Morris Russell Peterson Jr. (born August 26, 1977) 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 11 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 played

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 ...

for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

, earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors and leading the team to a national title in 2000.

College career

Born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, Peterson played collegiate basketball at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, and helped lead them to the 2000 NCAA title. In his senior year at MSU, Peterson led the team in scoring, field goal percentage, and

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. He had a team-high 30 double-digit scoring efforts. He was voted

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 ...

Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten, and he placed as first or second team All-American on five different polls. He was selected 21st overall by the Raptors in the 2000 NBA draft, and was a starter in the majority of their games during his first three seasons. On January 17, 2009, MSU retired his number 42 with MSU's other all-time greats before their game against the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

NBA career

Toronto Raptors

Drafted in the first round by the Raptors in 2000, Peterson was a fan favorite from the moment he stepped on the floor. While enjoying some early success in his professional career, Peterson's production faced a steady decline, before stepping up in the wake of the new era of Raptor youngsters being ushered in, taking on a more expansive leadership role and transforming himself into an elite perimeter defender, a clutch performer and consistent scorer. He is known for his three-point shooting, acrobatic shots, defense, and fearless driving to the basket. On December 28, 2005, Peterson set a record for career games played as a Raptor, surpassing Alvin Williams with 418 games played. Peterson also leads the NBA in longest consecutive games played, appearing in 371 straight until November 22, 2006, when he missed his first game in over four years. Peterson posted career highs in points and rebounds averaging 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds and threw in 2.3 assists per game through 82 games played in the 2005–06 season. Perhaps the biggest highlight of his career occurred against the

Washington Wizards 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 ...

on March 30, 2007, in a game that helped determine the two teams' playoff seeding. The Raptors trailed 109–106 with only 3.8 seconds left and no timeouts remaining. The Wizards'

Michael Ruffin Michael David Ruffin (born January 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who was previously working as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 6'8" and 248 lbs, he p ...

intercepted the full-court pass and tried to toss the ball high into the air so that the clock would run out. But the ball slipped from his hands and was not thrown high enough. There was still enough time on the clock as Peterson caught the ball and launched a "Hail Mary" three-pointer and sank it to send the game into overtime. Peterson only played 55 seconds in the game, with his first shift beginning with only 9.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Raptors went on to defeat the Wizards, 123–118. After signing Bryan Colangelo, it became apparent that the re-building process of the Raptors would not include Peterson. It was only a matter of time before his contract expired in the summer of 2007 that he would be gone.

New Orleans Hornets

On July 13, 2007, the

New Orleans Hornets 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 ...

signed Peterson to a four-year contract, worth $23 million.

Oklahoma City Thunder

On July 8, 2010, the Hornets traded Peterson along with #11 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Cole Aldrich, to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

for two 2010 first-round draft picks (#21, Craig Brackins and #26, Quincy Pondexter).

Charlotte Bobcats

On February 24, 2011, Peterson was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats along with D.J. White in exchange for

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

. He was waived four days later when his contract was bought out by the Bobcats. Peterson's final NBA game was played on December 12, 2010, in a 106 - 77 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers where he recorded 2 points.

Broadcasting career

On January 14, 2015, TSN announced that Peterson would join their broadcast team as an analyst. For the network's package of

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 ...

games, Peterson joined TSN's broadcast team of Jack Armstrong, Leo Rautins, Matt Devlin, and Rod Black both in the TSN Studio and on-site at the Air Canada Centre in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. Peterson will also deliver analysis for SportsCentre and appear throughout the network's expanded NCAA coverage, including TSN's wall-to-wall coverage of NCAA March Madness. As of 2017, Peterson is no longer an analyst on TSN.

Restaurant

On January 23, 2018, Peterson, in a partnership with Viktor Palushaj, opened "MoPetes Sports Retreat" just outside his hometown of Flint in neighboring Flint Township, Michigan. The menu features Michigan inspired dishes such as The Flintstones Combos, Flint-Town Reuben sandwich, the Izzo sub, and The National Champ Philly cheesesteak sandwich.

Accolades

* Career-high: March 31, 2006 Peterson scored a career-best 38 points vs. 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 ...

. * First-round draft choice (21st overall) by

in 2000. * Recorded his 800th career three-point field goal April 3, 2005 vs. 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 ...

. * Had a career-high 14 rebounds April 8, 2005. * Held the longest active streak of games played, with 371, ending in 2006. * Held Raptors career records for games played (542) and 3-point field goals (801).

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

, 80 , , 49 , , 22.6 , , .431 , , .382 , , .717 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , 56 , , 31.6 , , .438 , , .364 , , .751 , , 3.5 , , 2.4 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 80 , , 36.0 , , .392 , , .337 , , .789 , , 4.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 29 , , 26.2 , , .405 , , .371 , , .809 , , 3.2 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 61 , , 30.6 , , .420 , , .385 , , .832 , , 4.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 77 , , 38.3 , , .436 , , .395 , , .820 , , 4.6 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 12 , , 21.3 , , .429 , , .359 , , .683 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .6 , , .2 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Orleans 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 ...

, 76 , , 76 , , 23.6 , , .417 , , .394 , , .765 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 43 , , 9 , , 12.0 , , .399 , , .388 , , .632 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 46 , , 39 , , 21.2 , , .385 , , .363 , , .611 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .400 , , .000 , , .000 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 711 , , 488 , , 27.2 , , .418 , , .373 , , .773 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 10.7

Playoffs

, - , 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;",

, 8 , , 3 , , 13.8 , , .514 , , .444 , , .750 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .0 , , 5.4 , - , 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;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 30.8 , , .367 , , .118 , , .800 , , 2.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

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

, 6 , , 2 , , 30.5 , , .517 , , .500 , , .833 , , 4.5 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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

, 12 , , 12 , , 23.1 , , .485 , , .471 , , .667 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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

, 2 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .200 , , .333 , , .750 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 33 , , 22 , , 22.6 , , .457 , , .387 , , .767 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.7

References

External links

*
NBA Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Morris 1977 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Basketball players from Flint, Michigan Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players New Orleans Hornets players Oklahoma City Thunder players Shooting guards Small forwards Toronto Raptors draft picks Toronto Raptors players