Craig Anthony Hodges (born June 27, 1960)
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 19, 2011 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 and former head coach of the

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of the

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. He played 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 S ...

for 10 seasons and led the league in 3-point shooting percentage three times. He won two NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, and along with

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

, is one of only two players to win three consecutive

Three Point Contest The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star Weekend. The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 19 ...

s at the National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend, winning the competition in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Hodges also holds the Three Point Contest records for the most consecutive shots made with 19, set in 1991, and the most points scored in a single round at 25, set in 1986. He was later a head coach at

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of ...

, an assistant coach for 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 ...

and head coach of the Halifax Rainmen of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basket ...

Playing career

Born in

Park Forest, Illinois Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, with a small southern portion in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village was originally designed as a planned community for veterans returning from World War I ...

, Hodges played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at Long Beach State from 1978 to 1982. He played under

Tex Winter Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (February 25, 1922 – October 10, 2018) was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense. He was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the Nationa ...

, who later coached him again as an assistant to Phil Jackson with the Chicago Bulls. During his career in the

, Hodges played for the

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

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 ...

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 Chicago Bulls. On December 12, 1985, Hodges led the Bucks in scoring with a career high 29 points, including a 27-foot three-point jump shot to force the game into overtime, in a 110-108 loss to the

Washington Bullets 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 Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. That postseason, Hodges played a key role in the Bucks advancing past the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, averaging 14.1 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 steals per game during the seven game series, which included 24 points and the game-winning basket in game seven. The following round, in a pattern familiar for the 1980s Bucks, the team would ultimately fall short of reaching the NBA Finals, being eliminated by 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 ...

. Hodges then played for the Bulls from

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicentenn ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, and helped them win two

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

s in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Ph ...

and

. He was waived by the Bulls after the 1991–92 season. After sitting out the NBA season, he played a season with Clear Cantù in the Italian league.

Three Point Contest

Hodges appeared in the first eight

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of a ...

s from 1986 to 1993, and won the contest three times, in 1990, 1991, and 1992. He reached the final round on two other occasions, in 1986 when he lost to

, and in 1989, when he lost to

Dale Ellis Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia * Dale (woreda), district ;Norway * ...

. Hodges holds the Three Point Contest records for the most consecutive shots made with 19 (1991) and is tied with Jason Kapono for most points scored in a single round at 25 (1986). He is tied with Hubert Davis for the highest score in the semifinal round at 24 (1991) and with six other players for the most bonus balls made with five (1989). Hodges has the second highest three-round combined score with 61 (1991). Hodges competed in the Three Point Contest at the 1993 NBA All-Star Weekend as a free agent after he was waived by the Bulls in 1992 and did not sign with an NBA team for the 1992–93 season. The NBA initially left him off the field of contestants as he was not on an NBA roster at the time, but eventually allowed him to defend his 1992 title. Hodges wore a generic "NBA" jersey in the contest. Hodges was eliminated after the semifinal, finishing behind eventual winner

Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from ...

and Terry Porter. Career Three Point Contest record *1986: Runner-up *1987: First round *1988: First round *1989: Runner-up *1990: Winner *1991: Winner *1992: Winner *1993: Semi-finalist

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, 76 , , 48 , , 26.6 , , .452 , , .222 , , .723 , , 1.6 , , 3.6 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 9.9 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 28 , , 20.7 , , .450 , , .217 , , .750 , , 1.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 63 , , 30.4 , , .490 , , .348 , , .815 , , 2.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 66 , , 66 , , 26.3 , , .500 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .451* , , .872 , , 1.8 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 43 , , 27.5 , , .462 , , .373 , , .891 , , 1.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 43 , , 0 , , 22.9 , , .449 , , .466 , , .821 , , 1.1 , , 2.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 9.2 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 23 , , 0 , , 20.1 , , .489 , , .544 , , .844 , , 1.4 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .444 , , .333 , , .750 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , 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 ...

, 49 , , 6 , , 22.7 , , .475 , , .423 , , .849 , , 1.7 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 10.0 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , 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 ...

, 63 , , 0 , , 16.7 , , .438 , , .481 , , .909 , , 0.8 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align;background:#afe6ba;" , 1990–91† , 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 ...

, 73 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .424 , , .383 , , .963 , , 0.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align;background:#afe6ba;" , 1991–92† , 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 ...

, 56 , , 2 , , 9.9 , , .384 , , .375 , , .941 , , 0.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 695 , , 256 , , 21.7 , , .461 , , .400 , , .828 , , 1.3 , , 2.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 8.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 27.0 , , .364 , , .174 , , .800 , , 1.6 , , 3.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 14 , , 32.9 , , .510 , , .452 , , .794 , , 1.8 , , 4.5 , , 2.3 , , 0.1 , , 13.5 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .519 , , .294 , , .909 , , 1.8 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , 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 ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 17* , , 17 , , 32.6 , , .412 , , .398 , , .714 , , 1.5 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , 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 ...

