Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976) 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 is the president of the

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

. Nicknamed Reef, he previously served as the director of player personnel for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

of 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) and the general manager of the Reno Bighorns, the Kings' minor-league affiliate. Abdur-Rahim played both the forward and center positions during his career. He emerged as a prospect at Joseph Wheeler High School in his hometown of

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. Abdur-Rahim played for the California Golden Bears during the 1995–96 season before he entered the 1996 NBA draft. He was selected third overall by the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

where he was the star of the team during his early NBA career. Abdur-Rahim played on the United States men's national basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was traded by the Grizzlies in 2001 to 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 ...

with whom he made his only NBA All-Star appearance in the 2001–02 season. Abdur-Rahim was traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in 2004 before he signed with his last team, the Sacramento Kings, in 2008. Despite the fact that he achieved solid statistics throughout his career, Abdur-Rahim had played the second most games in NBA history without making a playoff appearance (744) until he made the playoffs for the first and only time in 2006. Following persistent injuries to his right knee, Abdur-Rahim announced his retirement from playing basketball in 2008. He finished with the lowest career plus–minus in NBA history at -2,904, a record that still stands as of the 2024–25 season.

Early life

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the second eldest sibling in the family of twelve children born to Aminah and William Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim, whose first name means "noble" and whose last name means "Servant of the Most Merciful One,Bio – Mens – Abdur-Rahim
, usabasketball.com, accessed June 6, 2007. is a devout

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. He values his parents for their guiding influence on him since his youth and credits them with his life philosophy: "remember how you came on all your accomplishments and stay humble." From an early age, Abdur-Rahim was surrounded by family members who played basketball; his brother, Muhammad, played at the University of Detroit while his late younger brother,

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

, played at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it beca ...

and coached at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. Abdur-Rahim himself started playing competitive basketball at Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. At Wheeler, he was named "Mr. Basketball" in back-to-back seasons, and he led the school to a state title as a junior in 1994. In his senior year, Abdur-Rahim averaged 31 points, 12.4 rebounds and 4 blocks per game. Abdur-Rahim later attended college at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he maintained a GPA of 3.5. At California, he averaged 21.1

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

(ppg) and 8.4

rebounds per game '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 ...

(rpg) in 28 games. He was the first

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in Pac-10 history to win Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named Third Team All-America by the Associated Press. Also named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Abdur-Rahim set single-season freshman records for points, scoring average, field goals, 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 ...

s. After a year at California, however, he decided to leave college to enter the 1996 NBA draft.

Professional career

Vancouver Grizzlies (1996–2001)

Abdur-Rahim was selected third overall by the

in the 1996 Draft, behind Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. He made an immediate impact playing for the Grizzlies, becoming the team's leading scorer while setting a franchise record of 18.7 points per game. He also averaged 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. On January 11, 1997, Abdur-Rahim scored a season high 37 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a 109–101 loss against the Kings. He finished third in balloting for the Schick NBA Rookie of the Year behind Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Minnesota's Stephon Marbury, and he was picked for the All-Rookie First Team. By the end of the 1996–97 season, Abdur-Rahim led the team in scoring on 33 occasions, and rebounding on 23 occasions. For the next few seasons, Abdur-Rahim remained the centerpiece of the Grizzlies team. In his sophomore season, he averaged 22.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.Shareef Abdur-Rahim Info Page – Career Stats and Totals
, nba.com, accessed June 21, 2007. The following season, he elevated his performance with 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. On February 17, 1999, Abdur-Rahim scored a then career high 39 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and recorded 5 assists in a 131-129 triple over time loss against the Celtics. Despite his best efforts, the Grizzlies remained at the bottom two spots of the Midwest Division in his first four seasons. In the 2000–01 season, Abdur-Rahim finished with a 20.5-point average for the fourth straight season and was ranked in the top 20 in 13 NBA statistical categories, once again leading the Grizzlies in both points and rebounds per game. Abdur-Rahim's importance to the team was highlighted in a game against the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

on December 1, 2000, when he earned all of the 20 points scored by the Grizzlies in the final quarter of the game.

