Grant Hill (basketball player)
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Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972 in Dallas, Texas) is a NBA basketball player who currently plays for the Orlando Magic.
He was born in Dallas while his father Calvin, a Yale graduate, was starring as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys, winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 1969. His mother Janet is a Wellesley graduate who shared a suite with Hillary Clinton when both were freshmen there. After his father's NFL career ended, the family settled in Reston, Virginia, where Grant became a high-school superstar at South Lakes High School. He then played four years at Duke University, winning national titles in 1991 and 1992 and losing in the championship game in 1994.
Grant Hill was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the third pick in the NBA Draft after graduating from Duke in 1994. In his first season, Hill averaged 19.9 points, 5.0 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 1.77 steals per game, sharing NBA Rookie the Year honors with Jason Kidd. Along with being named to the all-NBA first team in 1997, Hill also regularly played in the NBA All-Star Game. He also won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as a member of the U.S. Men's Basketball Team.
However, despite Hill's accomplishments in Detroit, the Pistons never made it far in the playoffs. In 2000, Grant Hill was traded to the Orlando Magic for Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace. The Magic hoped he would team up with fellow superstar Tracy McGrady, who had been recently acquired from the Toronto Raptors, to return Orlando among the NBA elite. But Hill has been hampered by ankle injuries ever since his arrival in Orlando, playing in only four games in his first season with the Magic, 14 games in his second and 29 in his third. He was forced to sit out his entire fourth year with Orlando (2003-04).
But the 2004-05 season saw a return to the old Grant Hill who was so popular earlier in his career. Hill, though hampered by a bruised shin that caused him to miss several games, started and played 64 games for the Magic, averaging 19 points per game. Fans voted him an All-Star starter again, and he led the Eastern Conference All-Star Team to a victory over the West. In addition, at the conclusion of the season, Hill was given the Joe Dumars Trophy for Most Sportsmanship.
Grant is married to R&B singer Tamia. The two have a daughter named Myla Grace.
External link
- NBA Player Profile for Grant Hill (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/grant_hill/index.html)
- Official Grant Hill Site (http://www.granthill.com/)
| 1996 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball |
| Charles Barkley | Anfernee Hardaway | Grant Hill | Karl Malone | Reggie Miller | Hakeem Olajuwon | Shaquille O'Neal | Gary Payton | Scottie Pippen | Mitch Richmond | David Robinson | John Stockton |
| Coach Lenny Wilkens |