, 16 , , 1 , , 15.9 , , .378 , , .293 , , .750 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align;background:#afe6ba;" , 1990–91† , 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 ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .423 , , .393 , , .750 , , 0.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align;background:#afe6ba;" , 1991–92† , 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 ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .390 , , .450 , , .500 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 101 , , 40 , , 20.4 , , .436 , , .363 , , .784 , , 1.1 , , 2.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 7.2

Coaching career

From 1994 to 1996, Hodges coached

, and was fired in 1996 with a win–loss record of 8–51 over two-plus seasons. In September 2005, Hodges joined the

as a special assistant coach under his former Bulls coach, Phil Jackson. He worked with individual players on offensive skills, primarily shooting. Jackson retired after the 2010–11 season, and Hodges' contract with the Lakers expired as well. Hodges also coached the Halifax Rainmen in the Canadian Basketball League for half a season, and during his time as head coach of the Rainmen, was invited by Dennis Rodman to play in North Korea, but he was denied entry into that country, citing "I was looking forward to the opportunity of going and helping Dennis, as far as the basketball end of things", and saying "I'm for human rights, and so going to North Korea wasn't a matter of me going to rub political shoulders with the man that's in power. It was as a goodwill gesture, as a brotherhood — a brotherhood of sport," After serving as an assistant coach for the

during the 2014–15 D-League season, he was named the team's interim coach for the final four games of the season on March 30, 2015 after head coach Kevin Whitted was fired. Hodges is currently head coach of

Rich East High School Rich East High School or REHS was a public four-year high school located in Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago in the United States. Rich East's campus serves the cities of Park Forest, Matteson, Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights ...

in his hometown of Park Forest, Illinois.

Political activism

When the Chicago Bulls visited the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...

after winning the 1992 NBA Championship, Hodges dressed in a

dashiki The dashiki is a colorful garment that covers the top half of the body, worn mostly in West Africa. It is also known as a Kitenge in East Africa and is a common item of clothing in Tanzania and Kenya. It has formal and informal versions and va ...

and delivered a hand-written letter addressed to then President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

, expressing his discontent at the administration's treatment of the poor and minorities. The book The Jordan Rules related how Hodges had opposed the 1991 Gulf War but mainly discussed his issues with teammates and coaches who mostly disagreed with him but didn't shun him for his contrary views. Hodges also criticized his Bulls teammate

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

for not using his fame to draw attention to social and political issues, and said Jordan was "bailing out" for not being politically outspoken. In a 2022 podcast series on The Ringer hosted by Jackie MacMullan that covered "NBA Icons", MacMullan quoted Hodges as having asked Jordan to leave

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and form a new athletic-wear company that would be staffed by minorities, and also that Hodges asked Jordan and

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 ...

to lead a boycott of the 1991 NBA Finals to protest the beating of

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...

by the LAPD. Jordan ignored the former call and bluntly told Hodges (along with Magic) that the boycott idea was a non-starter. In 1996, Hodges filed a $40 million lawsuit against the

and its then 29 teams, claiming they blackballed him for his association with

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, Black supremacy, black supremacist, Racism, anti-white and Antisemitism, antisemitic Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist, and former singer who hea ...

and criticism of "African-American professional athletes who failed to use their considerable wealth and influence to assist the poor and disenfranchised." After he was waived by the Bulls in 1992, he did not receive an offer or a tryout from a single NBA team, even though he was only 32 years old and still able to contribute to contenders. The lawsuit claimed that Bulls assistant coach Jim Cleamons told him that the team was troubled by his criticism of players' lack of involvement in inner-city communities. The suit also claimed Billy McKinney, the director of player personnel for the Seattle SuperSonics initially showed interest in Hodges in 1992, and then shortly after backed away, telling Hodges he could do nothing because "brothers have families, if you know what I mean." While a Bulls official said Hodges was waived as he was getting old and could not play defense, head coach Phil Jackson said, "I also found it strange that not a single team called to inquire about him. Usually, I get at least one call about a player we've decided not to sign. And yes, he couldn't play much defense, but a lot of guys in the league can't, but not many can shoot from his range, either." In 2014, Hodges was named to a team assembled by

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

as part of his "basketball diplomacy" effort in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

with the job of playing an exhibition match against the North Korean Senior National Team to celebrate the birthday of Kim Jong-Un. He failed to make it into the country as his flight from Canada to Beijing was delayed, causing him to miss the connecting flight to Pyonyang and prompting the Chinese government to send him immediately back to Canada. Hodges is the father of Jordan Hodges, an actor and artist, Jamaal, Noah and Jibril Hodges, who also played at Long Beach State. at nba.com Hodges was married to Allison Jordan Hodges former General Manager of the ABL Chicago Condors and manager and sister to Drew Sidora.

Notes

References

External links

Craig Hodges statistics
at Basketball-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Craig 1960 births Living people 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Chicago Chicago Bulls players Chicago State Cougars men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Jämtland Basket players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks players Pallacanestro Cantù players People from Park Forest, Illinois Phoenix Suns players Rockford Lightning players San Diego Clippers draft picks San Diego Clippers players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Chicago United States Basketball League players 20th-century African-American sportspeople