Rex Everett Chapman (born October 5, 1967) 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 social media influencer, mostly known for his time with 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 ...

from 1988 to 1992 and for his time with 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 ...

from 1996 to 2000. Chapman was a high school star in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, winning many awards for his play. In two seasons at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, he won further awards and scored more than 1,000 points. Chapman was the first draft pick of the expansion

and played on four

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) teams. Over his 12-year career, he averaged 14.6 points per game and appeared in two slam dunk competitions. Injuries sustained on NBA courts led Chapman to an addiction to

opioids Opioids are a class of Drug, drugs that derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy plant. Opioids work on opioid receptors in the brain and other organs to produce a variety of morphine-like effects, ...

. Following an arrest for shoplifting, he entered drug rehab for the third time and was able to overcome his addiction. After retiring, Chapman held several jobs with NBA teams, culminating in being the vice president of player personnel with 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 ...

. He is a broadcaster for University of Kentucky basketball games.

Early life and education

Rex Chapman was born October 5, 1967, in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. Rex's father is Wayne Chapman, who played in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

and coached Kentucky Wesleyan College to two

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

national championships. Chapman had a turbulent relationship with his father; he and his sister, Jenny, "used to pray that Wayne's teams would win" so the mood of the house would not be tense, while his mother, Laura, would attempt to defuse the tension.

Amateur career

Chapman was a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

basketball star at Apollo High School in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

. During his junior year, Chapman led his team to the state quarterfinals. He racked up numerous awards and accolades his senior year, including Mr. Basketball of Kentucky, Gatorade State Player of the Year,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Player of the Year, and McDonalds's All-American. In 2020, radio host Matt Jones described Chapman as, "the biggest high school basketball player that ever came from the state." He was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. Chapman was heavily recruited by many universities, but he chose to stay close to home when he signed with the

. Chapman was a star with the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

. His freshman year, he averaged 16 points a game, was named

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) Freshman of the Year, set a record for

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

by a freshman, and led the Wildcats to the 1987 NCAA tournament. Chapman improved his sophomore year average to 19 points a game. Chapman, joined by teammates such as future NBA journeyman Winston Bennett, helped lead Kentucky to the SEC title with a 27–6 record. The Wildcats were ranked as the sixth college basketball team in the nation by the AP and

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

and secured the No. 2 seed in the South region of the 1988 NCAA tournament. Kentucky reached the Sweet Sixteen, where Chapman scored a career best 30 points in a losing effort against Villanova. Chapman was named to the All-SEC Team both of his college years and amassed a total of 1,073 points before opting to enter the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. Chapman left the university as a "campus legend" with the nickname "King Rex". Chapman found the off-court scrutiny and attention difficult. He said he was harassed by other students and the coaching staff for continuing to date his black high school girlfriend. "It wore on me," said Chapman, who is white. "It was hateful."

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets

The

of the

(NBA), an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

, selected Chapman with the eighth overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft; he became the first player ever drafted by the Hornets. Chapman averaged 16.9 points per game in his rookie season. Chapman competed in the 1990 and 1991 Slam Dunk Contests, earning recognition for his dunks, where he would flip the ball. After two-and-a-half seasons with the Hornets, Chapman was traded midway through the 1991–1992 season 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 ...

. He was injured, however, and could only participate in the final game of the season.

Washington Bullets and Miami Heat

On February 19, 1992, the Hornets traded Chapman to the

in exchange for Tom Hammonds. He played 60 games during the 1993–94 season and 45 games during the 1994–95 season. After getting off to a strong start in the 1994–95 season, Chapman injured his ankle. The Bullets traded Chapman, with Terrence Rencher, to 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 ...

for Ed Stokes and Jeff Webster in June 1995. Chapman averaged 14.8 points per game during the 1995–96 season. On February 23, 1996, he scored 39 points (converting 9-of-10 three-point attempts) and led an injury-plagued Miami Heat team, with an eight-man roster, to a 113–104 victory over 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 ...

, handing the Bulls one of their 10 losses during their historic 72–10 run. Unfortunately, later in the season Chapman found himself on the injured list again and only participated in 56 games. He eventually signed with the Suns.

