Walter Robert Szczerbiak Jr. ( ; born March 5, 1977) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and current color analyst for the New York Knicks on

MSG Network The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...

. He played 10 seasons for four teams in the

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

, and was named an NBA All-Star during the 2001-02 season. He played college basketball for

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

, and is one of five players to have his Miami jersey retired.

Early life

Szczerbiak was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, Spain, to Marilyn and

Walter Szczerbiak Walter Szczerbiak Sr. (born August 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player. At , Szczerbiak played at the small forward position. On February 3, 2008, Szczerbiak was chosen as one of the 50 most influential personalities ...

, a former ABA player who helped lead Real Madrid to three FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague) championships. While there, he set a Spanish League single-game scoring record, with 65 points. Szczerbiak spent much of his childhood in Europe, during his father's playing career, where he was taught how to speak

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

fluently. When Walt retired, he moved his family back to his native Long Island, New York. Szczerbiak played basketball at

Cold Spring Harbor High School Cold Spring Harbor High School is a public school for grades 7–12 in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States. In 2007, it was placed 52nd on ''Newsweek''s Top 1300 High Schools list. Cold Spring Harbor High School is ranked 33rd among publi ...

Cold Spring Harbor, New York Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 5,070. History Cold Spri ...

. As a senior in the 1994–95 season he averaged 36.6 points per game and 15.9 rebounds. He was named the winner of the Richard Sangler Award as Nassau County's outstanding boys' basketball player. Szczerbiak competed for the Long Island team in the 1994

Empire State Games The Empire State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New York, encompassing several divisions and allowing athletes of all ages to compete. It was a member of the National Congress of State ...

. Despite his outstanding high school statistics, the small size of Szczerbiak's school did not win him the attention of East Coast college coaches, and he went unrecruited.

College career

During the fall of his high school senior year, Szczerbiak and his parents visited the

campus in

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

. The following Monday, despite Walt's wishes for his son to wait before making a decision, Szczerbiak called coach

Herb Sendek Herbert Joseph Sendek Jr. (born February 22, 1963) is an American college basketball coach who is the current men's basketball head coach at Santa Clara. Early life Herbert Joseph Sendek, Jr. of Slovak descent, grew up in Pittsburgh and attended ...

and committed to play for Miami. Herb Sendek left Miami after 95/96 season and coach Charlie Coles took over and developed Wally Szczerbiak into a starting position. In his first two seasons there Szczerbiak averaged 8.0 and 12.8 points. As a junior in 1997–98, he burst onto the scene as one of college basketball's leading scorers, averaging 24.4 points per game and earning first-team All-MAC honors despite missing several games with a broken right wrist. In his senior season, Szczerbiak averaged 24.2 points per game and led the Redhawks to the Sweet 16 in the 1999 NCAA tournament as a #10 seed. Szczerbiak scored a career-high 43 points in a first-round win over #7 seed

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He followed that with 24 points in a second round toppling of #2 seed

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, leading the Redhawks to the Sweet 16. Despite Szczerbiak's 23-point performance, they would eventually lose to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

58–43. Miami finished the season 24–8. Szczerbiak was named MAC Player of the Year, and first-team All-American by ''Basketball News'' and ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' and second-team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

(AP). Szczerbiak finished his college career with a degree in marketing and Miami's second all-time leading scorer with 1,847 points. In 2001, Szczerbiak became the fifth Miami player to have his jersey retired (#32). In 2009, he was inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame.

NBA career

Minnesota Timberwolves (1999–2006)

The

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

selected Szczerbiak 6th overall in the 1999 NBA draft. His best year as a pro was in 2002, when he was a coaches' selection to the Western Conference All-Star team. Later he tied a Timberwolves franchise record of 44 points on April 13, 2003, since broken by

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star Game, All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA ...

Corey Brewer Corey Wayne Brewer (born March 5, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA na ...

Andrew Wiggins Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the List of first overall NBA draft picks, first ov ...

Karl-Anthony Towns Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995), sometimes known as KAT (his initials), is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basket ...

, Mo Williams, and Derrick Rose. Szczerbiak was coming off the bench for the

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, ...

. He was uncomfortable with the role and wanted to be a starter. In the 2005–06 season, the former All-Star returned to the starting role.

Boston Celtics (2006–2007)

On January 26, 2006, Szczerbiak, along with

Michael Olowokandi Michael Olowokandi (born 3 April 1975) is a Nigerian former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in London, he played collegiately for the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California. Nicknamed "The Kandi Man," Olowokandi ...

, Dwayne Jones and a conditional first-round draft pick, was traded to the Boston Celtics for

Ricky Davis Tyree Ricardo Davis (born September 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for University of Iowa. Biography Davis atten ...

, Mark Blount,

Marcus Banks Arthur Lemarcus "Marcus" Banks III (born November 19, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Banks is tall and . He played college basketball at the UNLV with the Runnin' Rebels, where he was Co-Defensive Player of the Year ...

, Justin Reed, and two second-round draft picks. Szczerbiak underwent surgery in the 2006 offseason to fix a knee which had been injured for several months. In the 2006–07 season, Szczerbiak played well early on, including a 35-point performance against the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

early in the season. However, he was soon plagued by several injuries to both ankles, which greatly affected his shooting and jumping ability. Szczerbiak decided to have season-ending surgery on his ankles.

Seattle SuperSonics (2007–2008)

On June 28 (the night of the 2007 NBA draft), the Celtics traded Szczerbiak to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

along with

Delonte West Delonte Maurice West (born July 26, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks. He also ...

and Jeff Green (the 5th overall pick) for

Ray Allen Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...

and Glen Davis (35th overall).

