Byron Dwight Houston (born November 22, 1969) 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. A 6'5", 250-pound

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 collegiately for

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

and was selected by 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 ...

in the first round (27th pick overall) of the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...

. In an

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 that lasted four seasons, Houston played for the

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 ...

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

and

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. He then played in the PBA in 1997. Houston played for the Quad City Thunder of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) and was selected as the CBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1998. In Game 3 of a 1993-94 playoff series against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, Houston was one of the main assignments meant to guard

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

by coach

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

. Nelson continued to not double team Barkley on his way to a 56-point performance believing Houston (among others) was strong enough to manage the matchup alone.

Personal life

Houston's biological father is former NBA player Curtis Perry.

Controversies

In June 2006, Houston was removed from a children's basketball camp in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

because he pleaded guilty in March 2003 to four counts of indecent exposure and was registered as a

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

in that state for the next ten years. On June 13, 2007, Houston was arrested on counts of

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

, engaging in a lewd act and driving with a canceled license. On September 16, 2007, he was sentenced to four years in prison for violating

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

stemming from this offense. Defense witnesses have claimed that Houston suffers from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

and other conditions such as

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

as a result of suffering extreme abuse as a child.

References

External links

Stats at Basketball-ReferenceESPN.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Byron 1969 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players American sex offenders American sportspeople convicted of crimes Arka Gdynia (basketball) players Baloncesto León players Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Basketball players from Oklahoma Chicago Bulls draft picks Golden State Warriors players Liga ACB players Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball players Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in basketball People from Watonga, Oklahoma People convicted of sex crimes People with bipolar disorder Philippine Basketball Association imports Pop Cola Panthers players Power forwards Quad City Thunder players Sacramento Kings players Seattle SuperSonics players St. Louis Swarm players United States men's national basketball team players People with post-traumatic stress disorder

Personal life

Controversies

See also

References

External links