Rasheed Wallace

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former NBA star. He grew up in Philadelphia, played at Simon Gratz High School and the University of North Carolina, and was the fourth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets.

Wallace played for the Bullets, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks during a 16-year career. He helped Portland reach the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000 and was an All-Star in 2000 and 2001. In 2004 he was traded to the Pistons and helped them win the NBA championship that year, with Finals appearances in 2005 and 2007. He was an All-Star again in 2006 and 2008. He finished his career with 16,006 points, 7,404 rebounds and 1,460 blocks.

Wallace was known for his intense, outspoken style. He holds NBA records for most technical fouls in a season (41 in 2000-01) and the most career ejections (29). He popularized the phrase “Ball don’t lie.” After a brief return with the Knicks in 2012-13, he retired in 2013 and later moved into coaching.

Off the court, Wallace has worked to help others, including delivering water and promoting awareness during the Flint, Michigan water crisis starting in 2016.