Joel Craig Ehlo (; born August 11, 1961) is a retired American basketball player. He played fifteen seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA) with four teams, amassing career totals of 7,492 points, 2,456 assists and 3,139 rebounds.

Playing career

A guard/ forward from Odessa Junior College and

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

, and led the Cougars to the NCAA tournament in his senior season. Ehlo was selected in the third round of the 1983 NBA draft by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

, and went with the Rockets to the

1986 NBA Finals The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1985–86 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Confere ...

in a losing cause to 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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

. Ehlo spent the majority of his career with 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, and was originally signed when

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from ...

went down with an injury. With Cleveland, he tallied 5,130 points, 2,285 assists, and 2,267 rebounds in seven seasons (1987–1993). Ehlo is perhaps best remembered for being the victim of one of

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

star

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 ...

's greatest performances. On May 7, 1989, Ehlo was defending Jordan when he made "

The Shot The Shot was a basketball play that occurred during a 1989 playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989 at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Townsh ...

", the series-clinching jumper in the first round of the NBA Playoffs in front of a Cleveland home crowd, then considered an upset as the Cavaliers were the third seed in the east and Chicago was the sixth. Ehlo's career high in points was 31, achieved three times: v. Michael Jordan,

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

, and

Ron Harper Ronald Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 1986 and 2001 and is a five-time NBA champion. Early life Harper was born ...

. Ehlo spent the second half of his career with 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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

as Steve Smith's backup. Before the 1996–97 season, he signed with 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 Conf ...

, but was used sparingly and did not play during the playoffs. He was waived by the SuperSonics in October that year before the start of the 1997–98 season.

Post retirement

Ehlo worked as an analyst on Gonzaga men's basketball games for five seasons, then became an assistant coach for

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

in 2011. He coached at EWU for two years, until resigning on July 11, 2013. Later that year, Ehlo underwent drug treatment owing to an addiction to prescription painkillers following back surgery. In July 2019, Ehlo was hired as a color analyst on all

Washington State Cougars men's basketball The Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represents Washington State University and competes in the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball, Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) of NCAA Division I. The Cougars play their home games on campus in Pullma ...

home games during the 2019–20 season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .407 , , , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 45 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .493 , , .000 , , .633 , , .6 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .429 , , .333 , , .793 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 44 , , 15 , , 20.2 , , .414 , , .172 , , .707 , , 3.7 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .7 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 79 , , 27 , , 21.6 , , .466 , , .344 , , .674 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 82 , , 4 , , 22.8 , , .475 , , .390 , , .607 , , 3.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 81 , , 64 , , 35.7 , , .464 , , .419 , , .681 , , 5.4 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 82 , , 68 , , 33.7 , , .445 , , .329 , , .679 , , 4.7 , , 4.6 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 63 , , 62 , , 32.0 , , .453 , , .413 , , .707 , , 4.9 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 82 , , 73 , , 31.2 , , .490 , , .381 , , .717 , , 4.9 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, 82 , , 0 , , 26.2 , , .446 , , .348 , , .727 , , 3.4 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 49 , , 0 , , 23.8 , , .453 , , .381 , , .620 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .1 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 8 , , 22.3 , , .428 , , .371 , , .786 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, 62 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .351 , , .284 , , .500 , , 1.8 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , 3.5 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 873 , , 321 , , 24.1 , , .453 , , .369 , , .689 , , 3.6 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 8.6

Playoffs

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1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , 1.000 , , , , 1.000 , , 5.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , .5 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

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

, 10 , , 0 , , 3.8 , , .500 , , .000 , , .800 , , .3 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 5 , , 1 , , 25.6 , , .425 , , .000 , , .625 , , 3.6 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 4 , , 1 , , 24.8 , , .436 , , .385 , , .818 , , 1.5 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .3 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 5 , , 5 , , 39.2 , , .419 , , .333 , , .632 , , 6.4 , , 6.4 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

, style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 17 , , 14 , , 32.5 , , .414 , , .412 , , .762 , , 4.5 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:left;", Cavaliers , 9 , , 9 , , 32.1 , , .418 , , .385 , , .800 , , 3.4 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 10.9 , - , 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 sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

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

, 11 , , 0 , , 28.8 , , .424 , , .348 , , .708 , , 2.7 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

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

, 3 , , 0 , , 16.3 , , .167 , , .167 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

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

, 9 , , 0 , , 19.0 , , .293 , , .304 , , .714 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 76 , , 30 , , 24.3 , , .409 , , .343 , , .734 , , 2.9 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 8.1

References

External links

*
Craig Ehlo biography
on NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlo, Craig 1961 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Texas Cleveland Cavaliers players Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players Mississippi Jets players Odessa Wranglers men's basketball players Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas Washington State Cougars men's basketball players