timberwolves
1999–2000Vancouver Grizzlies
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points8,094 (12.9 ppg)
Assists1,296 (2.1 apg)
Rebounds1,774 (2.8 rpg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Dennis Eugene Scott Jr. (born September 5, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) small forward from Georgia Tech, and the 1990 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Scott was selected by the Orlando Magic with the fourth pick of the 1990 NBA draft after being the leading scorer on a Yellow Jackets team that made the Final Four, and comprising one portion of Georgia Tech's "Lethal Weapon 3" attack featuring Scott, Kenny Anderson and Brian Oliver.[1]

Basketball career

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High school

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Scott played for Coach Stu Vetter at Flint Hill in Oakton, Virginia. Flint Hill Prep finished ranked first in the nation Scott's senior year (1987) as ranked by USA Today.[2] In his junior year at Flint Hill Prep, his team finished ranked second in the nation by USA Today and first as ranked by Blue Ribbon yearbook. Given his size, strength, shooting ability, and quickness Scott played every position at one time or another during his high school career.[3]

College career

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Scott had an excellent college career for the Yellow Jackets, leading them to the NCAA Tournament each year that he played. During his junior season, 1989–90, he led the Yellow Jackets on to win the ACC Tournament Championship.[4] He was named ACC Player of the Year. He also led the team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament that season, falling to eventual champion, UNLV. He entered the NBA Draft after his junior season, foregoing his senior year. In 2002, Scott was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC History.[5]

NBA career

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Orlando Magic

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Scott spent the majority of his career with the Magic, earning the nickname 3-D for his ability to consistently make long three-point field goal attempts. Until the drafting of Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, Scott and Nick Anderson were the leading scorers for the Magic. In 1995–96 Scott set an NBA single-season three-point field goal tally with 267 (which was broken ten years later by Ray Allen). He also set the then NBA record for most three-pointers made in a single game, with 11 on April 18, 1996. On his record-breaking shot, the assist came from teammate and the holder of the record, Brian Shaw (he made 10 three-pointers on April 8, 1993). This record has also since been broken by Kobe Bryant who made 12 three-pointers on January 7, 2003, Donyell Marshall who made 12 three-pointers on March 12, 2005, and Stephen Curry who made 12 three-pointers on February 27, 2016. Curry's teammate Klay Thompson now owns the record after making 14 baskets from behind the arc against the Chicago Bulls on October 29, 2018.[6]

Scott was involved in a controversy after an incident at a Virginia summer camp in which he ranted and played explicit rap music in front of a crowd of bewildered children in 1997.[7]

Scott was honored by the Magic on March 26, 2006, as part of their "Remember the Past Nights" program,[citation needed] where the Magic remembers past players for their accomplishments. Other players to be honored so far were Nick Anderson and Scott Skiles. In 2008, Jay Bilas ranked his personal shooters in NCAA history and Scott was #1 on his list.[8]

Rest of career

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In addition to his seven-year career with Orlando, Scott also spent short stints with other teams. On September 24, 1997, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Derek Harper and Ed O'Bannon. Scott had been traded to the Mavericks after a tumultuous off-season where Scott, frustrated over playing for the Magic as well as with the Magic organization, had a meltdown at a Summer camp event he was a guest at for children, blaring music with explicit lyrics and throwing thinly-veiled insults at the Magic organization.[9] Midway through the 1997–98 season, the Mavericks traded Scott to the Phoenix Suns for Cedric Ceballos. He also played for the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves (1998–99) and the Vancouver Grizzlies (1999–2000). Scott did not play in the 2000–01 NBA season after being cut by the Washington Wizards in training camp.[10] In 2001, he attempted an NBA comeback with the Los Angeles Lakers (with ex-Orlando teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Brian Shaw) but due to the abundance of veteran talent already on the roster, the Lakers decided to go with another player and cut Scott after training camp.[10]

Post-playing career

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Scott working with NBA TV

Currently Scott serves as a commentator for Turner Sports.[11]

Scott has also served as general manager of the Atlanta Vision of the American Basketball Association.[11]

NBA career statistics

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A list of Scott's career statistics:[12]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990–91 Orlando 82 73 28.5 .425 .374 .750 2.9 1.6 0.8 .3 15.7
1991–92 Orlando 18 15 33.8 .402 .326 .901 3.7 1.9 1.1 .5 19.9
1992–93 Orlando 54 43 32.6 .431 .403 .786 3.4 2.5 1.1 .3 15.9
1993–94 Orlando 82 37 27.8 .405 .399 .774 2.7 2.6 1.0 .4 12.8
1994–95 Orlando 62 10 24.2 .439 .426 .754 2.4 2.1 0.7 .2 12.9
1995–96 Orlando 82 82* 37.1 .440 .425 .820 3.8 3.0 1.1 .4 17.5
1996–97 Orlando 66 62 32.8 .398 .394 .792 3.1 2.1 1.1 .3 12.5
1997–98 Dallas 52 42 34.6 .387 .344 .822 3.8 2.5 0.8 .6 13.6
1997–98 Phoenix 29 3 17.0 .438 .449 .667 1.7 0.8 0.3 .2 6.2
1998–99 New York 15 0 13.7 .304 .276 .250 1.3 0.5 0.2 .1 2.9
1998–99 Minnesota 21 9 25.3 .446 .426 .815 1.8 1.5 0.6 .1 9.1
1999–2000 Vancouver 66 0 19.1 .375 .376 .842 1.6 1.0 0.4 .1 5.6
Career 629 376 28.6 .417 .397 .793 2.8 2.1 0.8 .3 12.9

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994 Orlando 3 3 33.0 .341 .318 .800 2.0 1.0 0.7 1.0 14.3
1995 Orlando 21 15 35.5 .413 .371 .850 3.0 2.1 1.0 .2 14.7
1996 Orlando 12 12 37.2 .414 .377 .636 3.6 1.9 0.8 .1 11.3
1997 Orlando 5 1 18.8 .261 .273 .000 1.8 1.0 0.4 .0 3.0
1998 Phoenix 4 0 15.5 .412 .375 .000 2.0 0.3 0.3 .0 4.3
Career 45 31 32.2 .399 .364 .778 2.9 1.7 0.8 .2 11.5

References

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  1. ^ "Ramblinwreck.com "Lethal Weapon 3" article". Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  2. ^ Digiovanna, Mike (January 3, 1987). "Nation's Top Prep Team sees the country in style and wins at every stop: Flint Hill Program No.1 in perks, too". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "Flint Hill's Scott Is Player of the Year". The Washington Post. March 14, 1987. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Georgia Tech Basketball: 1990 ACC Champions". Ramblinwreck.com. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. August 2, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "ACC 50th Anniversary Men's Basketball Team". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Some numbers to know from Thompson's record 3-point shooting night". NBA.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Scott Gives Himself a Bad Rap". July 13, 1997.
  8. ^ Georgia Tech Sports Jay Bilas on Dennis Scott (July 14, 2008)
  9. ^ "Scott Gives Himself A Bad Rap". Orlando Sentinel. July 13, 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Forward Thinking: Lakers sign Dennis Scott, Paul Shirley." www.cnnsi.com, September 28, 2001. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  11. ^ a b HAWKS: Dennis Scott Bio
  12. ^ Dennis Scott. ESPN.com
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