Detroit Pistons

Sean Elliott

Player Profile

Biography

Elliott was born in Tucson, Arizona and was youngest of three boys. He was a very intelligent boy growing up and attended the G.A.T.E. (Gifted and Talented Education) program at Brichta Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona. He played high school basketball at Cholla High School in Tucson, Arizona, and after graduating in 1985, played college basketball at the University of Arizona. Under the tutelage of Lute Olson, Elliott was selected as a consensus all American during his junior and senior years. After an exceptional senior season, Elliot won the Wooden Award.

Elliott was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round in 1989 NBA Draft under Coach Larry Brown, and spent the majority of his career with the Spurs. Elliott spent the 1993-94 with the Detroit Pistons. Elliott was an instrumental part of the Spurs' successful NBA title quest in 1999. In Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals, he hit a 21-foot shot against the Portland Trail Blazers giving the Spurs a one-point lead with 9 seconds left to play in regulation. The shot was called "Memorial Day Miracle" because of its improbability. The pass was nearly stolen by Blazer Stacey Augmon, and Elliott caught the ball within an inch of the sideline (narrowly avoiding going out of bounds), and had to stay on his tiptoes rather than planting his feet. When Elliot released the ball, it just avoided the outstretched arms of six-foot-ten opponent Rasheed Wallace. This play 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 glomerulosclerosis, 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.

On March 6, 2005, his #32 jersey was retired and hung in the rafters of the AT&T Center.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Elliott