Bryon Demetrise Russell (born December 31, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. During a National Basketball Association (NBA) career that spanned from 1993 to 2006, he played for 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, Washington Wizards and

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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

and was a key member of the Utah Jazz, helping them reach back-to-back NBA finals appearances in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. Russell also played for the

Hollywood Fame Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and

Long Beach Breakers The Long Beach Breakers were a minor league baseball team that played at Blair Field in Long Beach, California. They played in the independent Western Baseball League since 1978 and were not associated with any Major League Baseball team. The ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA). He finished his career with the Los Angeles Lightning of the International Basketball League (IBA), winning a championship in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

NBA career

After playing three years of college basketball with Long Beach State University, Russell was drafted forty-fifth overall in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Ho ...

by the Utah Jazz. From 1997 to 2000, he played in every regular-season game. He went to back-to-back

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

with the Jazz in 1997 and 1998, but lost to the Chicago Bulls. Russell had his best season with the Jazz in the 1999–2000 season, when he averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. After playing nine seasons for the Jazz, Russell signed with the Washington Wizards as a free agent for the 2002–2003 season. Russell then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent for the 2003–2004 season and made it to the

2004 NBA Finals The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion L ...

but lost to the Detroit Pistons. He then signed with the Denver Nuggets as a free agent and played with them from 2004 to 2006. He was a part of the Seattle SuperSonics roster for a brief time in 2006 after being traded by the Nuggets but never appeared in a game for them. Russell's alma mater, Long Beach State University, retired his jersey in 2010.

Russell and Michael Jordan

Russell is best remembered for guarding

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

at the end of Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Jordan made the game-winning shot over Russell, although many fans believe Jordan pushed off Russell during the play. The referees did not call a foul on the play, and Russell later remarked, "Whether he pushed off or not, he was making that shot." He and Jordan were teammates when they played for the Washington Wizards during the

2002–03 NBA season The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. This would be Michael Jordan's last season in the NBA. ...

, which was Jordan's last. In 2009, Jordan mentioned Russell in his Hall of Fame induction speech, recalling an interaction they had during Jordan's first retirement in 1994: " this time, I had no thoughts of coming back and playing the game of basketball. Bryon Russell came over to me and said, 'Why did you quit? You know I could guard you.' ... From this day forward, if I ever see ussellin shorts, I'm coming at him." In response, Russell challenged Jordan to a game of one-on-one for charity. Such a match-up has not yet taken place, though the Utah Flash of the NBDL did stage a halftime game between Russell and a Jordan look-alike.ESP
D-League owner offers refunds to fans
"Associated Press". December 8, 2009. Retrieved on August 17, 2021

Career statistics

NBA statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 67 , , 48 , , 16.7 , , .484 , , .091 , , .614 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 63 , , 15 , , 13.7 , , .437 , , .295 , , .667 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .8 , , .2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 59 , , 9 , , 9.8 , , .394 , , .350 , , .716 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 81 , , 81 , , 31.2 , , .479 , , .409 , , .701 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 82 , , 7 , , 27.1 , , .430 , , .341 , , .766 , , 4.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 50 , , 50 , , 35.4 , , .464 , , .354 , , .795 , , 5.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 82 , , 70 , , 35.4 , , .446 , , .396 , , .750 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 78 , , 46 , , 31.7 , , .440 , , .413 , , .779 , , 4.2 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Utah , 66 , , 40 , , 30.3 , , .380 , , .341 , , .821 , , 4.5 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 70 , , 23 , , 19.8 , , .353 , , .329 , , .768 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 72 , , 1 , , 13.1 , , .402 , , .384 , , .769 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Denver , 70 , , 2 , , 14.7 , , .377 , , .376 , , .792 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Denver , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , ... , , ... , , ... , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 841 , , 392 , , 23.5 , , .431 , , .369 , , .750 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - class=sortbottom

Playoff statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 6 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .400 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 2 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .571 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 18 , , 0 , , 25.5 , , .468 , , .472 , , .816 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 20 , , 20 , , 37.9 , , .461 , , .356 , , .721 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 20 , , 13 , , 34.9 , , .469 , , .365 , , .716 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 11 , , 11 , , 35.2 , , .426 , , .250 , , .722 , , 6.1 , , 1.2 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 10 , , 10 , , 37.1 , , .421 , , .289 , , .756 , , 5.4 , , 2.1 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 5 , , 5 , , 42.8 , , .446 , , .455 , , .917 , , 7.2 , , 3.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;", Utah , 4 , , 4 , , 30.0 , , .250 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 4.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 6 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , ... , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:left;", Denver , 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 105 , , 63 , , 29.3 , , .440 , , .365 , , .759 , , 4.2 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 9.9 , -

References

External links

* *
Greatest NBA clutch shots
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Bryon 1970 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Denver Nuggets players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players Small forwards Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Washington Wizards players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople