Ennis Whatley (born August 11, 1962) is a retired American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player who 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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
in the first round (13th overall) of the
1983 NBA draft. Whatley played in ten
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball 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 in the United ...
seasons. A 6'3" (1.90 m) and 177 lb (80 kg)
guard, he played for 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...
, 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 ...
,
Washington Bullets
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...
,
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 league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
,
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 ...
,
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
and
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
.
Whatley's best year as a professional came during the 1986–87 season as a Bullet, when he appeared in 73 games and averaged 8.5 points per game (ppg). In 10 NBA seasons, Whatley played in a total of 385 games and scored 2,150 points, thus averaging 5.6 ppg.
He also holds the record for assists per game in Bulls history, averaging 7 assists per game.
Born and raised in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, Whatley attended Phillips High School and the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
.
Career in the Philippines
Whatley had experienced some success in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
when he played as an import in the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
in 1989. In the Reinforced Conference of that season, he helped the
San Miguel Beermen
The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...
become only the second team in PBA history to achieve the Grand Slam by leading them to the third and final conference championship. He came in as a replacement for former
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
* Indiana Univers ...
standout and future
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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
coach
Keith Smart
Jonathan Keith Smart (born September 21, 1964) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player.
Playing career
He is perhaps best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game that gave the Indi ...
, who was sent home after five games.
Whatley would return to the PBA in 1990, playing for
Presto Tivoli.
Life After Basketball
Whatley is now a public speaker for Inspire LLP.
See also
*
External links
Basketball-Reference.com: Ennis Whatley
1962 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players
All-American college men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks players
Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama
BC Žalgiris players
Chicago Bulls players
Cleveland Cavaliers players
Connecticut Pride players
Kansas City Kings draft picks
Los Angeles Clippers players
Mississippi Jets players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Philippine Basketball Association imports
Point guards
Portland Trail Blazers players
San Antonio Spurs players
San Miguel Beermen players
Washington Bullets players
Wichita Falls Texans players
Great Taste Coffee Makers players
American expatriate basketball people in Israel
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
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