Phoenix Suns

Chapman played in 65 games, and scored 13 points per game for Phoenix for the 1996–1997 season. He played well in the Suns' last four games of the regular season. Chapman had two memorable games against the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the play-offs. In Game 1, he set a play-off record for three-point shots (nine), which was surpassed by Klay Thompson (11) in 2016 and

Damian Lillard Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Dame Time", he played college basketball for the Weber State Wi ...

(12, 2OT) in 2021. In game four, Chapman hit an off-balance three-point shot on an inbounds pass to send the game to overtime, although the Suns went on to lose. Chapman played 68 games during the 1997–1998 season for the Suns, scoring almost 16 points per game. However, he was injured again during the strike-shortened 1999 season, playing 38 games. During his time with the Suns, Chapman began having severe nerve pains in his foot, had seven surgeries, and began to regularly take Vicodin. After 53 games during the 1999–2000 season, Chapman's various injuries and declining performance led him to retire. In the spring before he retired, Chapman had an emergency

appendectomy An appendectomy (American English) or appendicectomy (British English) is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedur ...

. After the surgery, he was prescribed OxyContin, which increased his drug dependency, in part because it also helped ease the social anxiety he felt. Chapman played a total of 666 regular season NBA games, scoring 9,731 points for an average of 14.6 points per game, with 1,798 assists for an average of 2.7 assists per game, and 1,645 rebounds, for 2.5 rebounds per game.

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

, who coached Chapman with the Phoenix Suns and became a close friend, said "Rex was a great competitor. I worried about keeping him healthy." and that "he was a very, very smart player. You could tell he was the son of a coach." Despite a respectable professional career, Chapman was never named an NBA All-Star.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , Charlotte , 75 , , 44 , , 29.6 , , .414 , , .314 , , .795 , , 2.5 , , 2.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 16.9 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Charlotte , 54 , , 52 , , 32.6 , , .408 , , .331 , , .750 , , 3.3 , , 2.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 17.5 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Charlotte , 70 , , 68 , , 30.0 , , .445 , , .324 , , .830 , , 2.7 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 15.7 , - , align="left" rowspan=2, 1991–92 , align="left" , Charlotte , 21 , , 11 , , 26.0 , , .450 , , .296 , , .679 , , 2.6 , , 4.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , Washington , 1 , , 0 , , 22.0 , , .417 , , .000 , , − , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , 1992-93 , align="left" , Washington , 60 , , 23 , , 21.7 , , .477 , , .371 , , .810 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , 1993-94 , align="left" , Washington , 60 , , 59 , , 33.8 , , .498 , , .388 , , .816 , , 2.4 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 18.2 , - , align="left" , 1994-95 , align="left" , Washington , 45 , , 29 , , 32.6 , , .397 , , .314 , , .862 , , 2.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 16.2 , - , align="left" , 1995-96 , 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 ...

, 56 , , 50 , , 33.3 , , .426 , , .371 , , .735 , , 2.6 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" , Phoenix , 65 , , 33 , , 28.2 , , .443 , , .350 , , .832 , , 2.8 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 13.8 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" , Phoenix , 68 , , 67 , , 33.3 , , .427 , , .386 , , .781 , , 2.5 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 15.9 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" , Phoenix , 38 , , 35 , , 31.1 , , .359 , , .351 , , .835 , , 2.7 , , 2.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" , Phoenix , 58 , , 19 , , 18.1 , , .388 , , .333 , , .756 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 666 , , 490 , , 29.3 , , .430 , , .350 , , .800 , , 2.5 , , 2.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 14.6

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 29.3 , , .429 , , .231 , , − , , 2.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 5 , , 5 , , 38.2 , , .494 , , .458 , , .680 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 24.2 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 2 , , 2 , , 29.0 , , .261 , , .000 , , .857 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 3 , , 3 , , 19.0 , , .286 , , .333 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 13 , , 13 , , 30.3 , , .419 , , .375 , , .722 , , 2.2 , , 2.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 14.1

Post-playing life

After retiring from active play, Chapman's drug addiction intensified. He also began betting on

