Eric Todd Piatkowski (; born September 30, 1970) 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 in the

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). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He is the son of former ABA player Walt Piatkowski.

High school career

Piatkowski attended Rapid City Stevens High School and was a student and a standout in basketball. In basketball, as a senior, he led his team to the 1989 South Dakota Class AA State Championship, was an All-State selection, and was named the Mr. Basketball for the State of South Dakota.

College career

Piatkowski played at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

for coach Danny Nee from 1990 to 1994. He was a member of the All Big Eight Freshman team in 1991 and was honorable mention All Big Eight his freshman and sophomore seasons. Piatkowski was a first team All-Big Eight pick by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

his junior year and averaged a team high 16.7 points per game. He averaged 21.5 points per game his senior season and was named to the All Big Eight team again. He also led the Cornhuskers to the Big Eight Conference Tournament Championship game while scoring a collegiate high and NU single game record 42 points against Oklahoma in the semi-finals. They went on to defeat Oklahoma State in the finals and he secured tournament MVP honors. That helped earn them the sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament. However Piatkowski's team lost to the eleventh seeded Penn Quakers in the opening round. He was recognized as an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press and finished his collegiate career with 1,934 career points, behind only Dave Hoppen for the most in school history. His jersey at Nebraska (No. 52) was retired in 2006.

NBA career

After completing his eligibility at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Piatkowski was drafted by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

with the 15th pick of the 1994 NBA draft. The Pacers immediately dealt his draft rights, along with Pooh Richardson and Malik Sealy, to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

for Mark Jackson and the draft rights to Greg Minor. He ended his Clipper career as the franchise leader in games played (616), 3-point field goals made (738) and 3-point field goal attempts (1,835) and free throw percentage (.880%). After nine seasons with the Clippers he signed as an unrestricted free agent with 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

before the 2003–04 season. Piatkowski became a Bull on September 8, 2004, when Houston sent him, Adrian Griffin and Mike Wilks to Chicago in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo. On July 13, 2006, Piatkowski officially signed with the Phoenix Suns, agreeing on a two-year, $2.4 million deal. In April 2014 Piatkowski's group was attempting to buy the L.A. Clippers from embattled owner Donald T Sterling, before Steve Ballmer bought the team outright.

Career highlights and trivia

*He played for the US in the World Basketball games in 1993. *On February 16, 2002, he set a career high of 36 points against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. *He set the Clippers individual season record for three-point percentage at .466 which ranked him third in the NBA that season. ( 2001-02) *Nicknamed "Pike" and "The Polish Rifle" for his surname and three-point shooting accuracy. *The first third generation pro basketball player, his dad Walt played four seasons, and grandad Joe played in the 1950s. *Holds three L.A. Clippers all time records, free throw percentage, three point shooting percentage and most games played for the franchise in L.A. *Had his number 52 retired by the University of Nebraska. *Beginning in the 2008–2009 season, Piatkowski became the color analyst on Fox Sports Midwest for the Nebraska men's basketball team.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 81 , , 11 , , 14.9 , , .441 , , .374 , , .783 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 65 , , 1 , , 12.1 , , .405 , , .333 , , .817 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 65 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .450 , , .425 , , .821 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 67 , , 35 , , 26.0 , , .452 , , .409 , , .824 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 49 , , 38 , , 25.3 , , .432 , , .394 , , .863 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .1 , , 10.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 75 , , 23 , , 22.8 , , .415 , , .383 , , .850 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 81 , , 40 , , 26.5 , , .433 , , .404 , , .873 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .2 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 71 , , 64 , , 24.2 , , .439 , , .466 , , .894 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 62 , , 26 , , 21.9 , , .471 , , .398 , , .828 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 49 , , 0 , , 14.3 , , .377 , , .352 , , .875 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 68 , , 11 , , 12.4 , , .430 , , .425 , , .804 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 1 , , 7.9 , , .393 , , .273 , , .400 , , .8 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 11 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .360 , , .389 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .4 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 16 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .364 , , .423 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .6 , , .0 , , .1 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 789 , , 250 , , 18.5 , , .434 , , .399 , , .839 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 3 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .364 , , .400 , , .857 , , .7 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 5.3 , - , 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 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 13.2 , , .316 , , .385 , , .857 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , 2006 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .500 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .2 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , 2007 , align="left" , Phoenix , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , 2008 , align="left" , Phoenix , 1 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .368 , , .391 , , .875 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.0

Notes

External links

*
ESPN.com Profile - Eric Piatkowski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piatkowski, Eric 1970 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of Polish descent Basketball players from Ohio Basketball players from South Dakota Chicago Bulls players Houston Rockets players Indiana Pacers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players Phoenix Suns players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Rapid City, South Dakota Sportspeople from Steubenville, Ohio FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball 20th-century American sportsmen