Allan Wade Houston (born April 20, 1971) 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 (appr ...

player who played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; he was a member of the Knicks'

1999 NBA Finals The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs took on the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for ...

team. Houston made the NBA All-Star Team twice and also won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. As of July 2019, Houston serves as special assistant to the general manager for 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 New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and general manager of the Knicks'

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

team, the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in Whit ...

High school and college career

Houston was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and played at Ballard High School in Louisville as they won the 1988 Kentucky state championship. He went on to play at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

(where he played under his coach and father

Wade Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to: Places in the United States * Wade, California, a former settlement * Wade, Maine, a town * Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place * Wade, North Carolina, a town * Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated communi ...

) and graduated in 1993 as the school's all-time leading scorer, and is currently second to

Chris Lofton Christopher Franklin Lofton (born March 27, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Seoul SK Knights of the Korean Basketball League. He played college basketball with the University of Tennessee Volunteers. High school Chris Lof ...

at Tennessee for three-point field goals made. Houston is a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, cree ...

fraternity. On March 6, 2011 the University of Tennessee retired Houston's number (20) during halftime ceremonies at a Tennessee-Kentucky game.

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (1993–1996)

Houston was selected in the first round (eleventh overall) by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Hou ...

, and averaged 8.5 points per game in his rookie year. His average increased to 14.5 and 19.7 points per game in the next two years.

New York Knicks (1996–2005)

In 1996, after his rookie contract expired, Houston signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who i ...

with the New York Knicks, for whom he played for the next nine seasons. In his first year as a Knick, Houston took the place of

John Starks John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard. Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four ...

in the starting lineup, with Starks serving as a mentor for him coming off the bench. Houston kept his scoring average at 17 points per game, and helped lead the team to the

. His most famous play came in the decisive Game 5 of the first round of the 1999 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Miami Heat. In the fourth quarter, with the Knicks inbounding the ball trailing by one point, Houston caught the inbounds pass, and made a running jumper in the lane with 0.8 second left on the clock to win the game and the series for the Knicks, 78-77, which was then only the second time in NBA playoffs history where a #8 seed had defeated a #1. The Knicks would then defeat the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers to advance to the NBA Finals. Houston averaged 21.6 points per game in the only Finals appearance of his career, including a memorable 34 point performance in a game 3 victory over San Antonio. The Knicks, decimated by injuries to Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson, would lose the series 4-1. In April 2001, Houston and teammate

Charlie Ward Charlie Ward Jr. (born October 12, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player. Ward was an exceptional football player as well, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Award, and College Football National Championship while quart ...

were quoted in a ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'' article making comments that were deemed

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

by the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

and the Knicks. After Ward had called Jews stubborn and persecutors of Christians, Houston cited a biblical verse in support of Ward's comments. During his career, Houston was known for his three-point shooting prowess. Houston also made the All-Star team twice. Despite the on-court accolades, though, Houston's lasting legacy may be something that happened off the court: In 2001, Houston signed a six-year, $100.4 million contract extension with the Knicks. Houston's yearly salary of over $20 million made him virtually untradeable, and his injury problems would burden the Knicks. Houston missed 32 games in 2003-04 due to a knee injury, and despite claims in the summer of 2004 that he would be ready to play the next season (he even refused to have surgery on his knee that summer), he played in only 20 games that season because his injury had not completely healed. Knee injuries would eventually force Houston to announce his retirement on October 17, 2005. Houston attempted to return to the NBA in 2007, but decided to end his comeback attempt on October 20, 2007 because of bad timing in choosing to join the team so late into preparation for the regular season. Houston was signed by the Knicks to play in 2008, but was cut before the end of the preseason without appearing in a game. In 2005, the NBA agreed on a new

collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

with the player's union. The agreement included an amnesty clause provision allowing teams to release one player without his contract counting against the NBA's

luxury tax A luxury tax is a tax on luxury goods: products not considered essential. A luxury tax may be modeled after a sales tax or VAT, charged as a percentage on all items of particular classes, except that it mainly directly affects the wealthy bec ...

