Kendall Cedric Gill (born May 25, 1968) 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 now works as a television basketball analyst. Throughout his NBA career he was known as “Cold World” for his ice cold demeanor on the court.

Early life

Gill was born in

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 ...

and attended Rich Central High School in

Olympia Fields, Illinois Olympia Fields is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,718 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a southern suburb of Chicago. The municipality grew up around the prestigious Olympia Fields Coun ...

. Graduating in 1986 as a senior, he led Rich Central to a second-place finish in the IHSA class AA state boys basketball tournament. Gill led his team in scoring with 54 points in the four games of the tournament finals, and was named to the six-player All-Tournament team. After high school, Gill attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. Playing four years for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The university operates a number of athletic fac ...

, he was a starter in his last three seasons. As a junior, Gill led the Fighting Illini to the 1989 Final Four before losing to Michigan on a last-second shot. Also among that fabled ''" Flyin' Illini"'' squadron were future NBA players Nick Anderson, Marcus Liberty, Kenny Battle and Illini TV/radio broadcaster Stephen Bardo as well as four-year starter Lowell Hamilton. As a senior, Gill led the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

in scoring and was named a first-team All-American (UPI). He left Illinois as the seventh-leading scorer in school history. Gill's Illini earned NCAA bids each year he played. He also won the NCAA Slam Dunk championship in the Final Four his senior season. Gill was elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

NBA career

Gill was chosen in the 1990 NBA draft as the fifth overall pick by the

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 ...

, and was named First Team All-Rookie for the 1990–91 season. During this same season, Gill participated in the NBA Slam-Dunk Competition. He had a tough time as a rookie trying to fit into the Hornets rotation, alongside already established back-court teammates

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is an American former basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season care ...

and Rex Chapman. After the 1991 addition of Larry Johnson and departure of Rex Chapman to 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 ...

, Gill had a breakthrough year in the 1991–92 season by averaging 20.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while shooting 46.7% from the field. In 1993 the Hornets reached the NBA postseason for the first time in franchise history. Gill was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics during the following off-season, along with the Hornets' 1994 first-round pick, for Eddie Johnson, Dana Barros, and the SuperSonics' 1994 first-round pick. The SuperSonics, who also added Detlef Schrempf that summer, had a team led by

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

and

Shawn Kemp Shawn Travis Kemp Sr. (born November 26, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association ( ...

. The SuperSonics had two first round eliminations by the

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 ...

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 ...

and the

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

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. Gill returned to Charlotte for the 1995–96 season after being traded there for Hersey Hawkins and David Wingate and in January 1996 the Hornets traded Gill and Khalid Reeves to the

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 ...

for Kenny Anderson, who became the team's starting point guard while Bogues sat out with a knee injury that limited him to just six games for the entire season. Gill's injury limited him to 11 games in the rest of the season. From 1996 to 2001, Gill played for the Nets, scoring a career-high 41 points on January 14, 1997, helping the team reach the 1998 playoffs, and leading the league in steals in 1998–99. On April 3, 1999, Gill recorded 11 steals in a game against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, tying a single-game record set by Larry Kenon during the 1976–77 season. In this game, he also recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds for a rare points-rebounds-steals triple-double. Gill's final season in New Jersey, the 2000–01 season, was shortened by injury, allowing him to play in only 31 games during the season. In his final four seasons in the NBA, Gill played the 2001–02 season with the Miami Heat, the 2002–03 season with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, and the 2003–04 season with 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 ...

, before completing his career with the

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 ...

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 ...

. In his 15 seasons in the NBA, Gill played in 966 games for seven teams. He also appeared in 27 playoff games for four teams. He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1991 and went on to compile 12,914 points, 2,945 assists, and 4,002 rebounds during his career.

Personal life

Gill was raised in

Matteson, Illinois Matteson () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,073 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Chicago. Matteson is located in Chicago Southland, Chicago's Southland area. The village is home to multiple wareho ...

. He is married to Wendy Gill, and has two boys, Phoenix and Kota. Gill was a professional boxer who had his first bout on June 25, 2005, at the age of 37. In 1994, Gill made an appearance as himself in a Nickelodeon TV show ''

My Brother and Me ''My Brother and Me'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on Nickelodeon created by Ilunga Adell and Calvin Brown Jr. and was executive produced by Michael Warren and Dee LaDuke who previously created '' Family Matters'' and '' Step ...

''. He appeared on the January 23, 2008 edition of

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

's '' Pros vs. Joes''. In 2004 his house was featured on

MTV Cribs ''MTV Cribs'' (also known as ''Cribs'') is an American documentary television show that originated on MTV and features tours of the private homes of celebrities. It originally aired from 2000 to 2010. In 2017, MTV produced short-form episodes of ...

