Kris Marcus Bruton (born January 10, 1971) is an American 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. Drafted by 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 ...

in the second round of the

1994 NBA draft The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...

, he was with the Bulls for two pre-seasons (1994 and 1995) before a serious thigh injury ended his career. Bruton never appeared in a regular-season NBA game for the Bulls. After recuperating, he was recruited by the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

, carving a niche on the court as a

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

expert.

Pre-professional career

Born in

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 35,308, making ...

, Bruton played very little high school basketball. A number of injuries kept him off the court for most of his four years at the local school. After graduating, Bruton enrolled at

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, but did not pursue a position on the school's basketball team. Only after a pick-up game in the school gymnasium was he recruited by the team's coach and offered an athletic scholarship. Bruton was selected for NAIA First Team All-American honors as a senior for the 1993–1994 season. That year, he averaged 20.4 points and ten

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, while completing 231 of 380 shots. He also won the Slam Dunk Contest during the 1994

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

Weekend in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, and again in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 2003.

2017086192953 2017-03-27 Harlem Globetrotters - Sven - 1D X II - 0275 - AK8I3608 mod

Professional career

Following his graduation from Benedict College, Bruton was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. The 49th pick overall, he was a pre-season cut in both 1994 and 1995 before a thigh injury ended his NBA career. Bruton spent his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Piranhas of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) and was selected to the CBA All-Rookie Second Team in 1995. Shortly after, he traveled overseas to play in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, where he played for two years before returning to the United States and playing in the CBA. Three years later, he would return overseas playing in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. Bruton returned to his hometown after his tours in Europe. He joined the

National Basketball Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

in Greenville,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, playing under Milton Barnes. Barnes was also serving as a coach for the Globetrotters and arranged a meeting between Bruton and other Globetrotters' staff after observing his play. An agreement was reached shortly thereafter, and Bruton played his first game with the Globetrotters in December 2001. His unique jumping abilities made him an early crowd favorite. During a tour of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, Bruton and several other Globetrotters attempted to break the world record for highest

. While eyewitnesses allege that he successfully completed a dunk at 12'1", thus breaking the record, on-site judges declared it an illegal dunk.

References

External links

The Original Harlem Globetrotters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruton, Kris 1971 births Living people Basketball players from South Carolina Benedict Tigers men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Harlem Globetrotters players American men's basketball players People from Greer, South Carolina American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in Japan 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in France