threshold. The clause did not negate a player's contract, a team's obligation to pay a player, or a contract's impact on the salary cap; it merely made it possible to remove a released player's salary from luxury tax calculations on a one-time basis. The clause benefited teams that were in danger of facing the luxury tax, which was a penalty paid by teams with payrolls exceeding a certain threshold. Because the Knicks were expected to use the amnesty clause to waive Houston due to his expensive contract and injury woes (as of the 2005 offseason, two years and $40 million remained on his contract), the amnesty clause was dubbed the "Allan Houston Rule." After Houston assured his team that he would retire if his knee problems recurred in training camp that fall, the Knicks chose not to use the amnesty clause to release him; instead, they released forward Jerome Williams. Houston's final NBA game was played on January 19, 2005 in a 81 - 98 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

where he recorded 3 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal while playing 28 minutes off the bench.

National team career

Houston was a member of the

USA men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

that won the gold medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

Executive career

In 2008, Houston was hired by the New York Knicks as assistant to the president for basketball operations. In December 2010, Houston was promoted to the position of assistant general manager. As of July 2019, Houston is special assistant to the general manager of the Knicks; he was also general manager of the Westchester Knicks, the organization's G League affiliate.

Personal life

Houston is married to Tamara Houston. They have seven children together.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 79 , , 20 , , 19.2 , , .405 , , .299 , , .824 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 39 , , 26.3 , , .463 , , .424 , , .860 , , 2.2 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .2 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 75 , , 37.5 , , .453 , , .427 , , .823 , , 3.7 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 19.7 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

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

, 81 , , 81 , , 33.1 , , .423 , , .385 , , .803 , , 3.0 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 14.8 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.7 , , .447 , , .385 , , .851 , , 3.3 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 18.4 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 50 , , 36.3 , , .418 , , .407 , , .862 , , 3.0 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .2 , , 16.3 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 38.6 , , .483 , , .436 , , .838 , , 3.3 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .2 , , 19.7 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 78 , , 36.6 , , .449 , , .381 , , .909 , , 3.6 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , .1 , , 19.7 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 77 , , 37.8 , , .437 , , .393 , , .870 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 20.4 , - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 37.9 , , .445 , , .396 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .919* , , 2.8 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .1 , , 22.5 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 50 , , 36.0 , , .435 , , .431 , , .913 , , 2.4 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 18.5 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

, 20 , , 11 , , 26.6 , , .415 , , .388 , , .837 , , 1.2 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , 11.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 839 , , 727 , , 33.7 , , .444 , , .402 , , .863 , , 2.9 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .2 , , 17.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 0 , , 16.5 , , .333 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 8.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 45.3 , , .431 , , .333 , , .900 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , 25.0 , - , align="left" ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, align="left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 40.0 , , .436 , , .500 , , .886, , 2.6 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 19.2 , - , 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 frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 40.3 , , .434 , , .391 , , .862 , , 3.8 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 21.1 , - , align="left" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, align="left" ,

, 20 , , 20 , , 39.2 , , .443 , , .250 , , .883 , , 2.7 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 18.5 , - , align="left" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, align="left" ,

, 16 , , 16 , , 40.9 , , .438 , , .500 , , .862 , , 3.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 17.6 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 37.8 , , .594 , , .545 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 20.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 63 , , 63 , , 40.1 , , .448 , , .420 , , .884 , , 2.9 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 19.3

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Allan 1971 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Ballard High School (Louisville, Kentucky) alumni Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Louisville, Kentucky Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics National Basketball Association All-Stars New York Knicks players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Tennessee Volunteers basketball players United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople

High school and college career

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (1993–1996)

New York Knicks (1996–2005)

National team career

Executive career

Personal life

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Filmography

Film

See also

References

External links