Paul Murphy Shirley (born December 23, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after th ...

in the Spanish ACB. Shirley is noted for briefly maintaining an online journal (

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

) while playing for the Phoenix Suns in 2004–05. His first journal dealt with a several-day-long road trip, while the second chronicled the Suns' NBA Playoffs run. He was later the author of a blog for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

.com entitled "My So-Called Career". Shirley was signed to a non-guaranteed contract by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in early October 2006, but was cut in training camp before the start of the 2006–07 season. He finished his career in Spain, playing in the ACB for ViveMenorca and

Unicaja Malaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after th ...

. After Shirley's playing career, he wrote a column for the Spanish newspaper

El Pais EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...

, maintained a podcast (''Short Corner'') with

Justin Halpern Justin Samuel Halpern (born September 3, 1980) is the American author of the Twitter feed " Shit My Dad Says" and the best-selling book ''Sh*t My Dad Says''. He was also the co-writer and co-executive producer of a CBS television situation come ...

, and founded a writing group in Los Angeles called Writers Blok. Shirley's first book, ''Can I Keep My Jersey?'', was released in 2007. His second book, ''Stories I Tell On Dates'', came out October 17, 2017. His third book (and first novel), ''Ball Boy'', was released in February 2021.

Career

Shirley was born in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, and grew up near the small town of

Meriden, Kansas Meriden is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 744. History Meriden was founded in 1872. It was named by a pioneer settler for his former hometown of Meriden, New Hampshire. ...

. He played high school basketball at Jefferson West High School, where he was a

National Merit Finalist The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...

. Shirley worked his way from walk-on to three-year starter for the Iowa State basketball team. He was coached first by

Tim Floyd Tim Floyd (born February 25, 1954) is a former American college basketball coach, most recently the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was formerly the head coach of several teams in the NCAA and the NBA. Floyd is also k ...

(until Floyd left the Cyclones to become the head coach of 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 ...

) and then by

Larry Eustachy Larry Robert Eustachy (born December 1, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, most recently the head coach of the Colorado State Rams He was previously the head coach at Idaho and Eustachy was the AP Coach of the Year in 2000 af ...

. Notable teammates included future NBA players

Jamaal Tinsley Jamaal Lee Tinsley (born February 28, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Tinsley played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones. Following his senior year, he was draf ...

Kelvin Cato Kelvin Tavares Cato (born August 26, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Cato was an obscure player averaging six points and six rebounds at the University of South Alabama in 1992–93. At that time, he ...

, and

Marcus Fizer Darnell Marcus Lamar Fizer (born August 10, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. High school career Fizer played high school basketball at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, Louisiana. As a senior, Fizer was selected to play ...

. After winning the

Big XII The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

's regular-season conference championship, the Cyclones advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA basketball tournament during Shirley's junior season, losing to eventual champion Michigan State. At the end of Shirley's senior year, Iowa State became the fourth number-two seed to lose in the first round of the tournament. During his college career, Shirley earned three Academic All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

selections and, in his senior season, was named second-team Academic All-American. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. After college, the 6'9" Shirley played

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

for thirteen different professional teams including, in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns,

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, and the

, as well as

Panionios Athens Panionios G.S.S. (Greek: Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'', is a Greek multi-sport club founded in 1890. Originally ...

of the Greek A1 League,

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

, ViveMenorca, and

of the Spanish ACB League, and

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 202 ...

of the

Russian Super League Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

. Shirley also appeared in NBA preseason games with the Los Angeles Lakers,

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 ...

, and

, and played summer league games with the Timberwolves and

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 (NBA), Ea ...

. Shirley played a total of 18 games in the NBA from 2002 to 2005 where he averaged 1.8 points and 1.1 rebounds. His final game was during his tenure with the Phoenix Suns on April 20, 2005, in a 107–132 loss 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 ...

where he played for 4 minutes and the only stat he recorded was 1 assist. Shirley has three younger brothers, including chartmaker Matt Shirley. He appeared in the film ''

Glory Road ''Glory Road'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (July – September 1963) and published in hardcover the same year. It was nominated for ...

'' (#50 for Iowa, uncredited) and in an episode of the TBS Sitcom ''

Ground Floor A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

'' (Kevin). He also produced an unaired television pilot for Twentieth Century Fox called ''The Twelfth Man''.

Writing career

Shirley's blogs at ESPN and elsewhere contained observations on players, teams, fans, cities, sports media,

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, the game of basketball, and topics outside the athletic sphere. He commented on topics such as the

USA Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President of the United States, President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniti ...

, which he condemned as "

utting Utting am Ammersee (until 1953 just Utting) is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany. History During World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world ...

the US on a fast-track to an

Orwellian "Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by pr ...

destiny". His writing garnered attention from national sports media, as well as other outlets such as ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

,'' and by ESPN's

Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...

. Shirley's first book, ''Can I Keep My Jersey?'', was published on May 15, 2007, by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. It received positive reviews from The Onion's

AV Club Av (also Menachem Av, ; from Akkadian ''ʾAbū'' "father") is the eleventh month of the civil year and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name comes from Araḫ Abu, "month of Abu", from the Babylonian calend ...

, which noted that it "deserves a spot next to

Ball Four ''Ball Four'' is a book written by former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton (1939-2019) in 1970. The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros following a late-season trade. In ...

." A paperback version of the book was released on December 26, 2007. His second book, ''Stories I Tell On Dates'', came out October 17, 2017. A

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

of the same name followed soon after. His third book, ''Ball Boy'', was released February 2, 2021. Between 2008 and 2015, Shirley wrote a monthly column about the NBA called "Historias de un Tío Alto" (loosely: "Stories by a Tall Guy") in ''

''.

ESPN dismissal

Shirley's writings have sometimes been the cause of controversy. In a Slate.com piece with Neal Pollack, he compared rooting for the San Antonio Spurs to cheering for cancer. In a 2009 column for ESPN.com, he called the Beatles overrated, drawing the ire of fellow music critics. And in 2010, he published a blog questioning the potential efficacy of relief efforts for that year's

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

in Haiti. Afterward, he was dismissed by ESPN. The company's full statement read: "He was a part-time freelance contributor. The views he expressed on another site of course do not at all reflect our company's views on the Haiti relief efforts. He will no longer contribute to ESPN."

Statistics

Collegiate statistics

Source
Cyclones.com
an

Professional statistics

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 ...

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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References

External links

Paul Shirley NBA.com Profile

Euroleague.net Profile

ACB.com Profile (Spain)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Paul 1977 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American male bloggers American bloggers American male writers American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players from Kansas BC UNICS players Beijing Olympians players Chicago Bulls players Greek Basket League players Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball players Joventut Badalona players Kansas City Knights players Liga ACB players Menorca Bàsquet players Panionios B.C. players People from Jefferson County, Kansas Sportspeople from Johnson County, Kansas Sportspeople from Redwood City, California Basketball players from San Mateo County, California Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) Undrafted National Basketball Association players Yakima Sun Kings players