Jimmy Allen Oliver (born July 12, 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 who played several seasons 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 was selected by 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in the second round (39th pick overall) of the

1991 NBA draft The 1991–92 NBA season, 1991 NBA draft took place on June 26, 1991, in New York City, New York. Larry Johnson (basketball, born 1969), Larry Johnson was selected first overall; he won the 1992 NBA Rookie of the Year award and as a two-time All ...

College career

Jimmy "Slice" Oliver attended

Community College A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

for one year and then transferred to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, located in

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...

and played under head coach

Gene Keady Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American Hall of Fame basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 t ...

. The 6'6", 208 lb guard-forward appeared in 31 games in his sophomore season, playing behind Center Steve Scheffler and alongside guard

Matt Painter Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the current and 19th head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball, Purdue Boilermakers, serving in that role since 2005. He played ...

. He averaged 5.3 points while averaging 18.2 minutes per game in his first eligible season. Jimmy started his junior season out receiving more minutes and improved his shooting percentage to nearly 50%, while also improving his points average to 8 a game. He helped lead the Boilers to a 2nd-place finish in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

and to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament with a 22–8 record. Averaging 19.2 points a game during his senior year, fourth in the conference, and owning an .861 free throw percentage to lead the conference, he was an ''All-Big Ten First Team'' selection. Jimmy led Purdue to a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. He finished his college career with a 40.6% accuracy from 3-point land. Jimmy led the

Boilers A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

in assists (89) and minutes per game (35.4) in his senior season. He played his last collegiate game in the NABC All-America Game at the 1991 NCAA Final Four, where he recorded a game-high 25 points.

Professional career

Oliver was selected in the second round with the 39th pick by the

in the

. Oliver played his rookie season for the Cavaliers, averaging 3.6 ppg in 27 games. After being invited to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

' pre-season camp, he joined the CBA for the 1992–93 season, where he averaged 17.3 ppg in 15 games. After one season in the CBA, Oliver returned to the NBA for the 1993–1994 season. He played for 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, where he averaged 4.9 ppg and started six of the 44 games he played. After leaving the league for two seasons, he returned for the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

, where he played a season with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for the 1996–97 season. He finished his last two NBA seasons with the

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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

(1997–98) and 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 ...

(1998–99). Playing on five different NBA teams throughout five seasons, he played in a total of 78 games (14 starts) and scored 331 points with 34% three point and .772% free throw accuracy. After his NBA tenure, Jimmy Oliver played for several European clubs, including the Greek club

Maroussi Athens Maroussi B.C. () alternately translated as Marousi, Amaroussio, or Amaroussion, is a professional basketball club that is based in Maroussi, a northern suburb of Athens, Greece. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Maroussi Basketball Clu ...

; he won the

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...

with them in 2001. He scored 31 points in the final match against

Chalon Chalon may refer to: Culture *Chalon people, a Native American tribe of California *Chalon language, an Ohlone language spoken by the Chalon people Places *Chalon, Isère, formerly Châlons, in France's Isère ''département'' *Le Chalon, in th ...

. Earlier, he had won the 1993 Copa Galicia, with Pescanova Ferrol, of Spain; in 2006, he led

KK Olimpija Košarkarski klub Olimpija () was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They have played in two differen ...

to both the Slovenian League and Slovenian Cup titles.

National team career

During the NBA lockout, Jimmy played for the US national team in the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and hosted in Greece ...

, teamed up with the likes of another former Boilermaker, Brad Miller. Jimmy Oliver was the leading scorer of Team USA averaging 11.8 points per game, leading them to the bronze medal.Mundobasket 1998 USA stats
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References

External links