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

daily. Betting on horses had been a distraction for him from childhood through his time in the NBA, where he hid his habit. Chapman eventually stopped betting and went to Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Urged by Ainge to enter rehab for his drug problem, Chapman was diagnosed with

attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

and depression, for which he was medicated. Following rehab, he was troubled by abdomen pain and had surgery to remove a pin from his wrist. Following the surgery, he was prescribed Vicodin and resumed his addiction, seeking treatment in 2002. After breaking the addiction, a doctor suggested he try Suboxone, medicine used to treat opioid addiction, which successfully addressed a resurgence of his abdominal pains. Over time, Suboxone caused Chapman to lose energy and clouded his thinking. Chapman held several jobs in rapid succession following his retirement. After his second time in rehab, he was hired by the Suns, first as a scout and later as Director of Basketball Operations. Chapman served as a color commentator on TNT during the

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 ...

and 2005 NBA playoffs. In 2005, he moved from Phoenix to accept a personnel scout position 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 ...

. In 2006, Chapman accepted the position of vice president of player personnel with the

, which he held for four years. When Chapman left the Nuggets, his personal life was in turmoil. He was divorcing his wife, sharing custody of their four children. Chapman had also become estranged from his parents and sister. His life continued to spiral down after leaving basketball. Chapman worked in a variety of jobs as a basketball broadcaster, including for Grand Canyon University in 2013. In September 2014, Chapman was arrested for

shoplifting Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...

merchandise from an

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad ta ...

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

. Chapman made it appear that he was paying for an item at self checkout, but left the store and pawned the item to pay for gambling debts. Returning to the store several times, he was eventually identified by multiple employees based on his tenure in the NBA. Following the arrest, Chapman entered a rehab facility in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, run by a former University of Kentucky teammate. After a week of being drug free, his abdominal pain returned and he was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for an ulcer. Chapman's pain disappeared, but the experience angered him: "This whole time I've been thinking I've got this jones for pain medication, it was really just an ulcer". During this time in rehab, he was prescribed Zoloft for his depression and began deep

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

for the first time. Following his time in Louisville, Chapman continued to seek treatment in Texas and was hired by TNT to broadcast Kentucky's 2015 Final Four Game. In September 2015, Chapman pleaded guilty to four felony charges and was sentenced to probation. He agreed to pay more than $15,000 to the Apple Store and complete 750 hours of community service. Chapman eventually moved back to Lexington, where he states he stays clean, eats healthily, and swims daily. He hosts a pre-game show before Wildcat basketball games.

Social media influencer

Chapman has been labeled as a social media influencer for his activity on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, with over a million followers. Chapman, however, does not agree with being labeled that way and commented in 2020, "I'm not even sure what that means... Me, an influencer? Man, I hope not." He first joined Twitter as part of his job as a broadcaster. He began attracting followers after posting a video of dolphins charging into a paddle boarder, the first in a series of " block or charge?" tweets. After previously declining any kind of sponsorship, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Chapman was able to raise more than $150,000 to support those experiencing financial hardship. Despite his social media success, Chapman said he is glad that it was not around when he was a professional athlete. Since 2019, Chapman has been the

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

of a ''Block or Charge'' show which appeared on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

, based on his tweets. He also hosts a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

called ''The Rex Chapman Show'', which debuted on Basketballnews.com on March 16, 2021, with friend and actor Josh Hopkins.

Television

In January 2022,

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

announced that Chapman will appear as a host on CNN+, the network's streaming platform. The show, simply titled ''Rex Chapman'', premiered on April 4, 2022, and aired four episodes before the service shut down on April 28. In March 2022, Chapman served as a studio analyst for coverage of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. In September 2022, entertainment business magazine '' Variety'' announced Chapman's podcast, “Charges with Rex Chapman”, would be turning into a TV show. Like the podcast, the new series will come from Portal A and Steve Nash's CTRL Media.

Memoir

In February 2024, Chapman's "blunt memoir about stardom, addiction, and American culture" ''It's Hard For Me To Live With Me'' was published.

Notes

References

External links

*
''Our National Pain''
a 2017 essay by Chapman for ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Rex 1967 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Basketball players from Kentucky Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players College basketball announcers in the United States Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in basketball Miami Heat players NBA broadcasters Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Phoenix Suns players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Bowling Green, Kentucky Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky Washington Bullets players People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder American disabled sportspeople 20th-century American sportsmen