Atlanta Hawks (2001–2004)

On June 27, 2001, the

reached an agreement to acquire Abdur-Rahim and the 27th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft from the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Brevin Knight, Lorenzen Wright and Pau Gasol, the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. Abdur-Rahim's return to his hometown, and expected partnership with sophomore

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guar ...

, provided a significant amount of buzz around the league.Hawks History
nba.com/history, accessed June 21, 2007. While the Hawks finished the 2001–02 campaign with a 33–49 win–loss record, Abdur-Rahim's performances, including a career-high 50-point game, ensured that he would be selected to the

NBA All-Star game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...

for that season. In his second season with the Hawks, Abdur-Rahim achieved another personal milestone on December 28, 2002, when his jump shot against the Washington Wizards made him the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 10,000-points. Although Glenn Robinson, Jason Terry and Abdur-Rahim combined to average 57.9 points per game and become the highest-scoring trio in the league for the 2002–03 season, the Hawks failed to make the playoffs again. With an average of 19.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, Abdur-Rahim played in all but one of the Hawks' games. By the end of the season, Hawks

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he ...

decided major changes had to be made for the franchise to move forward, and Abdur-Rahim was traded the next season.

Portland Trail Blazers (2004–2005)

Abdur-Rahim was sent, along with Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau, to the

on February 9, 2004, in exchange for Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person.NBA Players
, sportsnet.ca, accessed March 20, 2007. His impact in the two seasons with the Trail Blazers was considerably less than in previous seasons. His averages were 16.3 points/7.5 rebounds and 16.8 points/7.3 rebounds for the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons respectively. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Abdur-Rahim became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. During the 2005 off-season, he was traded via a sign and trade agreement (in principle) to the New Jersey Nets for a first-round draft pick (which Portland planned to trade to the Phoenix Suns for Leandro Barbosa). On August 4, 2005, though the

news conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

was planned to announce the postponement of his arrival, it was revealed that he failed a required physical due to scar tissue found in his knee. The trade was put on hold, pending a second opinion from other medical sources. On August 7, Abdur-Rahim was quoted saying: "I don't feel I want to be a Net"."Abdur-Rahim wants to move on past Nets"
sports.espn.go.com, August 8, 2005, accessed March 20, 2007. He felt the knee was a non-issue, claiming that he never missed a game in his entire career because of the knee injury. Two days later, it was announced that New Jersey decided to rescind the trade.

Sacramento Kings (2005–2008)

On August 12, 2005, Abdur-Rahim signed a free-agent contract with the Sacramento Kings. In his first season with them, Abdur-Rahim started in 30 of the 72 games he played. As a starter, he averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He shot .543 for field goal percentage, and almost .800 from the free throw line. The Kings went on to qualify for the 2006 playoffs. Abdur-Rahim made his postseason career debut against the

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

. At the same time, he ended a streak of having played the most games in NBA history without participating in the post-season. Abdur-Rahim had played the second most games in NBA history without making a playoff appearance (744); he made the playoffs for the first and only time in 2006. In his second season with the Kings, Abdur-Rahim continued to be deployed as a sixth man; however, the Kings failed to secure a playoff berth as Abdur-Rahim recorded 9.9 points per game. The 2007–08 season proved to be Abdur-Rahim's last, as he played only six games and his persistent knee injury forced him to announce his retirement on September 22, 2008. He joined the Sacramento Kings' coaching staff as an assistant the following week.

Front Office

On October 7, 2010, Abdur-Rahim was hired to be the assistant general manager for the Sacramento Kings. He later became the team's director of player personnel, a position he held in 2014 after new ownership had taken over in 2013. Abdur-Rahim left the team in September 2014. League sources would later report his departure occurred after the 2014 NBA draft, where Abdur-Rahim had arguments with coach Michael Malone and general manager Pete D'Alessandro.

