Brian David Scalabrine (born March 18, 1978), nicknamed the "White Mamba", 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 is currently a television analyst for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA). He is also the co-host of "The Starting Lineup", which airs weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET on

SiriusXM NBA Radio Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...

. Raised in Enumclaw, Washington, Scalabrine attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

after transferring from

Highline College Highline College is a public community college in Des Moines, Washington. Highline was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County, Washington. The main campus covers . , there were approximately 17,000 students and 350,000 alu ...

. As a member of the USC Trojans men's basketball team, Scalabrine was the top scorer and a leader in field goals and rebounds. He also played at the center position in college. The New Jersey Nets selected him in the second round of the

2001 NBA draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, ...

. The Nets made consecutive NBA Finals his first two years, and Scalabrine played four seasons with the team. In 2005, he signed with the

and won a championship with the team in 2008. The Celtics also appeared in the

2010 NBA Finals The 2010 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers ...

. Scalabrine signed with the Chicago Bulls the following season, and played with them until 2012. Throughout his NBA career, Scalabrine served as a backup power forward. In 2013,

Mark Jackson Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. A point guard from St. John's University, he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah ...

announced that Scalabrine would join his

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 ...

coaching staff. In 2014, Scalabrine took a job as an analyst for Celtics games on local Boston broadcasts.

Early life and college

Born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, Scalabrine was one of four children in his family and graduated from

Enumclaw High School Enumclaw High School is a public school in Enumclaw, Washington. The school serves about 1300 students from Enumclaw as well as local unincorporated regions of King County and cities such as Black Diamond and Greenwater. The school's mascot is ...

at Enumclaw, Washington in 1996. He is of Italian ancestry. He enrolled at

in 1996, played his first year with its basketball team the Thunderbirds, and

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 ...

his second year. As a freshman at Highline, Scalabrine averaged 16.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Scalabrine recorded seventeen double-doubles, and led the team in rebounds, blocks, and free throw percentage (75%). The Thunderbirds went 31-1 in the 1996–97 season and won the state junior college championship. Scalabrine was a Northern Division All-Star in 1997 as well as part of the All-Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Championship Tournament Team. In 1998, he transferred to the

(USC). In his first year with the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

, he was the only player to start all 28 games. He led the Trojans in scoring (14.6 points), rebounding (6.4), and field goals (53.1%). In scoring, blocked shots, and field goals, he was also the only

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

conference player among the top 10 players in those areas. His best game performance was against

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

on December 21, 1998: 26 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. On February 13, 1999, he scored 22 points including an important three-pointer in overtime; the unranked USC won an upset victory over number-six

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

86-82 in overtime. He was the 1999 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and earned an All-Pac-10 honorable mention. During his second season with USC, Scalabrine was named to the All-Pac-10 first team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 15 first team. He also earned a ''

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 ...

'' All-American honorable mention. Again, he finished as USC's top scorer (17.8 ppg) and field goal shooter (53.1%) and was also the second-best Pac-10 scorer. He also made 40.3% of attempted three-pointers. Against the Oregon Ducks, Scalabrine scored 29 points and made 10 rebounds. USC advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2001, Scalabrine's senior season. In the Elite Eight round, USC lost to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

79-69; Scalabrine scored 13 points. Scalabrine graduated with a degree in history.

Career

New Jersey Nets (2001–2005)

Because he injured his

fifth metatarsal bone The fifth metatarsal bone is a long bone in the foot, and is palpable along the distal outer edges of the feet. It is the second smallest of the five metatarsal bones. The fifth metatarsal is analogous to the fifth metacarpal bone in the hand. As ...

during workouts in late September 2001, Scalabrine missed the first ten days of New Jersey Nets training camp. During the second quarter of the final 2001–02 preseason game, which took place against the Detroit Pistons on October 26, 2001, Scalabrine again injured his right foot. He made his

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 ...

debut on January 31, 2002, when the Nets played against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. As a rookie, Scalabrine averaged 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. He played in six playoff games his debut season and averaged 0.3 points and 0.5 rebounds. The Nets were the Eastern Conference Champions of the 2001–02 season and lost the

2002 NBA Finals The 2002 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s championship series for the 2001–02 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers (who were also two-time defendi ...

to 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 four games. In a triple-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinal series, Scalabrine scored a career high 17 points. He surpassed that high with 29 points on January 26, 2005 against the

. On April 15, 2005, he played a career high 45 minutes. During his time with the Nets, Scalabrine gained the nickname "Veal", a play on words based on the dish veal scaloppini.

Boston Celtics (2005–2010)

On August 2, 2005, Scalabrine signed a five-year contract with the

. A month earlier, he and the team agreed on terms that the contract be worth $15 million over the five years. Scalabrine started in nine of 48 games during the 2007–08 season, and played on average 10.7 minutes. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. On April 16, 2008, in the final game of the regular season, Scalabrine tied a season-high with six rebounds and played 29 minutes. He did not make an appearance in the NBA playoffs. In the 2008 Finals, the Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games.

