Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Listed at and , McDyess played as a

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 ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Early life

McDyess was born at Quitman, Mississippi and 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 ...

. As a prep, McDyess was one of the top 30 players nationally, and made the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic. McDyess played

at the

. As a sophomore, he led the Crimson Tide in scoring (13.6) and rebounding (10.0), and was considered the SEC's best big man. He decided to forgo his final two years of college to enter the 1995 NBA draft.

Playing career

McDyess was selected with the second overall pick in the 1995 draft by the

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

, and was traded to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

before the season began, along with Randy Woods, for fellow forward Rodney Rogers and a mid-first-round pick that was later used to select Brent Barry. McDyess's explosive leaping and power dunking ability allowed him to average 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over his first six seasons. In 1997, before his third year, McDyess was traded to the Phoenix Suns. He helped the Suns to a 56–26 record during his lone season in Phoenix. He became a free agent prior to the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, and returned to the Nuggets. The move was controversial however, because after he had verbally agreed to return to Denver, he reconsidered an offer to return to Phoenix. According to ''Sports Illustrated'',

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

, Rex Chapman, and George McCloud flew through a blizzard to Denver in hopes of convincing him to re-sign with the Suns. McDyess was attending a

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

game with Nuggets President and General Manager Dan Issel, and Issel told security to not let the three Suns players into the building. Without any further consultation, he re-signed with the Nuggets. That season, on February 28, 1999, McDyess scored a career-high 46 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in a 116–112 win over the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

. Considered an up and comer, he was selected to be a part of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic men's basketball team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. In 2000–01, McDyess was named an All–Star and became just the third Nugget to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for a season, after Issel in 1977–78 and George McGinnis in 1978–79. Near the end of the season, he suffered a partially dislocated left kneecap. Early in the 2001–02 season, McDyess had an injury found during practice in October. An MRI showed a partial tear in his patellar tendon and a mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament. He got surgery for the injury and ended up missing the whole season. McDyess struggled to play through the injury, re-aggravating it several times and going through additional surgeries over the next few seasons. He was sidelined due to injury for the remainder of the 2001–02 season as well as the entire 2002–03 NBA season. Mcdyess free throw

McDyess was traded to the Knicks on June 26, 2002 in exchange for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and the draft rights to Nenê, the seventh overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. McDyess began the 2002–03 season as a highly anticipated addition to the New York Knicks. But on October 8, 2002, with 1 minute 55 seconds left in an exhibition game against Phoenix, McDyess reinjured the knee while dunking a rebound. He would undergo another surgery four days later. In the 2003–04 season, McDyess was traded to the Phoenix Suns after just 18 games with the Knicks, alongside Maciej Lampe, Charlie Ward, Howard Eisley, the draft rights of Miloš Vujanić and draft considerations in exchange for Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway, and Cezary Trybański. He remained healthy while in Phoenix for the remainder of the 2003–04 season. That off-season, his knee was declared healthy and the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

signed him for the full mid-level exception. As a member of the Pistons, McDyess was successful in reinventing his game. In his first season with the Pistons, averaged 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per 23.3 minutes. He relied mostly on mid–range and turn–around jumpers, but remained an efficient scorer, with a 51.3% FG% (ranked 13th in the NBA), helping the Pistons to an Eastern Conference Championship, though they lost to the Spurs in 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 ...

. He was a dependable sixth man for Detroit, playing in all 82 games in each of the next two seasons. In 2007–08, following the departure of Chris Webber, McDyess became the Pistons' starting power forward. On November 3, 2008, McDyess was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb, for Allen Iverson. His inclusion in the trade was for salary cap purposes only, and the Nuggets bought out his contract. He waited the league-mandated 30-day period before he could rejoin Detroit, then re-signed with the Pistons on December 9. That postseason, on April 26, 2009, McDyess scored a playoff career-high 26 points, alongside grabbing 10 rebounds, in a deciding Game 4 loss against the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. The San Antonio Spurs reached an agreement with McDyess on July 8, 2009, to a three-year deal worth the mid-level exception (up to $15 million). He spent the next two seasons with San Antonio as their starting Center, next to Tim Duncan. On January 27, 2010, McDyess scored a season-high 17 points in a 105–90 win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. On December 19, 2011, McDyess announced his retirement from the NBA.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 76 , , 75 , , 30.0 , , .485 , , .000 , , .683 , , 7.5 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 73 , , 34.7 , , .463 , , .171 , , .708 , , 7.3 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , 1.7 , , 18.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 81 , , 81 , , 30.1 , , .536 , , .000 , , .702 , , 7.6 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 1.7 , , 15.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , 38.7 , , .471 , , .111 , , .680 , , 10.7 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , 2.3 , , 21.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 81 , , 33.3 , , .507 , , .000 , , .626 , , 8.5 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , 1.7 , , 19.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 70 , , 70 , , 36.5 , , .495 , , - , , .700 , , 12.1 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , 1.5 , , 20.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 23.6 , , .573 , , - , , .818 , , 5.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , align="left" , New York , 18 , , 6 , , 23.4 , , .458 , , - , , .579 , , 6.6 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .6 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , Phoenix , 24 , , 14 , , 21.1 , , .484 , , - , , .516 , , 5.8 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 77 , , 8 , , 23.3 , , .513 , , .000 , , .656 , , 6.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , .7 , , 9.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 0 , , 21.1 , , .509 , , .000 , , .557 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .6 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 3 , , 21.1 , , .526 , , - , , .691 , , 6.0 , , .9 , , .7 , , .8 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 78 , , 29.3 , , .488 , , .000 , , .622 , , 8.5 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .7 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 30 , , 30.1 , , .510 , , - , , .698 , , 9.8 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .8 , , 9.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 77 , , 50 , , 21.0 , , .479 , , .000 , , .632 , , 5.9 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 73 , , 16 , , 19.0 , , .491 , , .000 , , .675 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .5 , , 5.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1015 , , 645 , , 27.6 , , .497 , , .117 , , .670 , , 7.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , 12.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .444 , , .000 , , .000 , , 8.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 8.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1998 , align="left" , Phoenix , 4 , , 4 , , 36.8 , , .477 , , - , , .643 , , 13.3 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 17.8 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, align="left" ,

, 25 , , 0 , , 19.8 , , .486 , , - , , .694 , , 5.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .9 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 2006 , align="left" ,

, 18 , , 0 , , 20.6 , , .559 , , .000 , , .548 , , 6.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , .7 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , 2007 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , 0 , , 22.1 , , .349 , , .000 , , .731 , , 7.1 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .9 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , 2008 , align="left" ,

, 17 , , 11 , , 27.5 , , .538 , , - , , .821 , , 7.4 , , .9 , , .6 , , .5 , , 8.9 , - , align="left" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 34.0 , , .523 , , - , , 1.000 , , 8.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .8 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 24.7 , , .532 , , - , , 1.000 , , 6.8 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .7 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 24.2 , , .417 , , - , , .571 , , 5.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .8 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 100 , , 35 , , 23.6 , , .487 , , .000 , , .689 , , 6.8 , , .9 , , .5 , , .8 , , 8.1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDyess, Antonio 1974 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Mississippi Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics NBA All-Stars New York Knicks players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Quitman, Mississippi Phoenix Suns players Power forwards San Antonio Spurs players United States men's national basketball team players