David Benoit (born May 9, 1968) 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, in the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

position. During his career, he played eight years in 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), six as a member of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

.David Benoit
nba.com

Personal life

Benoit was born in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

. He played high school basketball at

Lafayette High School (Louisiana) Lafayette High School (LHS) is a public four-year public high school located at 3000 W Congress Street in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. Athletics Lafayette High athletics competes in the LHSAA. Notable alumni *Armand Duplantis, World reco ...

and also had his jersey retired there. Benoit played in the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

for

Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in Texas, with an enrollment of more than 12,500 credit students each year with an additional 20,000 continuing education enroll ...

, from 1986 to 1988. His last two years of

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 ...

were spent with the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

's Crimson Tide. He is also cousins with ex

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

champion

Daniel Cormier Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Ch ...

Professional career

Utah Jazz

Benoit was not selected in the 1990 NBA draft, playing his first professional season in Spain. In the following year, he joined the

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 ...

, and would post interesting numbers during his five-season spell. In 1993, Benoit participated in the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

, where he finished fourth out of eight contestants. During the 1994–95 season, he achieved a career-best 10 points and five

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game in 71 regular season contests, to which he added 12 and six in the postseason's first round, as the Jazz were downed 2–3 by the eventual champion

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 ...

New Jersey/Orlando

After losing his starting position to Chris Morris, Benoit left the Jazz in the 1996 summer, and signed with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. He spent his first season in the sidelines, due to injury. In early 1998, Benoit was traded, alongside

Yinka Dare Yinka Dare (October 10, 1972 – January 9, 2004) was a Nigerian professional basketball player. A , center, he played four seasons in the National Basketball Association. Early years Born in Kano, Dare was discovered by Nigerian-born lawyer Llo ...

and

Kevin Edwards Kevin Durell Edwards (born October 30, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as DePaul University men's basketball team's director of community, corporate, and professional relations. Edwards was selecte ...

, to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, for Brian Evans and

Rony Seikaly Rony is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ronielson da Silva Barbosa, Brazilian footballer better known as Rony *Rony Ahonen (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey defenceman *Rony Bakale (born 1987), Olympic swimmer from the Republ ...

, appearing in 24 games and averaging six points. He left the United States to play with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

in Israel, due in part to the 1998 NBA

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

, and remained there for two years.

Jazz return

In 2000, Benoit returned to the team where he began his career. Now only a fringe player, he averaged 3.6 points in 49 games, as the Jazz once again qualified for the playoffs. After leaving the NBA at the age of 33 (with averages of exactly seven points and four rebounds, in 492 games), Benoit played for the

Shanghai Sharks The Shanghai Sharks () are a Chinese Basketball Association team based in Shanghai. It is best known outside China as the club that developed Yao Ming before he entered the National Basketball Association. With Yao on the team, the Sharks made ...

alongside

Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associat ...

in the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

, winning the 2001–02 league championship. He spent four of the last five seasons of his career in the

Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the JBL. ...

Head coaching record

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

Saitama Broncos The is a men's professional basketball club based in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It calls the whole prefecture home and its main home arenas are Tokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium and Saitama Super Arena in Chūō-ku, Saitama City. It comp ...

, style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 44, , 21, , 23, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Eastern, , , -, , -, , -, , , style="text-align:center;", - , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 52, , 19, , 33, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Eastern, , , -, , -, , -, , , style="text-align:center;", - , - , style="text-align:left;",

Kyoto Hannaryz The Kyoto Hannaryz (京都ハンナリーズ ''Kyōto Hannarīzu'') are a Japanese basketball team playing in Kyoto Prefecture; they are part of the Western Conference of the B.League. The Hannaryz are coached by Roy Rana. Coaches * David Benoi ...

, style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 42, , 15, , 27, , , , style="text-align:center;", Fired , , , -, , -, , -, , , style="text-align:center;", - , -

References

External links

NBA.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benoit, David 1968 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Japan American men's basketball players Basketball players from Louisiana Kyoto Hannaryz coaches Liga ACB players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players New Jersey Nets players Orlando Magic players Saitama Broncos coaches Saitama Broncos players Shanghai Sharks players Sportspeople from Lafayette, Louisiana Small forwards Sun Rockers Shibuya players Tyler Apaches men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Utah Jazz players