Cleveland Cavaliers (2008–2009)

Wally Szczerbiak Cleveland Cavaliers cropped

On February 21, 2008, Szczerbiak and West were traded by the SuperSonics to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-way deal involving the Chicago Bulls that sent Ira Newble and

Donyell Marshall Donyell Lamar Marshall (born May 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He's currently an assistant coach for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. During his National Basketball Association (NBA) career, ...

from Cleveland to Seattle,

Adrian Griffin Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. (born July 4, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA as a shooting guard ...

from Chicago to Seattle,

Cedric Simmons Cedric Simmons (born January 3, 1986) is an American-born Bulgarian professional basketball player for SeaHorses Mikawa in Japan. He was born in the United States, but also holds Bulgarian citizenship, and has played for the senior men's Bulgaria ...

, Drew Gooden,

Larry Hughes Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. (born January 23, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes attended Saint Louis Un ...

, and

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

, from Cleveland to Chicago, and Ben Wallace and Joe Smith from Chicago to Cleveland. Szczerbiak played in 25 regular season games (one start) with the Cavaliers averaging 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds. He scored 18 points against Detroit on April 16, 2008. Between the SuperSonics and the Cavaliers, Szczerbiak played in 75 games (two starts) and averaged 11.5 points and 2.9 rebounds. During the 2008 NBA Playoffs Szczerbiak started at shooting guard for the Cavaliers, helping the Cavs defeat the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

in the first-round by putting up 26 points and shooting 6–13 from the 3 point line in Game Six. For the playoffs, Szczerbiak averaged 10.8 points per game. During the 2008–2009 NBA season, Szczerbiak played in 74 games, starting in 5 of them. Given 20 minutes a game, Szczerbiak averaged 7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists while shooting .450% from the field and .411% from the 3-point line.

Retirement

Szczerbiak was in discussions with the Denver Nuggets in August 2009, about joining the team on a one-year contract. He reportedly rejected a veteran's minimum contract offer from Denver, opting instead to continue to rehabilitate his knee and possibly test the free agent market later. Szczerbiak harbored hopes of signing a one-year contract with the New York Knicks. However, on November 5, 2009, Szczerbiak revealed he'd had a third surgery performed on his left knee, which doctors told him would almost certainly end his career. According to his doctors, so little cartilage was left in that knee that a fourth surgery would make it difficult for him to have a normal life.

Broadcasting career

Szczerbiak succeeded in making the transition to sports broadcasting, becoming a basketball analyst for CBS College Sports. Currently, Szczerbiak is an analyst at

covering the New York Knicks as a color analyst backup for

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's o ...

and contributor to the teams' post-game broadcasts.

Personal life

Szczerbiak is of Ukrainian origin: his grandparents were

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

and met in a refugee camp in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

after World War II. After the war, they emigrated to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Szczerbiak has a brother, Will, nine years his junior, and a sister, Wendy, thirteen years younger. Wendy played college basketball for

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

. In 2013, Szczerbiak was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 73 , , 53 , , 29.7 , , .511 , , .359 , , .826 , , 3.7 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.8 , , .510 , , .338 , , .870 , , 5.5 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .4 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 38.0 , , .508 , , .455 , , .831 , , 4.8 , , 3.1 , , .8 , , .3 , , 18.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 52 , , 42 , , 35.3 , , .481 , , .421 , , .867 , , 4.6 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .4 , , 17.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 0 , , 22.2 , , .449 , , .435 , , .828 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .0 , , 10.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 37 , , 31.6 , , .506 , , .373 , , .855 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 15.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 40 , , 40 , , 38.9 , , .495 , , .406 , , .896 , , 4.8 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .4 , , 20.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 32 , , 31 , , 36.7 , , .476 , , .393 , , .898 , , 3.8 , , 3.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 17.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 19 , , 28.1 , , .415 , , .415 , , .897 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .1 , , 15.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, 50 , , 1 , , 23.6 , , .460 , , .428 , , .843 , , 2.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 25 , , 1 , , 22.2 , , .359 , , .365 , , .878 , , 3.2 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 5 , , 20.6 , , .450 , , .411 , , .849 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 651 , , 393 , , 30.8 , , .485 , , .406 , , .860 , , 4.0 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 14.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .667 , , .667 , , .000 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 10.0

Playoffs

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2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

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, 4 , , 4 , , 23.5 , , .400 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .8 , , .3 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , 2001 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 35.8 , , .486 , , .000 , , .800 , , 4.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 2002 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 43.7 , , .477 , , .222 , , .889 , , 7.0 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 20.0 , - , align="left" , 2003 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 42.0 , , .475 , , .214 , , .867 , , 5.0 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" , 2004 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 0 , , 24.8 , , .420 , , .345 , , .927 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

, 13 , , 13 , , 28.8 , , .376 , , .323 , , .929 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , 2009 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .444 , , .167 , , .818 , , 2.3 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 3.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 54 , , 30 , , 26.8 , , .427 , , .285 , , .882 , , 3.1 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 10.2

References

External links

NBA profile (archived from 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szczerbiak, Wally 1977 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Ukrainian descent Basketball players from Madrid Basketball players from New York (state) Boston Celtics players Cleveland Cavaliers players Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School alumni Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Miami RedHawks men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Minnesota Timberwolves players National Basketball Association All-Stars People from Cold Spring Harbor, New York Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York United States men's national basketball team players