National team career

Prior to joining the NBA, Abdur-Rahim was the USA's leading scorer and rebounder at the 1994 COPABA Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament held in Argentina. He averaged a double-double of 16.8 points and 10.1 rebounds. While trying for a team high in blocked shots averaging 1.6 blocks per game, he helped push the American squad to an 8–0 record, the gold medal, and a qualifying berth in the 1995

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

Junior World Championship. The following May he was named to USA Basketball's 1995 Junior Select Team that captured an 86–77 victory over an International Select Team in the inaugural Hoop Summit Game. While playing for the Grizzlies, Abdur-Rahim was selected as a replacement for the injured Grant Hill to be part of the USA Men's basketball team, a team that included several NBA stars such as Kevin Garnett and Tim Hardaway and won the gold medal at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, Australia.Men's Olympics History – 2000
, usabasketball.com, accessed June 21, 2007.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, 80 , , 71 , , 35.0 , , .453 , , .259 , , .756 , , 6.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 36.0 , , .485 , , .412 , , .784 , , 7.1 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 22.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , 40.4 , , .432 , , .306 , , .841 , , 7.5 , , 3.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 39.3 , , .465 , , .302 , , .809 , , 10.1 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 40.0 , , .472 , , .188 , , .834 , , 9.1 , , 3.1 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 20.5 , - , 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 ...

, 77 , , 77 , , 38.7 , , .461 , , .300 , , .801 , , 9.0 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 21.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 38.1 , , .478 , , .350 , , .841 , , 8.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 53* , , 53 , , 36.9 , , .485 , , .217 , , .880 , , 9.3 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , 20.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", Portland , style="background:#cfecec;", 32* , , 3 , , 22.8 , , .447 , , .364 , , .832 , , 4.5 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .6 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 54 , , 49 , , 34.6 , , .503 , , .385 , , .866 , , 7.3 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 72 , , 30 , , 27.2 , , .525 , , .227 , , .784 , , 5.0 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .6 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 45 , , 25.2 , , .474 , , .150 , , .726 , , 5.0 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .5 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .214 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 830 , , 704 , , 34.8 , , .472 , , .297 , , .810 , , 7.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 18.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 21.0 , , 1.000 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , 6.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 9.0

Playoffs

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, 6 , , 0 , , 21.5 , , .535 , , .000 , , .600 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .0 , , 9.2

Coaching career

Sacramento Kings

On October 2, 2008, Abdur-Rahim was named as an assistant coach for the

Executive career

Sacramento Kings

On October 7, 2010, the Kings announced Abdur-Rahim as their assistant general manager.

Reno Bighorns

On August 29, 2013, Abdur-Rahim was named as the new general manager of the Reno Bighorns for the 2013–14 season.

NBA

Abdur-Rahim was the associate vice president of basketball operations of the NBA.

NBA G League

On December 11, 2018, Abdur-Rahim was named the president of the

, and replaced Malcolm Turner who stepped down on January 11, 2019, to become the Athletics Director at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Personal life

Abdur-Rahim and his wife Delicia have two children: a son Jabri, and a daughter, Samiyah. Jabri Abdur-Rahim was rated as an

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 ...

Top 30 player in the high school Class of 2020 and committed to play for the Virginia Cavaliers under

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

. He has since transferred to the University of Georgia and subsequently the Providence Friars. Abdur-Rahim has started his own foundation, the Future Foundation, which provides after-school and other support services for youth at-risk in Atlanta. On television, Abdur-Rahim has appeared on an episode of '' The Jamie Foxx Show'' with fellow NBA players Gary Payton and Vin Baker. After retiring, Abdur-Rahim returned to U.C. Berkeley, graduating with a degree in sociology in 2012 with a 3.8 GPA. Abdur-Rahim earned an MBA at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Marshall School of Business in 2016. Shareef's brother, Amir, died on October 24, 2024, age 43. At the time, Amir was the head coach for the USF Bulls men's basketball team, and had been coach of the Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team for the previous four seasons. Abdur-Rahim is referenced in the Latyrx song "The Quickening (The Wreckoning Part II)", from their 1997 album '' The Album''."Thursdays with Thurl: Bay Area Edition,"
freedarko.com, September 8, 2005.

References

External links

Future Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdur-Rahim, Shareef 1976 births Living people Muslims from Georgia (U.S. state) All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Atlanta California Golden Bears men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics NBA All-Stars Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Granite Bay, California Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Sacramento Kings players Basketball players from Marietta, Georgia United States men's national basketball team players Vancouver Grizzlies draft picks Vancouver Grizzlies players Muslims from California 20th-century American sportsmen