Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez
/ref> () (born July 11, 1976) is a Mexican former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who is currently a scout for the Dallas Mavericks 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 St ...

(NBA). He is also a pregame and postgame analyst on Mavericks Live on

Fox Sports Southwest Bally Sports Southwest is a Texan regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group (a joint-venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios), and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional c ...

, where he is identified as Eddie. Before being promoted to a scout with the Mavs, he was head coach of the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

of 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 ...

Personal information

Nájera was only the second Mexican-born NBA player (

Horacio Llamas Horacio Llamas Grey (born July 17, 1973) is a Mexican former professional basketball player. He played two seasons with the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), becoming the first Mexican-born player in NBA history. Early y ...

was the first) and was the first Mexican player to be drafted. He is the son of Servando Nájera and Rosa Irene Pérez.

College basketball

Nájera 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 the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, United States, from 1997 to 2000, becoming a major star there. He helped the team to four consecutive

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament appearances during his college career, as well as finishing in the school's all-time top ten in nine statistical categories. Before being drafted into the NBA in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Nájera received rave reviews from scouts, who boasted on Nájera's quick first step and extraordinary rebounding ability. He is only the second Mexican-born player to join the NBA.NBA.com: Eduardo Najera Bio Page
He was the first

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

player to be drafted into the NBA (

being undrafted). Nájera played for the Mexican team in the 1997 World University Games and helped them achieve a fourth-place finish in the 1999 World University Games.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (2000–2004)

He saw significant action as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000–01 and 2001–02, but recurrent knee injuries limited his action in his last two years in Dallas. He coached at the first-ever

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Americas tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the 2004 NBA Summer of Goodwill.

Golden State Warriors (2004–2005)

On August 24, 2004, Nájera was traded along with Luis Flores,

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

, Mladen Sekularac, cash, a 2007 first round draft pick, and another future first round draft pick to 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 ...

in exchange for

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

Dan Dickau Daniel David Dickau (born September 16, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as an on-air broadcaster for ESPN, the Pac-12 Network, CBS Sports Network and Westwood One. He is also a co-host of the ''Dick ...

Evan Eschmeyer Evan Bruce Eschmeyer (born May 30, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the second round (34th pick overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft. He spent six years on the Northwestern Univers ...

, and Steve Logan. In Golden State, Najera again put in modest minutes and was a solid contributor.

Denver Nuggets (2005–2008)

On February 24, 2005, Nájera was then sent to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

along with Luis Flores and a future first round pick in exchange for

Nikoloz Tskitishvili Nikoloz Tskitishvili ( ka, ნიკოლოზ ცქიტიშვილი; born April 14, 1983) is a Georgian former professional basketball player. He is a 7'0" forward-center, who was selected fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the ...

and

Rodney White Rodney Charles White (born June 28, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, White played college basketball at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was named the nationa ...

, where he would have some of his most productive seasons as an NBA player. Also in 2006, an exhibition match was played in

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, between the

and the

. On April 27, 2006, Nájera started his first playoff game for the Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round series facing the

Los Angeles 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 ...

. He replaced

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los An ...

who was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team". He was partly involved in the December 2006

Knicks–Nuggets brawl The Knicks–Nuggets brawl was an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, December 16, 2006. This altercation beca ...

. While not involved in the actual fighting, he did try to separate the players. He was ejected from the game for leaving the bench.

New Jersey Nets (2008–2010)

On July 11, 2008, Nájera signed a contract 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, ...

for 4 years $12 million. He stated that he would make it a point to turn the Nets' young forwards

Yi Jianlian Yi Jianlian ( ; born October 27, 1987) is a Chinese professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He has also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwauk ...

and Ryan Anderson and center

Brook Lopez Brook Robert Lopez (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played two years of college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal. Lopez was selecte ...

into stronger, tougher players. Nájera turned down more money and a chance to return to his college state,

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. He also turned down an offer from the

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, ...

in order to take a chance to lead a young and talented New Orleans team.

Return to Dallas (2010–2011)

On January 11, 2010, Nájera was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for

Kris Humphries Kristopher Nathan Humphries (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, New Je ...

and

Shawne Williams Shawne Brian Williams (born February 16, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis before being selected 17th overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. High ...

