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David Barakau Wesley (born November 14, 1970) 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 played 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 ...
(NBA). He is the current television color analyst for the
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their h ...
. He is the cousin of former NBA player Michael Dickerson.


Early life

David graduated from Longview High School in
Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highways ...
. He was classmates with former NFL player Bobby Taylor.


College career

Wesley played his freshman year at Temple Junior College, then transferred to
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist Christianity, Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas, Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the ...
. Wesley averaged 17 points per game and 4.4 assists per game in 72 total games at Baylor, and left in 1992, 33 hours short of a degree in
physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...
.


Professional career


Wichita Falls Texans (1992-1993)

When Wesley left
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist Christianity, Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas, Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the ...
in 1992, many scouts considered him too small (at 6'1") to play as a
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 ...
in the NBA, and doubted his ability to make the transition to
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...
. As a result, Wesley was not selected in the 1992 NBA draft. He spent the 1992–93 season in the CBA playing for the Wichita Falls Texans.


New Jersey Nets, Boston Celtics, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, and Houston Rockets (1993-2006)

Wesley 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 ...
as a free agent in 1993. He later played 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 ...
, the
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popul ...
/
New Orleans Hornets 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 ...
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 h ...
, and the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Centr ...
. Wesley dispelled the initial doubts about his ability to succeed in the NBA, averaging almost 13 points and 4.6 assists per game over a 14-year career, including ten straight seasons with double-digit scoring averages (1995–96 through 2004–05). He received praise as a tenacious man-to-man defender, and a reliable outside shooter. Wesley played in 55 playoff games and scored double figures in more than half of them.


Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-2007)

During the 2006–07 season, Wesley only played for 35 games and averaged career-lows of 2.1 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He also did not play any minutes during the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. On September 29, 2007, Wesley was traded back to the Hornets for Cedric Simmons. On October 29, 2007, the New Jersey Nets reacquired guard David Wesley from the New Orleans Hornets for
swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...
Bernard Robinson, center Mile Ilić and cash considerations. On November 1, 2007, not even a week after the Nets signed him, he was waived. A few days later, Wesley stated he planned on ending his NBA career. His 11,842 career points rank second all-time behind
Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cent ...
among undrafted NBA players.


Coaching

From 2011–2012, Wesley worked as an assistant coach for the
NBA 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 Dev ...
Texas Legends.


Broadcasting

On August 6, 2012, it was announced that Wesley would join the Fox Sports New Orleans team in broadcasting
New Orleans Hornets 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 ...
games. (Since then, the team has been renamed the
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their h ...
.) He was hired to be the Pelicans television color analyst.


Personal

David Wesley was charged in 2000 with misdemeanor
reckless driving In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation that generally consists in driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious offense than careless ...
in the crash that killed his friend and teammate Bobby Phills. A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police report said Phills was speeding at more than when Phills lost control and crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a car. The report said both Phills and Wesley were driving "in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent and/or aggressive manner". In a non-jury trial, a judge acquitted Wesley of the charge of racing Phills.After the Crash: Friends, teammates, and family remember the career, legacy, and tragic death of former Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills
. ''
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...
''. March 31, 2015. Retrieved on June 1, 2016.


References


External links


David Wesley Profile NBA
– David Wesley Player Profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley, David 1970 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from San Antonio Baylor Bears men's basketball players Boston Celtics players Charlotte Hornets players Cleveland Cavaliers players Houston Rockets players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Longview High School alumni National Basketball Association broadcasters New Jersey Nets players New Orleans Hornets announcers New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans announcers People from Longview, Texas Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from San Antonio Texas Legends coaches Undrafted National Basketball Association players Wichita Falls Texans players