LaPhonso Darnell Ellis (born May 5, 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 and

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 ...

analyst. He played for 11 years 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 ...

after starring at Notre Dame. He worked as a broadcaster for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

from 2009 to 2023 and now works for the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...

and Fox and FS1.

Early career

As a high school player, Ellis led East St. Louis Lincoln High School to Illinois Class AA boys' championships in 1987 and 1988. In the state title game in 1987, Ellis scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. In the 1988 title game, he scored 26 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked nine shots. As a senior, in 1988, Ellis was named a ''Parade'' All-American and McDonald's High School All-American. In 2007, Ellis was voted one of the " 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament", recognizing his performance in the Illinois tournament.

College career

Heavily recruited out of high school, Ellis chose to attend the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. Digger Phelps was his head coach until replaced by John Macleod prior to Ellis's senior year. During his four years in college, Notre Dame went 67–57. The team qualified for the NCAA tournament twice. As a senior captain, Ellis led the team in scoring (17.7 ppg), rebounding (11.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.631), and blocked shots (2.6 bpg). During that season, he led the team to the finals of the 1992 NIT Tournament. Over the course of his college career, Ellis averaged 15.5 points per game (1,505 career points) and averaged 11.1 rebounds per game (1075 total). He set a school record with 200 career blocked shots, becoming the only Notre Dame player to ever lead the team in blocked shots four straight years. Ellis graduated from Notre Dame on time with a degree in accounting.

Professional career

Ellis was the fifth overall selection in the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...

, picked 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 ...

, In his rookie season, he averaged 14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. He was also named to the 1992–93 All-Rookie first team. Ellis later on struggled with injuries, only playing six games in the 1994–95 season. Ellis had his best season in 1996–97, leading the Nuggets in scoring with 21.9 points per game. After playing six years in Denver, Ellis signed as a free agent with the

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

. He spent two years with the Hawks before going to 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 ...

. In 2001, Ellis signed with 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 ...

, where he retired after the 2003 season. He played professionally in the

NBA 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 ...

from 1992 until 2003. During his 11 seasons and 625 games in the NBA, Ellis averaged 11.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His highest scoring season was 1996-97 when Ellis averaged 21.9 points. His best rebounding season was as a rookie when he averaged 9.1 rebounds per game.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , 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 ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.5 , , .504 , , .154 , , .748 , , 9.1 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , 1.4 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 34.2 , , .502 , , .304 , , .674 , , 8.6 , , 2.1 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 9.7 , , .360 , , , , 1.000 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , .8 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 45 , , 28 , , 28.2 , , .438 , , .182 , , .601 , , 7.2 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .7 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 49 , , 36.4 , , .439 , , .367 , , .773 , , 7.0 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .7 , , 21.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 71 , , 33.9 , , .407 , , .284 , , .805 , , 7.2 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .6 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 20 , , 20 , , 27.0 , , .421 , , .200 , , .705 , , 5.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , .4 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 58 , , 8 , , 22.6 , , .450 , , .143 , , .695 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .4 , , 8.4 , - , 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 , , 5 , , 23.8 , , .464 , , .318 , , .790 , , 6.0 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .9 , , 9.4 , - , 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 ...

, 66 , , 14 , , 25.5 , , .418 , , .306 , , .631 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , .6 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 3 , , 14.3 , , .382 , , .252 , , .758 , , 2.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 624 , , 359 , , 28.2 , , .452 , , .302 , , .730 , , 6.5 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .8 , , 11.9

Playoffs

, - , 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;",

, 12 , , 12 , , 36.3 , , .479 , , .500 , , .704 , , 8.1 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .9 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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

, 4 , , 0 , , 19.3 , , .391 , , .000 , , .750 , , 3.5 , , .0 , , .3 , , .8 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 12 , , 32.1 , , .467 , , .429 , , .710 , , 6.9 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .9 , , 12.6

Broadcasting career

Ellis was a college basketball analyst for

from 2009 until June 2023. He now works for the

and FOX/FS1. Prior to ESPN, he served as a radio commentator for Notre Dame men's basketball.

In popular culture

Ellis was mentioned multiple times on the Nickelodeon series ''

The Secret World of Alex Mack ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on Nickelodeon from October 8, 1994, to January 15, 1998. The series was co-created by Ken Lipman and Thomas W. Lynch and was produced by Lynch Entertain ...

''. In the episode "Nerve" he was said to be star athlete of fictional Danielle Atron Junior High School under Coach Rooney ( Glenn Morshower) and record-holder of his signature obstacle course. The school system's athletics field is named in his honor.

External links

* * *

References

* http://www.bethelcollegepilots.com/coach/0/1.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Laphonso 1970 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players College basketball announcers in the United States Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players ESPN people McDonald's High School All-Americans Miami Heat players Minnesota Timberwolves players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Sportspeople from East St. Louis, Illinois Basketball players from St. Clair County, Illinois