Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with 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 ...

. Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, and raised in Brooklyn, New York, from the age of eight.

Playing career

College basketball

After being raised in Brooklyn, Blackman attended

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

where he played basketball under coach

Jack Hartman Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach. Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach ...

. At Kansas State, Blackman had a number of noteworthy achievements: *In 1980, he was named the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

Player of the Year and All-American. *He was a three-time unanimous All-Big Eight selection. *He was three times named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year. *He scored 1,844 career points, the second-highest total in Kansas State history. *He had a career .517 Field Goal Percentage and a .717 Free Throw Percentage. Prior to his senior season, Blackman also was selected as a starter for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

basketball team, but did not participate in the Olympics because of the U.S. Olympic boycott. He did however receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes. In his senior year Blackman led Kansas State into the West Regional of the NCAA tournament as the #8 seed. They defeated #9 seed University of San Francisco in the first round. Then KSU pulled an iconic upset of #1 seed Oregon State, 50–48, in the second round, punctuated by Blackman's game-winning jumper with three seconds left in the game. Next up was #4 seed Illinois, whom they defeated 57–52 in the semi before losing to #2 seed North Carolina 82–68 in the West Regional final. In 1996, after the Big Eight Conference expanded to the Big 12, Blackman was named to the AP all-time All-Big Eight basketball team. Blackman's number 25 jersey was retired by Kansas State February 17, 2007 in a ceremony at halftime during a game against

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. In 2015, he was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (1981–1992)

Rolando Blackman was drafted by the Mavericks in the first round (9th overall) of the

1981 NBA Draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA te ...

. He became the first Panamanian-born player in the NBA. Blackman had an immediate impact on the team, averaging 13.3 PPG in his rookie season. He was given a good amount of minutes in his career, getting around 24 minutes per game in his rookie campaign. He played well but the Mavericks weren't good until the 1983–1984 season. That was also Blackman's best statistical season as he averaged a career high 22.4 PPG and lead the franchise to its first ever playoff appearance. The Mavericks managed to beat the Seattle SuperSonics and reach the second round before ultimately losing to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. Despite putting up amazing stats, Blackman missed the all star game that year, although he did make it the following year. He would go on to be named an NBA All-Star four times in his career. At the 1987 All-Star Game, Blackman tied the game at the end of regulation with two free throws. The West team would go on to win in overtime. As for the Mavericks, they played well and even had a magical season in 1987–1988 where they managed to reach the Western Conference Finals. This appearance happened to be the franchise's first Conference Finals appearance in its history. The Mavericks made it far but fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games. After this series the Mavericks began to decline and wouldn't achieve the same amount of success until much later on in the Dirk Nowitzki era. Blackman continued to play well and averaged around 19 PPG for the next few seasons, however the Mavericks fell off in the standings. By the 1991–1992 season, Blackman was 32 years old and the Mavericks entered a stage of rebuilding. By the 1992 off-season Blackman's time with the team was finished. Blackman made 6,487 field goals with the Mavericks and scored 16,643 points, which was a franchise record for 18 years – until broken by Dirk Nowitzki on March 8, 2008. In his 865 games with the Mavericks, Blackman never fouled out of a game.

New York Knicks (1992–1994)

On June 24, 1992, Blackman was traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

for a 1995 first round pick (which became Loren Meyer). Blackman spent his final two seasons in the NBA with the

. In his last season in New York, he was reunited with former Dallas teammate Derek Harper. The team made it to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

where they lost to 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 ...

in seven games. One of Blackman's most notable games as a Knick was when he hit the game winning shot in Game 4 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, hitting a jump shot with five seconds left in the game that put the Knicks up by two. Blackman still played well in the twilight years of his career but his age was finally getting to him and his time in the NBA was over. On July 6, 1994 the Knicks waived Blackman.

Retirement from the NBA

Shortly after being released, he retired from the league. Following the 1993–94 season, he had career totals of 17,623 points, 3,278 rebounds and 2,981 assists. Blackman was NBA's all-time scoring leader among Hispanic/Latin players (born in Iberian, Latin American & Spanish-speaking countries) until March 6, 2015, when Pau Gasol overtook him. Blackman's number 22 jersey was retired by the Mavericks on March 11, 2000.

Europe

Blackman signed with the Greek League team

AEK Athens BC AEK Basketball Club ( el, ΚΑΕ ΑΕΚ ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupóleos'', "Athletic Union of Constantinople"), also known as AEK B.C. or AEK, and more commonly kno ...

in the middle of the 1994–95 season. Coached by Vlade Đurović, they finished the season in a disappointing 8th place. Over the summer of 1995, Blackman moved to Olimpia Milano, where he was brought in by head coach Bogdan Tanjević. Playing in the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

on a team including Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fučka,

Nando Gentile Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile (born 1 January 1967), is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies ...

, and Alessandro De Pol, Blackman, who turned 37 during the season, helped them win both the Italian League title and the Italian Basketball Cup by averaging 15.3 points per game. Blackman was named MVP of the Italian Cup series. Olimpia also reached the Korać Cup final, losing to Efes Pilsen Istanbul in the home-and-away series. Blackman transferred to Limoges CSP in the summer of 1996, essentially brought along by coach Tanjević who earlier signed to be the club's new head coach.

