Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-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 spent 13 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), most of it with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. He was a four-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

, and he holds the Mavericks' franchise single-game record for free throws made (22). Blackman was born in

Panama City, Panama Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province ...

, and raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, from the age of eight.

Playing career

College basketball

After being raised in Brooklyn, Blackman attended

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

where he played basketball under coach Jack Hartman. At Kansas State, Blackman had a number of noteworthy achievements: *In 1980, he was named the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

Player of the Year and All-American. *He was a three-time unanimous All-Big Eight selection. *He was three times named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year. *He scored 1,844 career points, the second-highest total in Kansas State history. *He had a career .517 Field Goal Percentage and a .717 Free Throw Percentage. Prior to his senior season, Blackman also was selected as a starter for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

basketball team, but did not participate in the Olympics because of the U.S. Olympic boycott. He did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. In his senior year Blackman led Kansas State into the West Regional of the NCAA tournament as the #8 seed. They defeated #9 seed University of San Francisco in the first round. Then KSU pulled an iconic upset of #1 seed Oregon State, 50–48, in the second round, punctuated by Blackman's game-winning jumper with three seconds left in the game. Next up was #4 seed Illinois, whom they defeated 57–52 in the semi before losing to #2 seed North Carolina 82–68 in the West Regional final. In 1996, after the Big Eight Conference expanded to the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

, Blackman was named to the AP all-time All-Big Eight basketball team. Blackman's number 25 jersey was retired by Kansas State February 17, 2007 in a ceremony at halftime during a game against Iowa State. In 2015, he was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (1981–1992)

Rolando Blackman was drafted by the Mavericks in the first round (9th overall) of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 NBA season, 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the NBA ...

. He became the first Panamanian-born player in the NBA. Blackman had an immediate impact on the team, averaging 13.3 PPG in his rookie season. He was given a good amount of minutes in his career, getting around 24 minutes per game in his rookie campaign. He played well but the Mavericks weren't good until the 1983–1984 season. That was also Blackman's best statistical season as he averaged a career high 22.4 PPG and lead the franchise to its first ever playoff appearance. The Mavericks managed to beat the Seattle SuperSonics and reach the second round before ultimately losing to 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 ...

. On February 17, 1986, Blackman set the Mavericks single-game record for free throws made and attempted in a 22–23 performance. Despite putting up amazing stats, Blackman missed the all star game that year, although he did make it the following year. He would go on to be named an NBA All-Star four times in his career. At the 1987 All-Star Game, Blackman tied the game at the end of regulation with two free throws. The West team would go on to win in overtime. As for the Mavericks, they played well and even had a magical season in 1987–1988 where they managed to reach the Western Conference Finals. This appearance happened to be the franchise's first Conference Finals appearance in its history. The Mavericks made it far but fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games. After this series the Mavericks began to decline and wouldn't achieve the same amount of success until much later on in the

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the great ...

era. Blackman continued to play well and averaged around 19 PPG for the next few seasons, however the Mavericks fell off in the standings. By the 1991–1992 season, Blackman was 32 years old and the Mavericks entered a stage of rebuilding. By the 1992 off-season Blackman's time with the team was finished. Blackman made 6,487 field goals with the Mavericks and scored 16,643 points, which was a franchise record for 18 years – until broken by

on March 8, 2008. In his 865 games with the Mavericks, Blackman never fouled out of a game.

New York Knicks (1992–1994)

On June 24, 1992, Blackman was traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

for a 1995 first-round pick (which became Loren Meyer). Blackman spent his final two seasons in the NBA with the

. In his last season in New York, he was reunited with former Dallas teammate Derek Harper. The team made it to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

where they lost to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

in seven games. One of Blackman's most notable games as a Knick was when he hit the game winning shot in Game 4 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Semi-finals against 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 ...

, hitting a jump shot with five seconds left in the game that put the Knicks up by two. Blackman still played well in the twilight years of his career, but his age was finally getting to him and his time in the NBA was over. On July 6, 1994, the Knicks waived Blackman.

Retirement from the NBA

Shortly after being released, he retired from the league. Following the 1993–94 season, he had career totals of 17,623 points, 3,278 rebounds and 2,981 assists. Blackman was NBA's all-time scoring leader among Hispanic/Latin players (born in Iberian, Latin American & Spanish-speaking countries) until March 6, 2015, when Pau Gasol overtook him. Blackman's number 22 jersey was retired by the Mavericks on March 11, 2000.

Europe

Blackman signed with the Greek League team

AEK Athens BC AEK Basketball Club ( ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupóleos'', "Athletic Union of Constantinople"), officially AEK Betsson BC for sponsorship reasons, and also known as AEK ...

in the middle of the 1994–95 season. Coached by

Vlade Đurović Vlade Đurović ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Ђуровић; born 16 May 1948) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Born in 1948 to Bosnian Serb parents Danilo Đurović from Sokolac and Mileva Cerović from Rogatica� ...

, they finished the season in a disappointing eight place. Over the summer of 1995, Blackman moved to

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

, where he was brought in by head coach

Bogdan Tanjević Bogdan Tanjević ( sr-Cyrl, Богдан Тањевић; born 13 February 1947), nicknamed "Boša" () is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player. He is best known for being KK Bosna's head coach when the club became the t ...

. Playing in the Italian League on a team including Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fučka,

Nando Gentile Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile (born 1 January 1967), is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies ...

