Brian David Scalabrine (born March 18, 1978), jokingly nicknamed the "White Mamba", 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 who is currently a television analyst for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

of the

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). He is also the co-host of "The Starting Lineup", which airs weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Raised in Enumclaw, Washington, Scalabrine attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

after transferring from Highline College. As a member of the USC Trojans men's basketball team, Scalabrine was the top scorer and a leader in field goals and rebounds. He also played at the center position in college. The

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

selected him in the second round of the 2001 NBA draft. The Nets made consecutive

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 ...

appearances his first two years, and Scalabrine played four seasons with the team. In 2005, he signed with the

and won a championship with the team in 2008. The Celtics also appeared in the

2010 NBA Finals The 2010 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 NBA season, 2009–10 season and conclusion of 2010 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs, held from June 3 to 17, 2010. A best-of ...

. Scalabrine signed with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

the following season, and played with them until 2012. Throughout his NBA career, Scalabrine served as a backup

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 ...

. In 2013, Mark Jackson announced that Scalabrine would join his

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

coaching staff. In 2014, Scalabrine took a job as an analyst for Celtics games on local Boston broadcasts.

Early life and college

Born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Scalabrine was one of four children in his family and graduated from Enumclaw High School at Enumclaw, Washington in 1996. He is of Italian ancestry. He enrolled at Highline College in 1996, played his first year with its basketball team the Thunderbirds, and

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his second year. As a freshman at Highline, Scalabrine averaged 16.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Scalabrine recorded seventeen double-doubles, and led the team in rebounds, blocks, and free throw percentage (75%). The Thunderbirds went 31–1 in the 1996–97 season and won the state junior college championship. Scalabrine was a Northern Division All-Star in 1997 as well as part of the All- Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Championship Tournament Team. In 1998, he transferred to the

(USC). In his first year with the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, he was the only player to start all 28 games. He led the Trojans in scoring (14.6 points), rebounding (6.4), and field goals (53.1%). In scoring, blocked shots, and field goals, he was also the only Pac-10 conference player among the top 10 players in those areas. His best game performance was against

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

on December 21, 1998: 26 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. On February 13, 1999, he scored 22 points including an important three-pointer in overtime; the unranked USC won an upset victory over number-six

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

86–82 in overtime. He was the 1999 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and earned an All-Pac-10 honorable mention. During his second season with USC, Scalabrine was named to the All-Pac-10 first team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 15 first team. He also earned a ''

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'' All-American honorable mention. Again, he finished as USC's top scorer (17.8 ppg) and field goal shooter (53.1%) and was also the second-best Pac-10 scorer. He also made 40.3% of attempted three-pointers. Against the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

, Scalabrine scored 29 points and made 10 rebounds. USC advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2001, Scalabrine's senior season. In the Elite Eight round, USC lost to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

79–69; Scalabrine scored 13 points. Scalabrine graduated with a degree in history.

Professional career

New Jersey Nets (2001–2005)

Because he injured his

fifth metatarsal bone The fifth metatarsal bone is a long bone in the foot, and is palpable along the distal outer edges of the feet. It is the second smallest of the five metatarsal bones. The fifth metatarsal is analogous to the fifth metacarpal bone in the hand. As ...

during workouts in late September 2001, Scalabrine missed the first ten days of

training camp. During the second quarter of the final 2001–02 preseason game, which took place against 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 ...

on October 26, 2001, Scalabrine again injured his right foot. He made his

NBA 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 ...

debut on January 31, 2002, when the Nets played against the

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

. As a rookie, Scalabrine averaged 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. He played in six playoff games his debut season and averaged 0.3 points and 0.5 rebounds. The Nets were the Eastern Conference Champions of the 2001–02 season and lost the

2002 NBA Finals The 2002 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2001–02 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Western Conference champion Lo ...

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 ...

in four games. In a triple-overtime victory over the

in Game 5 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinal series, Scalabrine scored a career high 17 points. He surpassed that high with 29 points on January 26, 2005, against the

. On April 15, 2005, he played a career high 45 minutes. During his time with the Nets, Scalabrine gained the nickname "Veal", a play on words based on the dish

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

scaloppine.

Boston Celtics (2005–2010)

On August 2, 2005, Scalabrine signed a five-year contract with the

. A month earlier, he and the team agreed on terms that the contract be worth $15 million over the five years. Scalabrine started in nine of 48 games during the 2007–08 season, and played on average 10.7 minutes. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. On April 16, 2008, in the final game of the regular season, Scalabrine tied a season-high with six rebounds and played 29 minutes. He did not make an appearance in the NBA playoffs. In the

2008 NBA Finals The 2008 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 NBA season, 2007–08 season and conclusion of 2008 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs. A best-of-seven playoff series that was ...

, the Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games.

Chicago Bulls (2010–2011)

On September 21, 2010, Scalabrine agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the

. The Bulls visited the Boston Celtics on November 5, 2010, and in double overtime the Bulls won 110–105. Scalabrine played only three minutes that game. He played 18 games with the Bulls and averaged 1.1 points and 0.4 rebounds per game.

Treviso (2011)

On September 22, 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, Scalabrine signed with the Italian team Benetton Treviso. He left the team in December 2011 to pursue opportunities in the NBA after the lockout had ended.

Return to Chicago (2011–2012)

On December 12, 2011, Scalabrine re-signed with the Bulls. During the 2011–12 season, Scalabrine played in 28 games. In September 2012, he was offered a position as an assistant coach for the Bulls under Tom Thibodeau, but instead opted to become a broadcaster for the Boston Celtics.

BIG3 League (2017)

In 2017, Brian joined the Ball Hogs of the

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former National Basketb ...

basketball league.

Coaching career

In July 2013,

coach Mark Jackson announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that Scalabrine was joining his coaching staff. During the season, Jackson reassigned Scalabrine to the Warriors' D-League affiliate after a difference of opinion on the team's direction.

Broadcasting career

In September 2012, Scalabrine announced that he had turned down an opportunity to become an assistant coach with the Bulls so that he could join Comcast SportsNet New England as a commentator. Scalabrine described the job as "a trial run", and said there was a "small possibility" he would resume his playing career overseas in 2013. In 2014, Scalabrine wrote an essay to Boston to announce his "homecoming" to become a Comcast SportsNet announcer. His essay spoofed a famous ''Sports Illustrated'' story about

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

's return to Cleveland.

Personal life

Scalabrine married Kristen Couch in 2003; their wedding ceremony was held in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. They have two children. He is also a member of the sports philanthropy organization Athletes for Hope. Scalabrine appeared as himself in an episode of the dark comedy series '' Kevin Can F**k Himself'' in 2021.

Fan support

Despite his limited playing time, Scalabrine became a popular player. Bulls fans referred to him as "The White Mamba", a play on

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

's nickname of "The Black Mamba". In 2013, in response to criticism over his bench role throughout his career and to claims that many would beat him one-on-one, Scalabrine stated, "I'm closer to LeBron than you are to me", suggesting that there is a sizeable difference between any (active or retired) NBA player and those outside the league. In an event organized by '' The Toucher and Rich Show'', selected volunteers had the chance to play one-on-one against Scalabrine (until 11 points with a margin of two). The format was called the "Scallenge" and Scalabrine played four games, one against each of the voluntary contenders. Scalabrine won every game with a combined score of 44–6. In an additional game Scalabrine played against the three hosts of the show and won 11–1.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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, 59 , , 7 , , 12.3 , , .402 , , .359 , , .833 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , 2 , , 13.4 , , .394 , , .244 , , .829 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 14 , , 21.6 , , .398 , , .324 , , .768 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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Playoffs

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References

External links

*
USC Trojans bio page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scalabrine, Brian 1978 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American people of Italian descent American men's 3x3 basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from King County, Washington Basketball players from Long Beach, California Big3 players Boston Celtics players Chicago Bulls players Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Highline College alumni Junior college men's basketball players in the United States NBA broadcasters New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Pallacanestro Treviso players People from Enumclaw, Washington Power forwards Small forwards USC Trojans men's basketball players