John Sylvester Newman Jr. (born November 28, 1963) 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. A 6' 7" and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

, Newman starred at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

, before going on to play 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). In his 16 seasons (1986–2002) in the NBA, he was a member of 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 ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

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

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, and

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 ...

Amateur career

Born in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

, Newman attended George Washington High School in Danville, playing for the Eagles under local Hall of Fame coach Harry Johnson before going on to play college basketball at Richmond. Newman is a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity. Newman graduated from Richmond in 1986 as the school's all-time leader in points with 2,383. He was known as an expert marksman in college, with a .532 career

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

percentage and .800 career

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

percentage mark. Newman led Richmond twice to the NCAA Tournament. In the 1984 Tournament, Newman and the underdog, 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders upset the 5th-seeded

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

, led by future Basketball Hall-of-Famer

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

, in the first round. They fell to the 4th-seeded

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

in the 2nd round. In the 1986 NCAA Tournament, Richmond was seeded 11th in the East region and lost in the first round to 6th-seeded Saint Joseph's. After college, Newman was selected by the

in the 2nd round, with the 29th overall pick, of the 1986 NBA draft.

Professional career

The Cleveland Cavaliers' group of selections in the 1986 NBA Draft was one of the best ever for the franchise, and among the best for any team. In that draft, the Cavaliers acquired the rights to future All-Stars

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. The last coaching job he held was as head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball, Charlotte 49ers. As a four-time NBA All-Star and ...

, Brad Daugherty, and Ron Harper. Since Harper and Newman played the same position, Newman was forced to ride the bench during his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season. Newman joined the New York Knicks for the 1987–1988 season, and slowly worked his way into the starting lineup. Along with teammates Mark Jackson and

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...

, Newman lead the Knicks into the playoffs and averaged 19.0 ppg (including 34 points in game 3) in an opening round loss 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. In 1988–89, Newman further grew into his role in the starting five. He averaged 16.0 ppg and led the Knicks to the NBA's Atlantic Division title. After the 1989–90 season, Newman signed as a free agent with the

, an expansion franchise in its 3rd year of existence. Newman was traded by the

along with

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who was also the head coach for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 2019–2023. After his freshman year ...

after the

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. No ...

in exchange for

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

. Newman scored 12,740 points in his NBA career. Newman was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 59 , , 0 , , 10.7 , , .411 , , .045 , , .868 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 77 , , 25 , , 20.6 , , .435 , , .280 , , .841 , , 2.1 , , .8 , , .9 , , .1 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 80 , , 28.8 , , .475 , , .338 , , .815 , , 2.5 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 69 , , 28.5 , , .476 , , .317 , , .799 , , 2.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 81 , , 81 , , 30.6 , , .470 , , .357 , , .809 , , 3.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 55 , , 55 , , 30.0 , , .477 , , .283 , , .766 , , 3.3 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 15.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 64 , , 27 , , 23.0 , , .522 , , .267 , , .808 , , 2.2 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 18 , , 18 , , 23.8 , , .523 , , .250 , , .814 , , 3.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 63 , , 0 , , 20.1 , , .453 , , .270 , , .807 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 11 , , 23.1 , , .463 , , .352 , , .801 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .2 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 32.8 , , .495 , , .377 , , .802 , , 2.4 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 4 , , 25.1 , , .450 , , .347 , , .765 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 74 , , 15 , , 29.4 , , .431 , , .343 , , .820 , , 1.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , 2 , , 19.0 , , .422 , , .377 , , .810 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 9 , , 21.5 , , .446 , , .379 , , .838 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 17 , , 25.0 , , .419 , , .335 , , .855 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 47 , , 17 , , 15.4 , , .453 , , .386 , , .724 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,159 , , 512 , , 24.5 , , .461 , , .336 , , .810 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 11.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 2 , , 28.3 , , .456 , , .000 , , .875 , , 2.8 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 19.0 , - , 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;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 28.7 , , .467 , , .250 , , .776 , , 2.8 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .1 , , 16.1 , - , 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;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 23.1 , , .447 , , .400 , , .755 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , .3 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 9 , , 9 , , 19.2 , , .509 , , .200 , , .688 , , 2.1 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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

, 4 , , 0 , , 13.5 , , .231 , , .250 , , .714 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

, 3 , , 2 , , 7.3 , , .143 , , .167 , , – , , .0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 39 , , 22 , , 21.8 , , .451 , , .226 , , .766 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .2 , , 10.8

Personal life

He married actress and activist

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

in 2004. In 2005, he was convicted of domestic assault and battery following an incident on September 3. Newman was sentenced to 60 days in jail and fined $500 for assaulting his wife. Newman's cousin, Buck Jenkins, played college basketball for the

Columbia Lions The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling. History Intercollegia ...

Filmography

Played in the 1997 film '' Shadow Conspiracy'' with

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...

Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before achieving fame with her starring role as Sarah Connor (Terminator), Sarah Connor i ...

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

and

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

Notes

External links

Career StatsJohnny Newman @ The Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Johnny 1963 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Basketball players from Virginia Charlotte Hornets players Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Milwaukee Bucks players New Jersey Nets players New York Knicks players Panionios B.C. players Richmond Spiders men's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Danville, Virginia