, and Alessandro De Pol, Blackman, who turned 37 during the season, helped them win both the Italian League title and the

Italian Basketball Cup The Italian Basketball Cup (Italian: Coppa Italiana di Pallacanestro), or Coppa Italia, is an annual professional basketball competition between pro clubs from the Italian Basketball League (LBA). It is Italy's first-tier cup competition, and is ...

by averaging 15.3 points per game. Blackman was named MVP of the Italian Cup series. Olimpia also reached the

Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people * Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager * Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player * Vitomir ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, losing to Efes Pilsen Istanbul in the home-and-away series. Blackman transferred to

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

in the summer of 1996, essentially brought along by coach Tanjević who earlier signed to be the club's new head coach.

Post-playing career

In 2000, Blackman was tapped to be the defensive coordinator for the Mavericks under coach

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

. The next year, he served as an assistant coach for the German National team and helped lead them to a bronze medal at the 2002 World Basketball Championships in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. During the 2004–05 season, Blackman was hired as one of the Mavericks

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

analysts, along with Matt Pinto and Bob Ortegel. For the 2005–06 season, Blackman returned to the Mavericks' bench, serving his first season as a full-fledged assistant coach. In July 2006 he was promoted to the position of Director of Player Development. In August 2010, Blackman was hired as an assistant coach for the Turkey national basketball team by head coach

, in advance of the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...

tournament. Blackman stated that he took the job specifically to work again with Tanjević, who had been his coach in Milan. During the

2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2005–06 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despit ...

, Blackman's former coach with the

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

, admitted, publicly for the first time, that sitting Rolando Blackman in favor of John Starks during Games 6 and 7 of the

1994 NBA Finals The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Houston Rockets played the Eastern Conference cham ...

was the biggest coaching mistake in his career, and that he has never forgiven himself for it. Blackman was the representative for the Mavericks at the 2025 NBA draft lottery held at Chicago, where the team landed the rights to draft the #1 overall pick after winning a coin flip tiebreaker over the Chicago Bulls. With 1.8% odds, Dallas was the fourth-largest underdog to win the annual drawing since it was instituted in 1985.

Personal life

He has four children and resides in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Blackman is on the board of directors of the Assist Youth Foundation. The foundation's goal is to advance opportunities for underprivileged kids in the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

and across the globe. Blackman is a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity. Blackman continues to contribute to his chapter, Beta Psi, as well as the Kansas State University community.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 82 , , 16 , , 24.1 , , .513 , , .250 , , .768 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 62 , , 31.3 , , .492 , , .200 , , .780 , , 3.9 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 37.3 , , .546 , , .091 , , .812 , , 4.6 , , 3.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 22.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 80 , , 35.0 , , .508 , , .300 , , .828 , , 3.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 81 , , 34.0 , , .514 , , .138 , , .836 , , 3.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 34.5 , , .495 , , .333 , , .884 , , 3.5 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 69 , , 36.3 , , .473 , , .000 , , .873 , , 3.5 , , 3.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 37.8 , , .476 , , .353 , , .854 , , 3.5 , , 3.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 36.7 , , .498 , , .302 , , .844 , , 3.5 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 19.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 37.1 , , .482 , , .351 , , .865 , , 3.2 , , 3.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 74 , , 33.7 , , .461 , , .385 , , .898 , , 3.2 , , 2.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 60 , , 33 , , 23.9 , , .443 , , .425 , , .789 , , 1.7 , , 2.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 1 , , 17.6 , , .436 , , .357 , , .906 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 7.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 980 , , 815 , , 32.7 , , .493 , , .343 , , .840 , , 3.3 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 18.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 4 , , 0 , , 22.0 , , .592 , , – , , .813 , , 3.3 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 17.8

Playoffs

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

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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

, 10, , –, , 39.7, , .531, , –, , .841, , 4.1, , 4.0, , 0.6, , 0.4, , 23.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

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

, 4, , 4, , 42.3, , .511, , .500, , .947, , 6.5, , 4.8, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 32.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 10, , 37.1, , .497, , .000, , .792, , 3.5, , 3.2, , 0.8, , 0.1, , 20.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

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

, 4, , 4, , 38.3, , .493, , .000, , .917, , 3.5, , 4.3, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 23.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 17, , 17, , 39.5, , .483, , .000, , .887, , 3.2, , 4.5, , 0.9, , 0.2, , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

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

, 3, , 3, , 42.3, , .444, , .400, , 1.000, , 3.0, , 4.3, , 2.0, , 0.7, , 20.0 , - , 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;",

, 15, , 0, , 14.3, , .344, , .267, , .833, , 1.1, , 1.1, , 0.2, , 0.1, , 4.2 , - , 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;",

, 6, , 0, , 5.7, , .273, , .500, , –, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 38 , , 31.0 , , .484 , , .290 , , .869 , , 2.9 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 16.1

References

External links

NBA.com: Rolando Blackman

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackman, Rolando 1959 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen AEK B.C. players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Panamanian descent College basketball announcers in the United States Congressional Gold Medal recipients Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players Limoges CSP players NBA All-Stars NBA players from Panama NBA players with retired numbers New York Knicks players Olimpia Milano players Panamanian emigrants to the United States Panamanian men's basketball players Shooting guards Basketball players from Brooklyn Sportspeople from Panama City National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees