Brian Lee Cardinal (born May 2, 1977) 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. He played 456 games in the

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 ...

between 2000 and 2012, and won an NBA championship with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

in 2011. Before his NBA career, he was one of the best players in the history of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

High school career

Brian Cardinal attended Unity High School in

Tolono, Illinois Tolono is a village in Tolono Township, Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,604 at the 2020 census. Its name was fabricated by J.B. Calhoun, land commission of the Illinois Central Railroad, who wrote about it simply: ...

, where he played basketball with his brother, Troy. Before graduating in 1995, he led the Rockets to an 86–25 record during his high school career. He averaged 23.5 points during his Junior year, with the team going 27–1, and 24.1 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in his Senior year, with the team going 27–4. In his senior year, he scored 40 points in two different games, and was ranked as one of the Top 100 high school seniors in the United States. As a senior, he played in the Class A Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game, and was named MVP of the game. He also played in and was named Most High Player in the Coca-Cola high school all star game, after scoring 24 points and collecting 13 rebounds for the West team.

College career

After graduating from high school, Cardinal attended

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, ...

to play under head coach

Gene Keady Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 to 2005, he went ...

and assistant coaches

Frank Kendrick Frank Edward Kendrick (born September 11, 1950) is an American retired professional basketball player from Indianapolis, Indiana who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career As an All-American selection playing at In ...

and Bruce Weber. Cardinal was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

during his first year at Purdue but practiced daily with the team. During his Freshman season of 1996–97, Brian was one of only three Boilermakers to start all 30 games, and averaged 10.6 points a game (third on the team) and grabbed 182 rebounds on the season, ranking second on the team. He recorded his first collegiate double-double in only his second game against Western Michigan with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He finished ninth in the Big Ten in steals. Along with Juniors Brad Miller and Chad Austin, he helped lead the

Boilermakers A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

to an NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance. Purdue beat Rhode Island in the first round of the tournament after Brian hit a three-point shot to send the game into overtime, a shot Brian later called his "biggest athletic thrill." Purdue would lose in the next round to #1 seed Kansas. In Brian's sophomore campaign, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, and led the team in steals with 65, which tied for the third-best single season total in Purdue history. While leading Purdue to a 28–8 record (12–4 in the Big Ten), Brian was the Boilermakers' top scorer in four games. Brian was named third-team All-Big Ten by coaches and media. He helped lead the Boilers to a Sweet Sixteen appearance, with the Boilermakers beating Delaware and Detroit Mercy in the first two rounds, before losing to eventual Final Four semifinalist Stanford, by the score of 67–59. In his junior season in 1998–99, Brian was named team captain. On the season, he averaged 11.4 points and grabbed 186 rebounds, leading the Boilermakers in rebounding 15 times. He also led the team in assists. During the season, he became Purdue's all time steals leader, and tied the school's all-time single game steals record with seven steals against South Carolina on December 22, 1998. He scored a career-high 33 points in a game against

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

on January 23, 1999. For the second straight year, Brian was named third-team All-Big Ten. In the NCAA Tournament, Brian led Purdue to a second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance, with wins over #7 seed Texas and #2 seed Miami (FL), with Brian leading the team with 20 points in the win over the Hurricanes. Cardinal played his last collegiate season in 1999–2000 as Boilermakers' captain for the second straight season. He finished his senior year with career season highs with 203 rebounds and 13.9 points a game. As a senior, he was named a ''Second Team All-Big Ten'' selection. He again helped lead the Boilermakers to the NCAA tournament, making it a perfect four NCAA tournament appearances in Brian's four years at Purdue. In this NCAA tournament appearance for Brian, the team would make its deepest run, nearly making the Final Four. After a narrow one point victory over #11 seed Dayton in the first round, Purdue upset #3 seed Oklahoma and defeated the #10 seed Gonzaga, before losing to Big Ten rival Wisconsin, a #8 seed, in the Elite Eight. As of 2018, Brian Cardinal ranks 18th on the Purdue all-time scoring list, with 1,584 points. He ranks second in career starts at Purdue with 125, behind E'Twaun Moore, who started 136 games. His career 259 steals at Purdue is the second most in school history behind

Chris Kramer Christopher Scott Kramer (כריס קרמר; born April 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball with the Purdue University Boilermakers. Kramer participated with the 2010 Milwaukee Bucks train ...

's 260 (2006–2010). His Freshman record with 51 steals in the 1996–97 season was also surpassed by Chris Kramer's 64 a decade later. He received the nickname, "The Janitor", due to the way he cleaned the floor diving for loose balls. Brian left Purdue being the only Boilermaker to receive both the ''"Mr. Hustle" Award'' (for most determination, drive and leadership) and the ''"Courage" Award'' (for most charges taken) four years in a row. While at Purdue, Brian won a gold medal at the 1998 Goodwill games; Team USA went 4–1. He was also a member of the 1997 22-and under National Team coached by

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

, which finished 5th in a 12-team field. For Majerus' squad, Brian averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds, shooting 53.3% from the field.

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2000–2002)

Cardinal was selected the 44th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft 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 Li ...

. His career debut came on December 9, 2000, in a loss 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 league's Western Con ...

. During his rookie season, playing in only 15 games, he had his best game against 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 ...

on April 11, 2001, scoring a season-high 9 points, 4 rebounds and a game high three steals in 18 minutes. Playing in a total of 23 games for the Pistons in two seasons, he averaged 2.1 points a game and shot over 80 percent from the

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 Key (basketball), restricted ...

line.

Washington Wizards (2002)

On September 11, 2002, Cardinal was traded to 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 ...

along with

Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's team. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ...

and

Ratko Varda Ratko Varda ( sr-cyr, Ратко Варда; born May 6, 1979) is a Serbian-Bosnian former basketball player who played professionally for 22 years. Standing at , he played the center position. He first represented FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montene ...

, for Richard Hamilton,

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 19 ...

and

Bobby Simmons Bobby Simmons (born June 2, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. In his career he played for five NBA teams. He won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2005. College career After graduating from Chicago's Neal F. Sime ...

. Cardinal was waived shortly after playing in only five games for the Wizards.

Valencia (2002–2003)

Cardinal spent the rest of the 2002–03 season playing in the Spanish league for

Pamesa Valencia Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

, winning the ULEB Cup Championship.

Golden State Warriors (2003–2004)

After returning to the NBA, Cardinal signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. Cardinal had a breakthrough season with the Warriors, averaging nearly 10 points and 4 rebounds per game, appearing in 76 games. He was a finalist for the ''

NBA Most Improved Player Award The NBA's Most Improved Player Award (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of s ...

'', eventually won by

Zach Randolph Zachary McKenley Randolph (born July 16, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Z-Bo", the 2-time NBA All-Star played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans before being drafted in the 2001 NBA draft by ...

. On February 11, 2004, Cardinal scored a career-high 32 points against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

and just three weeks later he had his career high of 14 rebounds against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

on February 28.

Memphis Grizzlies (2004–2008)

After a breakthrough season in personal numbers and playing time, Cardinal 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 is a ...

with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, where he posted similar numbers from the previous season, averaging almost 6 points and 2.5 rebounds in the four seasons with the Grizzlies, while injuries diminished playing time. During the 2006–07 season, Brian held career highs of field goal percentage (.494) and free throw percentage (.926).

Minnesota Timberwolves (2008–2010)

In June 2008, Cardinal was traded to the

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 ...

as part of an eight-player deal. Teamed with fellow forward

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Second Team and ...

in his eighth season in the NBA under head coach Kevin McHale and assistant coach

Jerry Sichting Jerry Lee Sichting (born November 29, 1956) is an American basketball coach and retired player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Jerry Sichting, the , point guard from Martinsville, Indiana, attended Martinsv ...

, a former Boilermaker, Brian averaged 3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game for the 2008–09 season. He recorded his career-high three blocks in a game against 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 ...

on March 13, 2009. In the 2009–10 season, while appearing in 27 games for the Wolves, he averaged a team-low 9 minutes per game and went 21–21 from the free-throw line. On February 17, 2010, Cardinal was traded to the

for

Darko Miličić Darko Miličić ( sr-cyrl, Дарко Миличић, ; born June 20, 1985) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is , and played the center position. Miličić played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013 ...

. He was subsequently waived by the Knicks on February 19. On March 23, he was re-signed by the Timberwolves.

Dallas Mavericks (2010–2012)

On September 27, 2010, Cardinal was signed by the

. On May 8, 2011, Cardinal hit the 20th three-pointer in Game 4 of the

and

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 ...

series. His three-pointer tied the record for most three-pointers by a team in one playoff game with 20, which hadn't been done since the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

did it against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

on May 6, 1996. Cardinal won his first NBA championship with the 2011 Mavericks in a six-game playoff series against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

. He agreed to sign a new one-year contract worth the veteran minimum on December 12, 2011. His final NBA game was in Game 3 of the 2012 Western Conference First Round on May 3rd, 2012 in a 79 - 95 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he recorded 3 points and 3 rebounds. The Thunder would go on to sweep the Mavericks and eliminate them from the playoffs, with Cardinal subsequently retiring from the NBA.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 th ...

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, 8 , , 0 , , 5.4 , , .462 , , .429 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .0 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

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Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 58 , , 16 , , 24.7 , , .370 , , .352 , , .873 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 0 , , 11.2 , , .414 , , .448 , , .704 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .6 , , .0 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 37 , , 1 , , 11.9 , , .341 , , .309 , , .684 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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, 29 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .389 , , .333 , , .944 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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, 44 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .255 , , .204 , , .833 , , .8 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 456 , , 37 , , 14.2 , , .408 , , .372 , , .861 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.6

Playoffs

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2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

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2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 4.1 , , .750 , , .750 , , .500 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

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, 2 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .452 , , .455 , , .692 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.3

Personal life

Brian's father, Rod Cardinal, was the head basketball trainer at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

for three decades, from 1973 to 2003; he remains with the Illinois men's basketball team as their special projects coordinator. Brian served as a towel boy for the 1989 Illinois Final Four team. Brian is married to former walk-on Purdue standout Danielle Bird, with whom he has a son and two daughters.

References

External links

NBA.com player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardinal, Brian 1977 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Spain Basketball players from Illinois Dallas Mavericks players Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players Forwards (basketball) Golden State Warriors players Liga ACB players Memphis Grizzlies players Minnesota Timberwolves players People from Champaign County, Illinois Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Valencia Basket players Washington Wizards players American men's basketball players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games