Eddie Carl Nealy (born February 19, 1960) is an American retired

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. At 6'7" and 238 pounds, he 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 ...

. After a standout college career, during which he won the Big Eight tournament title in 1980, he went on to play professionally for 11 years. During his professional career, he won 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 ...

championship in 1986 as a member of the

Tampa Bay Thrillers The Tampa Bay Thrillers were a franchise in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1984–1987. They won back-to-back championships in 1984–85 and 1985–86. At the end of the 1986–87 CBA regular season the team relocated to Rapi ...

and the

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 ...

championship in 1993 as a member of 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 ...

College career

Born in

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 United S ...

, Nealy attended

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

. Although he was not expected to be a factor for the Wildcats as a freshman, he started 30 of the team's 31 games, averaging 10.2 points and team leading 8.2 rebounds per game en route to Big Eight Newcomer of the Year honors. During his sophomore season, he was a vital part in helping the team win the 1980 Big Eight tournament championship and reach the Elite Eight of the 1980 NCAA Tournament after averaging 9.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. As a junior, he averaged 11.0 points and 9.1 rebounds, helping the Wildcats reach the West Regional Finals. During his senior season, he averaged 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, and led the Wildcats to Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and earned first team All-Big Eight and honorable mention All-America honors.

Professional career

After his college career ended, Nealy was selected by the

Kansas City 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 ...

in the eighth round of the

1982 NBA draft The 1982 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1982, at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The #1 selection from this year's draft, James Worthy, was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers despite them being one of the ...

. In 10 NBA seasons with the Kings,

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, Nealy averaged 2.7 points and 3.3 rebounds. Nealy played two seasons in the

, averaging 9.8 points and 10.0 rebounds in 68 games. During the 1986 playoffs, he averaged 12.9 points and 15.5 rebounds for the

, helping them to the CBA championship. During his multiple stints in Chicago, Nealy became a fan-favorite (and a favorite of coach Phil Jackson) for his hustle and hard work ethic, especially during the 1990 NBA playoffs during stints where Scottie Pippen and Bill Cartwright were injured or struggling during the game. During his last season, Nealy was a late addition to the Chicago Bulls team which won the 1993 NBA Championship, although he did not play during the playoffs. He retired following the finals.

Player profile

Due to his hustle, aggressiveness and court smarts, Nealy received positive feedback for his unselfish play and willingness to be physical throughout his career. During Nealy's college playing career,

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...

, head coach of the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

at the time, said about Nealy in anticipation of the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

game his team would play against Nealy's

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The School colors, official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are gener ...

, "With some players, a rebound hits their hand and bounces off. Nealy catches it. He has hands like Bobby Jones and

Adrian Dantley Adrian Delano Dantley (born February 28, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dantley is a six-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA selection an ...

. He is going to be a great pro some day. I truly mean that."

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

, who coached Nealy while he played for the Bulls in the 1989-90 and 1992-93 seasons, remarked, "It's guys like Ed who make coaching a pleasure. If you give me a reason to put him into a game, he's going to find a way to contribute." The book '' The Jordan Rules'' features

labelling Nealy as his "favorite player, smartest player on the team."

Personal life

Nealy's son, Spencer, played football at Texas A&M University.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

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, 71, , 1, , 13.5, , .500, , –, , .800, , 3.1, , .7, , .6, , .1, , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 22, , 0, , 10.1, , .591, , –, , .526, , 2.0, , .8, , .1, , .0, , 2.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-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 ...

, 60, , 7, , 16.3, , .438, , .129, , .739, , 4.7, , 1.4, , .7, , .2, , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68, , 1, , 12.3, , .459, , .500, , .651, , 3.3, , .7, , .4, , .1, , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 13, , 0, , 7.2, , .714, , –, , .500, , 1.8, , .5, , .2, , .1, , .8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 30, , 0, , 5.6, , .276, , .000, , .429, , 1.8, , .3, , .1, , .0, , .6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 46, , 0, , 10.9, , .529, , .000, , .732, , 3.0, , .6, , .3, , .1, , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 55, , 0, , 10.4, , .464, , .313, , .737, , 2.7, , .7, , .4, , .1, , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 52, , 4, , 9.7, , .512, , .400, , .667, , 2.1, , .7, , .3, , .0, , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 30, , 4, , 7.6, , .348, , .318, , .700, , 1.6, , .4, , .3, , .0, , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

, 11, , 0, , 7.2, , .435, , .200, , 1.000, , 1.5, , .2, , .3, , .1, , 2.1 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 540, , 78, , 12.6, , .498, , .292, , .684, , 3.3, , .7, , .5, , .1, , 2.7

Playoffs

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1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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, 2, , –, , 9.5, , 1.000, , –, , 1.000, , 3.0, , 1.0, , .0, , .0, , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

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, 2, , 0, , 18.0, , .500, , –, , –, , 3.5, , 2.0, , .5, , .0, , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 4, , 0, , 1.5, , .333, , –, , –, , .8, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

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

, 15, , 0, , 15.2, , .472, , .000, , .619, , 3.5, , .3, , .7, , .1, , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 2, , 0, , 10.0, , .200, , .000, , –, , 2.5, , .0, , .0, , .0, , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 8, , 0, , 8.4, , .389, , .385, , 1.000, , 2.3, , .5, , .4, , .0, , 2.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 33, , 0, , 11.4, , .441, , .333, , .704, , 2.8, , .5, , .4, , .0, , 2.5

References

External links

NBA statistics
at

Basketball-Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey R ...

College statistics
at

Sports-reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey Ref ...

CBA statistics
at justsportsstats.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Nealy, Ed 1960 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas Chicago Bulls players Golden State Warriors players Kansas City Kings draft picks Kansas City Kings players Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players Sportspeople from Pittsburg, Kansas Phoenix Suns players Power forwards San Antonio Spurs players Sarasota Stingers players Tampa Bay Thrillers players