Charlotte Bobcats (2010–2012)

On July 13, 2010, Nájera was traded to the

Charlotte Bobcats 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 populous ...

along with

and Matt Carroll in exchange for

Tyson Chandler Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Chandler was drafted directly out of high school as the second overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, then w ...

and Alexis Ajinça. Nájera's final NBA game ever was played on April 6th, 2012 in a 90–95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks where he only played for two minutes and recorded no stats, suffering a career-ending facial injury.

Coaching career

In 2012, after he retired as a player, Nájera became head coach of the

. Prior to the 2015–16 season, Texas replaced him with his assistant coach,

Nick Van Exel Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA teams from 1 ...

Off the court

In 2000, Eduardo Nájera was named Third Team All-American by both the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

, being the first Mexican-born to be named so. In 2000, Nájera graduated from the

with a degree in sociology. In the same year, he received the

Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award The Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award was presented to a men's college basketball player who was a senior and who had demonstrated strong personal character both on and off the court, similar to the fictional Chip Hilton character depicted by Ha ...

from the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

, an award given to a player who has demonstrated personal character both on and off the court. In 2001, Nájera served as the

United Nations Drug Control Programme The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

Goodwill Ambassador for Sports Against Drugs. In 2004, he established the ''Eduardo Najera Foundation for Latino Achievement'', which provides college scholarships for outstanding Latino students facing barriers to their educations, and in 2006, he received the Chopper Travaglini Award for demonstrating outstanding charity work in the Denver community.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 40 , , 4 , , 10.8 , , .523 , , .333 , , .424 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 11 , , 21.9 , , .500 , , .000 , , .676 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .9 , , .5 , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 48 , , 12 , , 23.0 , , .558 , , .000 , , .681 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 58 , , 7 , , 12.4 , , .444 , , .500 , , .652 , , 2.7 , , .4 , , .6 , , .3 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Golden State , 42 , , 4 , , 14.5 , , .407 , , .400 , , .644 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 26 , , 0 , , 22.1 , , .500 , , .000 , , .630 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 64 , , 3 , , 22.6 , , .422 , , .333 , , .781 , , 5.1 , , .8 , , .8 , , .5 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 75 , , 36 , , 22.1 , , .576 , , .083 , , .715 , , 4.1 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 3 , , 21.3 , , .473 , , .361 , , .708 , , 4.3 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .5 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 27 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .446 , , .200 , , .364 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 13 , , 2 , , 15.7 , , .377 , , .176 , , .500 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 3 , , 14.6 , , .452 , , .340 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , .5 , , .4 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, 31 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .361 , , .324 , , .545 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 22 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .375 , , .276 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 619 , , 85 , , 18.1 , , .481 , , .311 , , .671 , , 3.7 , , .8 , , .7 , , .4 , , 4.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, align="left" ,

, 7 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .529 , , .750 , , .000 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 3.0 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 4 , , 15.3 , , .696 , , .000 , , .625 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .4 , , .0 , , 4.6 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 19 , , 5 , , 20.7 , , .453 , , .000 , , .792 , , 3.9 , , .8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .455 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.4 , , .6 , , .6 , , .4 , , 2.4 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , align="left" ,

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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 3 , , 22.3 , , .214 , , .000 , , .500 , , 3.8 , , .5 , , .8 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 19.2 , , .235 , , .000 , , .500 , , 5.6 , , .4 , , .4 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 19.5 , , .500 , , .400 , , .000 , , 3.3 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , 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 ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .250 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , .4 , , .0 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 59 , , 12 , , 15.7 , , .443 , , .294 , , .750 , , 3.2 , , .5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.8

Career highs

*Points: 19: 2 times *Rebounds: 15: vs. Houston 04/11/02 *Assists: 7: @ Milwaukee 01/09/09 *Steals: 6: 2 times *Blocks: 4: vs. Seattle 12/29/05

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Najera, Eduardo 1976 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Basketball players from Chihuahua Charlotte Bobcats players Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets draft picks Mexican men's basketball players National Basketball Association players from México Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican expatriate basketball people in the United States New Jersey Nets players Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Small forwards Texas Legends coaches Dallas Mavericks scouts