Anthony Eugene Peeler (born November 25, 1969) 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, having played for a number of

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball 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 in the United St ...

teams from 1992 to 2005. He was most commonly known for his defense and athleticism. He later became an assistant coach at

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

High school and college

Peeler was a standout high school player at

Paseo High School Paseo Academy, also referred to as Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and sometimes Paseo High School, is a magnet performing arts high school located at 4747 Flora Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City Public Sch ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

where he earned the title of "Mister Show-Me" (the name for the state's

Mr. Basketball Mr. Basketball is an unofficial award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in many U.S. states, regions, or metropolitan areas. Conversely, the title Miss Basketball or Ms. Basketball is used for the best high ...

) and was named to the

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

team his senior year. The 1988–89 edition of the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' Basketball Preview issue rated Peeler as the third-best incoming college freshman in the country, behind

Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...

and

Billy Owens Billy Eugene Owens (born May 1, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Syracuse, where he was an All-American and th ...

. (Other highly touted recruits in this class—such as

Shawn Kemp Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peop ...

, Kenny Williams, and Stanley Roberts—were not listed because they were ineligible to play under the NCAA's Proposition 48 guidelines.) He reportedly planned on attending the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, but changed his mind because he wasn't sure if Kansas coach Larry Brown would be leaving to coach elsewhere (Brown indeed left Kansas to coach 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 league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

), and because he, in his words, "didn't want to be a one-man team." Peeler chose the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

and went on to be one of the school's all-time greats. Anthony Peeler averaged 16.8 points per game for his Tiger career and left as Missouri's all-time third-leading scorer with 1,970 points, and the all-time leader in assists (497) and steals (196). During his career, he was named first-team All- Big Eight, and in 1992 (his senior year) he was named the conference AP Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year and a consensus second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n after averaging 23.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, and scored a career-high 43 points in a losing cause against arch-rival

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. Missouri finished 21–9 that season and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

. In 2006, Peeler was named to the Missouri's 30-member All-Century team, in honor of the school's 100th year of competition.

Professional career

After his college eligibility was up, Peeler was drafted 15th overall by 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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were considere ...

. Peeler was one of the top 3

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 ...

s available (along with

Harold Miner Harold David Miner (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player and two-time champion of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Slam Dunk Contest. He attended college at the University of Southern California (USC) a ...

and Jim Jackson) and was considered an NBA lottery pick, but his stock dropped off due to off-the-court legal issues. Peeler was placed on five years of probation stemming from an altercation with a woman he once dated at

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and was accused, mere days before the draft, of being involved in ''another'' altercation, this time with an ex-girlfriend he knew from high school. But the Lakers felt that drafting Peeler would be worth the risk if he could help revitalize their backcourt, which was still reeling from

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

's retirement and only had aging veterans

Sedale Threatt Sedale Eugene Threatt (born September 10, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Threatt played college basketball at the West Virginia Institute of Tech ...

and

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their S ...

as the legitimate remaining threats at the guard spots. In his rookie year, Peeler appeared in 77 games, starting 11 of them, and became the first Lakers rookie to average double figures (10.4 ppg) since Byron Scott in 1983–84. He scored a season-high 25 points 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

on January 28, 1993. Peeler also broke Scott's Lakers rookie record for 3-point shooting. Peeler also played for the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

and the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

averaging 9.7 points per game throughout his NBA career. While with Sacramento during the

2003–04 NBA season The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals. Events This was the last season for the original two-div ...

, he led the league in

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

accuracy with 48.2 percent. During that season's playoffs, during game 6 matchup between Sacramento and Minnesota, Peeler threw an elbow at former Timberwolves teammate

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

, followed by a left hook; Peeler was suspended for 2 games, which included a game 7 loss, which ended the Kings' season, and the season-opener of the Washington Wizards' 2004–05 campaign, with whom Peeler spent his final year.

After the NBA

Following retirement from playing, Peeler returned to college and finished his degree at

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. He entered the coaching profession in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

by serving as an assistant coach. He had expressed interest in joining the coaching staff of

Frank Haith Frank James Haith Jr. (born November 3, 1965) is an American men's basketball coach, currently serving as an assistant coach for the University of Memphis. He previously served as head coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2014 to 2022, and pr ...

in 2011, but no job offer was forthcoming. He is currently awaiting other opportunities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peeler, Anthony 1969 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Missouri Basketball players from Kansas City, Missouri Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves players Missouri Tigers men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Vancouver Grizzlies players Virginia Union Panthers men's basketball coaches Washington Wizards players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople