Joel Przybilla (; born October 10, 1979) is an American retired 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 the center position for 13 seasons 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).

High school career

Przybilla was born in Monticello, Minnesota, and attended Monticello High School, where he was coached by Max LaVelle of the Monticello Magic. He was named 1998

Minnesota Mr. Basketball Minnesota Mr. Basketball is an annual award recognizing excellence in Minnesota boys' high school basketball. The female equivalent is Minnesota Miss Basketball. The award's legitimacy was challenged in February 2017 when Henry Sibley, Minnesota h ...

, along with Darius Lane. He was also named to USA Today's All-USA second team and earned Parade All-American honors, and was a two-time Associated Press Minnesota Player of the Year honoree.

College career

Przybilla spent two years at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and left as second on the Golden Gophers' all-time single-season list with 84 blocks. He finished his sophomore season first in the Big Ten in field goal percentage, second in blocks and third in rebounding.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 28 , , , , 25.5 , , .560 , , .000 , , .577 , , 5.8 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–2000 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 21 , , , , 30.4 , , .613 , , .000 , , .495 , , 8.4 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , 3.9 , , 14.2 , -

NBA career

Przybilla was selected with the 9th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft by 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 ho ...

, but was later traded to the

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 ...

for their first-round pick,

Jason Collier Jason Jeffrey Collier (September 8, 1977 – October 15, 2005) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school career Collier led Catholic Central High School of his hometown Spring ...

, and a future first-round pick on draft night. After playing for the Bucks for over three seasons, on February 15, 2004, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade. On August 25, 2004, Przybilla signed a two-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. He made an immediate impact averaging 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in the

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, i ...

. On July 17, 2006, he re-signed with the Trail Blazers to a reported five-year, $32 million contract.Pistons Quickly Plug a Hole in the Middle With Mohammed
/ref> Bill Duffy, Przybilla's agent, explained his reasons for re-signing with the Blazers this way: "He's extremely loyal, and they gave him an opportunity two years ago when no one else did." On March 22, 2008, Przybilla recorded a career-high 25 rebounds, two shy of the franchise record overall and one shy of the franchise record in a regulation game. On January 2, 2009, he was fined $7,500 and assessed a flagrant foul for striking Tyson Chandler. In a game against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

on December 22, 2009, he suffered a ruptured patella tendon as well as a dislocated patella after landing awkwardly on his right knee. Two days later, he had surgery to repair the tear in the tendon and missed the rest of the 2009–10 season. On February 24, 2011, Przybilla was traded, along with Dante Cunningham,

Sean Marks Sean Andrew Marks (born 23 August 1975) is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager and alternate owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the firs ...

and two future first-round draft picks, 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 ...

in exchange for

Gerald Wallace Gerald Jermaine Wallace (born July 23, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Crash", he was named an NBA All-Star and voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team while with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010. He played ...

. On February 27, 2012, Przybilla re-signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. On August 9, 2012, Przybilla signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom he began his NBA career. His final NBA game was played on February 11, 2013, in a 90 - 102 loss to the Washington Wizards where he recorded only 3 rebounds in under 5 minutes of playing time. On August 25, 2014, Przybilla officially retired from the NBA after sitting out the entire 2013–14 season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 is ...

, 33 , , 13 , , 8.2 , , .343 , , – , , .273 , , 2.2 , , .1 , , .1 , , .9 , , .8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 71 , , 62 , , 15.9 , , .535 , , .000 , , .422 , , 4.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.7 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 17 , , 17.1 , , .391 , , – , , .500 , , 4.5 , , .4 , , .3 , , 1.4 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .000 , , – , , .500 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , .2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 12 , , 12 , , 26.2 , , .360 , , – , , .414 , , 8.4 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 76 , , 50 , , 24.4 , , .598 , , – , , .517 , , 7.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 2.1 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 56 , , 52 , , 24.9 , , .548 , , – , , .532 , , 7.0 , , .8 , , .4 , , 2.3 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 43 , , 43 , , 16.3 , , .474 , , – , , .370 , , 3.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 1.6 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 67 , , 23.6 , , .576 , , .000 , , .680 , , 8.4 , , .4 , , .2 , , 1.2 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 43 , , 23.8 , , .625 , , .000 , , .663 , , 8.7 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.2 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 9 , , 22.7 , , .523 , , – , , .647 , , 7.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.4 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 31 , , 9 , , 14.4 , , .618 , , – , , .565 , , 3.9 , , .4 , , .2 , , .5 , , 1.8 , - , 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 ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .400 , , – , , .250 , , 4.8 , , .0 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 19 , , 16.6 , , .458 , , – , , .611 , , 5.1 , , .2 , , .2 , , .6 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 1 , , 5.7 , , .250 , , – , , .000 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , .2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 592 , , 397 , , 19.8 , , .552 , , .000 , , .557 , , 6.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , 1.4 , , 3.9

Playoffs

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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 ...

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, 1 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .000 , , – , , – , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , 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 ...

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, 4 , , 3 , , 8.3 , , 1.000 , , – , , – , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .0 , , .5 , , .5 , - , align="left" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 27.0 , , .556 , , – , , .500 , , 7.3 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 2.0 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 11 , , 9 , , 17.9 , , .579 , , – , , .500 , , 4.9 , , .8 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 2.3

Personal life

Przybilla was born the third of four children of Doug, an American Express employee, and Linda Przybilla, a middle school teacher's assistant. He is of German (maternally) and Polish descent. He and his wife, Noelle, have two sons, Anthony and Jayden.

References

External links

NBA.com ProfilePrzybilla — IPrzybilla — II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Przybilla, Joel Living people 1979 births American men's basketball players American people of German descent American people of Polish descent Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Minnesota Charlotte Bobcats players Centers (basketball) Houston Rockets draft picks McDonald's High School All-Americans Milwaukee Bucks players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Wright County, Minnesota Portland Trail Blazers players Sportspeople from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area