Derrick Wayne McKey (born October 10, 1966) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played most of his

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) career at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

and the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

positions.

Early life and college career

McKey attended Meridian High School in his

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

hometown, where he excelled on the team's basketball squad. In addition to being a star basketball player in high school, he was a shortstop on the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team despite being . He attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

for three years, leading the Tide to a regional No. 2 seed in 1986–87 and to the Sweet 16 (where they were eliminated by Providence). He played for the US national team in the

1986 FIBA World Championship The 1986 FIBA World Championship was the 10th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Spain and was held from 5 to 20 July 1986. The final phase of the tournament was hel ...

, winning the gold medal.

NBA career

He declared for the NBA after his junior season and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the ninth overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft, ahead of, notably,

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

, Horace Grant and Reggie Lewis. In the 1988–89 season, McKey averaged 15.9 PPG, his best scoring average in a season.NBA.com: Derrick McKey Player Info
/ref> McKey spent the following six seasons in Seattle, where he was known as one third of the "Big Mac" team of the late 1980s and early 1990s Seattle SuperSonics, the others being Nate McMillan and Xavier McDaniel. At the start of the

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 NBA Finals, NBA Finals to win the franchise's first champ ...

he was traded to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

along with teammate Gerald Paddio for Detlef Schrempf. After years of playoff disappointments, he and the Pacers finally reached the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

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, before losing to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. He then spent the 2001–2002 season, the last of his career, with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

Style and career

At 6'10", McKey was mostly known for his defensive skills, his emphasis on teamwork play, and his versatility, which allowed him to guard opposing players of any position. Consequently, he was elected twice to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team. He was also a smart, team-oriented player, shooting wisely (.486 for his career) and had a knack for passing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKey, Derrick 1966 births Living people 1986 FIBA World Championship players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Goodwill Games gold medalists 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games FIBA World Championship–winning players Indiana Pacers players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Small forwards Sportspeople from Meridian, Mississippi United States men's national basketball team players