Chicago Bulls (2010–2011)

On September 21, 2010, Scalabrine agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls visited the Boston Celtics on November 5, 2010, and in double overtime the Bulls won 110-105. Scalabrine played only three minutes that game. He played 18 games with the Bulls and averaged 1.1 points and 0.4 rebounds per game.

Treviso (2011)

On September 22, 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, Scalabrine signed with the Italian team Benetton Treviso. He left the team in December 2011 to pursue opportunities in the NBA after the lockout had ended.

Return to Chicago (2011–2012)

On December 12, 2011, Scalabrine re-signed with the Bulls. During the 2011-12 season, Scalabrine played in 28 games. In September 2012, he was offered a position as an assistant coach for the Bulls under Tom Thibiodeau, but instead opted to become a broadcaster for the Boston Celtics.

BIG3 League (2017)

In 2017, Brian joined the Ball Hogs of the BIG3 basketball league.

Coaching career

In July 2013,

coach

announced via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that Scalabrine was joining his coaching staff. During the season, Jackson reassigned Scalabrine to the Warriors'

D-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 De ...

affiliate after a difference of opinion on the team's direction.

Broadcasting career

In September 2012, Scalabrine announced that he had turned down an opportunity to become an assistant coach with the Bulls so that he could join Comcast SportsNet New England as a commentator. Scalabrine described the job as "a trial run", and said there was a "small possibility" he would resume his playing career overseas in 2013. In 2014, Scalabrine wrote an essay to Boston to announce his "homecoming" to become a

Comcast SportsNet NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were origina ...

announcer. His essay spoofed a famous ''Sports Illustrated'' story about LeBron James's return to Cleveland.

Personal life

Scalabrine married Kristen Couch in 2003; their wedding ceremony was held in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. They have two children. He is also a member of the sports philanthropy organization Athletes for Hope.

Fan support

Despite his limited playing time, Scalabrine became a popular player. Bulls fans referred to him as "The White Mamba", a play on

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

's nickname of "The Black Mamba". In 2013 in response to criticism over him being in a bench role throughout his career and to claims that many would beat him 1-on-1 Scalabrine stated "I'm closer to LeBron than you are to me", suggesting that there is a huge difference between any (active or retired) NBA player and the majority of those outside the league. In an event organized by

The Toucher and Rich Show ''Toucher and Rich'' is a Marconi Award-winning morning radio show from 6 to 10 AM on The Sports Hub 98.5 WBZ-FM, in Boston, Massachusetts. The show first aired on June 5, 2006. On August 13, 2009, following the demise of WBCN, the show moved t ...

selected volunteers had the chance to play 1-on-1 against Scalabrine (until 11 points with a margin of 2). The format was called the "Scallange" and Scalabrine played four games (one against each of the voluntary contenders). Scalabrine won every game with a combined score of 44-6. In an additional game Scalabrine played against the three hosts of the show and won 11-1.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 28 , , 0 , , 10.4 , , .343 , , .300 , , .733 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 7 , , 12.3 , , .402 , , .359 , , .833 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , 2 , , 13.4 , , .394 , , .244 , , .829 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 14 , , 21.6 , , .398 , , .324 , , .768 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 71 , , 1 , , 13.2 , , .383 , , .356 , , .722 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 17 , , 19.0 , , .403 , , .400 , , .783 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 9 , , 10.7 , , .389 , , .326 , , .750 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 39 , , 8 , , 12.9 , , .421 , , .393 , , .889 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 3 , , 9.1 , , .341 , , .327 , , .667 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 18 , , 0 , , 4.9 , , .526 , , .000 , , .000 , , .4 , , .3 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 28 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .467 , , .143 , , .500 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 520 , , 61 , , 13.0 , , .390 , , .344 , , .783 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.1

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .2 , , .3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 2.9 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .647 , , .833 , , .500 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 3 , , 15.3 , , .182 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .5 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 0 , , 20.5 , , .423 , , .448 , , 1.000 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .4 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 39 , , 3 , , 10.6 , , .437 , , .463 , , .786 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.7

References

External links

*
USC Trojans bio page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scalabrine, Brian 1978 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American people of Italian descent American men's basketball players Basketball players from Long Beach, California Basketball players from Washington (state) Big3 players Boston Celtics players Chicago Bulls players Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Highline College alumni Junior college men's basketball players in the United States National Basketball Association broadcasters New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Pallacanestro Treviso players People from Enumclaw, Washington Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from King County, Washington Sportspeople from Long Beach, California USC Trojans men's basketball players American men's 3x3 basketball players

Early life and college

Career

New Jersey Nets (2001–2005)

Boston Celtics (2005–2010)

Chicago Bulls (2010–2011)

Treviso (2011)

Return to Chicago (2011–2012)

BIG3 League (2017)

Coaching career

Broadcasting career

Personal life

Fan support

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links