Post-playing career

In 2000, Blackman was tapped to be the defensive coordinator for the Mavericks under coach

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

. The next year, he served as an assistant coach for the

German National team German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and helped lead them to a bronze medal at the 2002 World Basketball Championships in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. During the 2004–05 season, Blackman was hired as one of the Mavericks television analysts, along with

Matt Pinto Matt Pinto is the radio voice for the Oklahoma City Thunder for WWLS-FM 98.1, the flagship station for the Thunder Radio Network. He formerly served as the radio play-by-play voice for the Seattle SuperSonics for KTTH-AM 770, the flagship station fo ...

and

Bob Ortegel Robert Frank Ortegel (born September 15, 1940 in Evanston, Illinois) was the color commentator for Dallas Mavericks television broadcasts. Ortegel had previously been head coach for Drake University Drake University is a private university in ...

. For the 2005–06 season, Blackman returned to the Mavericks' bench, serving his first season as a full-fledged assistant coach. In July 2006 he was promoted to the position of Director of Player Development. In August 2010, Blackman was hired as an assistant coach for the Turkey national basketball team by head coach Bogdan Tanjević, in advance of the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

tournament. Blackman stated that he took the job specifically to work again with Tanjević, who had been his coach in Milan. During the

2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in ...

, Blackman's former coach with the

, Pat Riley, admitted, publicly for the first time, that sitting Rolando Blackman in favor of

John Starks John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard. Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four ...

during Games 6 and 7 of the

1994 NBA Finals The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Houston Rockets played the Eastern Conference champ ...

was the biggest coaching mistake in his career, and that he has never forgiven himself for it.http://articles.nydailynews.com/2006-06-08/sports/18322204_1_knicks-pat-riley-patrick-ewing

Personal life

He has four children and resides in Dallas, Texas. Blackman is on the board of directors of the Assist Youth Foundation. The foundation's goal is to advance opportunities for underprivileged kids in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and across the globe. Blackman is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Blackman continues to contribute to his chapter, Beta Psi, as well as the Kansas State University community.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 82 , , 16 , , 24.1 , , .513 , , .250 , , .768 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 75 , , 62 , , 31.3 , , .492 , , .200 , , .780 , , 3.9 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 81 , , 81 , , 37.3 , , .546 , , .091 , , .812 , , 4.6 , , 3.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 22.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 81 , , 80 , , 35.0 , , .508 , , .300 , , .828 , , 3.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 82 , , 81 , , 34.0 , , .514 , , .138 , , .836 , , 3.5 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 21.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 80 , , 80 , , 34.5 , , .495 , , .333 , , .884 , , 3.5 , , 3.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 71 , , 69 , , 36.3 , , .473 , , .000 , , .873 , , 3.5 , , 3.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 78 , , 78 , , 37.8 , , .476 , , .353 , , .854 , , 3.5 , , 3.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 80 , , 80 , , 36.7 , , .498 , , .302 , , .844 , , 3.5 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 19.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 80 , , 80 , , 37.1 , , .482 , , .351 , , .865 , , 3.2 , , 3.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 19.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 75 , , 74 , , 33.7 , , .461 , , .385 , , .898 , , 3.2 , , 2.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 60 , , 33 , , 23.9 , , .443 , , .425 , , .789 , , 1.7 , , 2.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 1 , , 17.6 , , .436 , , .357 , , .906 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 7.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 980 , , 815 , , 32.7 , , .493 , , .343 , , .840 , , 3.3 , , 3.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 18.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 4 , , 0 , , 22.0 , , .592 , , – , , .813 , , 3.3 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 17.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 10, , –, , 39.7, , .531, , –, , .841, , 4.1, , 4.0, , 0.6, , 0.4, , 23.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 4, , 4, , 42.3, , .511, , .500, , .947, , 6.5, , 4.8, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 32.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 10, , 10, , 37.1, , .497, , .000, , .792, , 3.5, , 3.2, , 0.8, , 0.1, , 20.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 4, , 4, , 38.3, , .493, , .000, , .917, , 3.5, , 4.3, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 23.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 17, , 17, , 39.5, , .483, , .000, , .887, , 3.2, , 4.5, , 0.9, , 0.2, , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 3, , 3, , 42.3, , .444, , .400, , 1.000, , 3.0, , 4.3, , 2.0, , 0.7, , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 15, , 0, , 14.3, , .344, , .267, , .833, , 1.1, , 1.1, , 0.2, , 0.1, , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6, , 0, , 5.7, , .273, , .500, , –, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 38 , , 31.0 , , .484 , , .290 , , .869 , , 2.9 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 16.1

Notes

External links

NBA.com: Rolando Blackman

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackman, Rolando 1959 births Living people AEK B.C. players African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Panamanian descent College basketball announcers in the United States Congressional Gold Medal recipients Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players Limoges CSP players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players from Panama National Basketball Association players with retired numbers New York Knicks players Olimpia Milano players Panamanian emigrants to the United States Panamanian men's basketball players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Brooklyn Sportspeople from Panama City 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople