Jeffrey Douglas Foster (born January 16, 1977) is a former American 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 spent the entirety of his 13-year career with the Indiana Pacers of the NBA.

Early life and college

Foster was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and graduated from James Madison High School in San Antonio in 1995. In senior year, he joined the varsity basketball team in high school. He attended

Southwest Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

and finished college nine credits short of a degree in finance. With the Southwest Texas State Bobcats, Foster averaged 12.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in his junior season and was part of the All-

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

Second-Team in 1998.

NBA career

He was selected 21st overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1999 NBA Draft out of

, but his draft rights were immediately traded to the Pacers in exchange for Vonteego Cummings and a future first-round draft pick. Foster was part of the Pacers' 1999–2000 Eastern Conference championship team, though he played only 19 games that year as he was fourth on the Pacers' depth chart at center behind

Rik Smits Rik Smits (born 23 August 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The center was drafted by the ...

Sam Perkins Samuel Bruce Perkins (born June 14, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Perkins was a three-time college All-American, was a member of the 1982 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels, and won a gold me ...

and Zan Tabak. In his second season, he played in 71 games, gaining a spot in the rotation as the Pacers rebuilt for the future. He averaged 3.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while averaging only 16.2 minutes per contest. Foster began the 2001–02 season as the starter, and started 48 games that year before Brad Miller was acquired in a trade with the

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

. Nevertheless, Foster played in all 82 games for the first time in his career, averaging 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Miller remained the Pacers' starting center throughout the 2002–03 season, and as such Foster was relegated back to the bench, and he produced his lowest point total yet of his career (2.1 ppg) and grabbed only 3.6 rebounds per game. Before the 2003–04 season, Brad Miller was traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, and newly acquired

Scot Pollard The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

began as the starting center. But Foster distinguished himself in the Pacers' season opener against the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

and his play, combined with Pollard's poor play, meant a return to the starting line-up for Foster. The energetic, hard-working center became an important rebounding presence for the Pacers, and his offensive rebounds, in particular, combined with well-timed tip-ins, finally endeared himself to Indiana fans. Jeff Foster 2008

Foster sustained a back injury in December 2009 and underwent surgery on February 16, 2010. Foster announced his retirement on March 21, 2012. He cited chronic back issues as the reason for his departure from the game. At the time of his retirement, Foster ranked 8th all-time in total rebound rate and 4th all-time in offensive rebound rate."Jeff Foster, a True Indiana Pacer Great, Retires
. ''Eight Points, Nine Seconds''. TrueHoop Network, March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 19 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .565 , , .000 , , .680 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 71 , , 9 , , 16.2 , , .469 , , .286 , , .516 , , 5.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .4 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 48 , , 21.8 , , .449 , , .133 , , .610 , , 6.8 , , .9 , , .9 , , .5 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 2 , , 10.4 , , .360 , , .000 , , .540 , , 3.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , .3 , , 2.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 79 , , 23.9 , , .544 , , .000 , , .669 , , 7.4 , , .8 , , .9 , , .3 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 61 , , 43 , , 26.1 , , .519 , , .000 , , .634 , , 9.0 , , .7 , , .8 , , .2 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 63 , , 37 , , 25.1 , , .552 , , .000 , , .604 , , 9.1 , , .8 , , .7 , , .4 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 75 , , 43 , , 23.2 , , .469 , , .000 , , .639 , , 8.1 , , .8 , , .8 , , .5 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 52 , , 24.5 , , .550 , , .000 , , .593 , , 8.7 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .4 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 26 , , 24.7 , , .501 , , .286 , , .658 , , 6.9 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .7 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 16 , , 3 , , 15.9 , , .478 , , .000 , , .556 , , 5.1, , 1.3 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 56 , , 3 , , 16.8 , , .479 , , .000 , , .563 , , 6.3 , , .8 , , .4 , , .6 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 11 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .667 , , 3.8 , , .4 , , .7 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 764 , , 345 , , 20.6 , , .497 , , .130 , , .615 , , 6.9 , , .9 , , .7 , , .4 , , 4.9

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 2001 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 2 , , 13.0 , , .444 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .8 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , 2002 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 15.6 , , .538 , , .500 , , .444 , , 4.8 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 2003 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .545 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .5 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 2004 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , 13 , , 19.2 , , .581 , , .000 , , .800 , , 6.6 , , .8 , , .8 , , .3 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 2005 , align="left" ,

, 13 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .596 , , .000 , , .714 , , 7.4 , , .4 , , .5 , , .9 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , 2006 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 20.0 , , .364 , , .000 , , .750 , , 6.0 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" , 2011 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 18.6 , , .583 , , .000 , , .375 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .4 , , .8 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 53 , , 19 , , 16.8 , , .556 , , .400 , , .661 , , 5.5 , , .7 , , .5 , , .5 , , 3.9

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Jeff 1977 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Antonio Centers (basketball) Golden State Warriors draft picks Indiana Pacers players Power forwards (basketball) Texas State Bobcats men's basketball players