. On May 15, 2010, Gill sang a rendition of " Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

, home of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, as they took on the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Gill has provided analysis during pregame and postgame shows on Comcast SportsNet Chicago for

games. On March 22, 2013, Gill was suspended by Comcast SportsNet for the remainder of the 2012–13 season after a reported physical altercation with analyst Tim Doyle in the Comcast SportsNet newsroom. In September 2013, Gill indicated that he was not returning to the station. However, he was rehired by Comcast SportsNet in late 2015. In 2017, Gill was signed as a free agent in the

BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3x3 basketball, 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the hip-hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former National Basketb ...

basketball league by

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

to take the place of

Corey Maggette Corey Antoine Maggette (; born November 12, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He became an analyst for Fox Sports. High school and college career Magget ...

after he suffered an injury during the season.

Honors

High school

* 1986 – IHSA State Tournament All-Tournament Team * 1992 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player

College

* 1989 – Kenny Battle Leadership Award Recipient * 1989 – NCAA All-Regional Team * 1989 – Honorable Mention All-

* 1989 – Honorable Mention All American * 1990 –

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

Pre-Season All-American * 1990 – Preseason Wooden Award Nominee * 1990 – Illini Team Co-Captain * 1990 – Illini MVP * 1990 – 1st Team All-Big Ten * 1990 – Consensus 2nd Team All American * 1990 – University of Illinois Athlete of the Year * 2004 – Elected to the " Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" * 2008 – Honored as one of the 33 honored jerseys, which hang in the

State Farm Center The State Farm Center is a large dome-shaped 15,544-seat indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, owned and operated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The arena hosts games for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, ...

, to show regard for being one of the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history. * 2018 – Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame

NBA

* 1991 –

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

competitor * 1991 –

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

* 1999 – annual steals leader * 2018 – Charlotte Hornets 30th Anniversary Team

NBA career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 82 , , 36 , , 23.7 , , .450 , , .143 , , .835 , , 3.2 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 79 , , 79 , , 36.8 , , .467 , , .240 , , .745 , , 5.1 , , 4.2 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 20.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 69 , , 67 , , 35.2 , , .449 , , .274 , , .772 , , 4.9 , , 3.9 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 79 , , 77 , , 30.8 , , .443 , , .317 , , .782 , , 3.4 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 58 , , 29.1 , , .457 , , .368 , , .742 , , 4.0 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 36 , , 36 , , 35.1 , , .481 , , .315 , , .761 , , 5.3 , , 6.3 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 12.9 , - , 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 ...

, 11 , , 10 , , 38.0 , , .441 , , .360 , , .831 , , 3.9 , , 3.2 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 81 , , 39.0 , , .443 , , .336 , , .797 , , 6.1 , , 4.0 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 21.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 33.7 , , .429 , , .257 , , .688 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , 47 , , 32.1 , , .398 , , .118 , , .683 , , 4.9 , , 2.5 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.7* , , .5 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 75 , , 31.0 , , .414 , , .256 , , .710 , , 3.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 26 , , 28.8 , , .331 , , .286 , , .722 , , 4.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 65 , , 49 , , 21.7 , , .384 , , .136 , , .677 , , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 82 , , 34 , , 25.2 , , .422 , , .322 , , .764 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 56 , , 35 , , 25.2 , , .392 , , .237 , , .735 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 9.6 , - , 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 ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 20.3 , , .400 , , .333 , , .900 , , 2.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 6.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 966 , , 791 , , 30.5 , , .434 , , .300 , , .754 , , 4.1 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 13.4

Playoffs

, - , 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 , , 39.2 , , .401 , , .167 , , .714 , , 5.1 , , 2.9 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 5 , , 5 , , 30.6 , , .433 , , .222 , , .619 , , 4.8 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 4 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .360 , , .250 , , .625 , , 1.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

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

, 3 , , 3 , , 33.3 , , .450 , , , , .875 , , 4.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 19.7 , , .370 , , .500 , , .643 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 27 , , 17 , , 29.5 , , .408 , , .259 , , .686 , , 3.7 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 11.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1986–87 , style="text-align:left;",

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, 31 , , 0 , , 11.1 , , .482 , , .000 , , .642 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1987–88 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 23 , , 28.7 , , .471 , , .304 , , .753 , , 2.2 , , 4.2 , , 2.0 , , .1 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988–89 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 18 , , 28.4 , , .542 , , .458 , , .793 , , 2.9 , , 3.8 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989–90 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 34.5 , , .500 , , .348 , , .777 , , 4.9 , , 3.3 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , 20.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 117 , , 70 , , 25.4 , , .501 , , .374 , , .755 , , 2.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 12.0

References

External links

IHSA 1986 Class AA Boys Summary
*
Gill joins Bulls Pre-Game Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Kendall 1968 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American boxers All-American college men's basketball players American broadcasters American male boxers American men's 3x3 basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Big3 players Boxers from Chicago Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Chicago Bulls players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks players Minnesota Timberwolves players New Jersey Nets players People from Flossmoor, Illinois People from Park Forest, Illinois Seattle SuperSonics players Shooting guards Small forwards

Early life

NBA career

Personal life

Honors

High school

College

NBA

NBA career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

See also

References

External links