Craig Elliott "Speedy" Claxton (born May 8, 1978) is an American former 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 and the current head coach of the Hofstra University men's basketball team. Claxton won an NBA championship in 2003 as a member of the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. In 2013, he was named as a special assistant to the head coach for the

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

men's basketball program, before being hired as head coach in 2021.

College

Prior to his NBA career, Claxton played at

under future

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

coach Jay Wright. At Hofstra, Claxton led the Flying Dutchmen to the America East Championship, where they defeated the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

in the championship game at Hofstra Arena. The team was defeated in the first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament by an

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

team led by

Desmond Mason Desmond Tremaine Mason (born October 11, 1977) is an American painter and former professional basketball player. He played as a shooting guard and small forward. Mason has also found success as an artist, working in a variety of media. Currently, ...

, Claxton's future NBA teammate with the New Orleans Hornets. Claxton donated money to help build the 5,000-seat arena in which the Hofstra team plays, and his number 10 was retired by Hofstra on January 31, 2009. Claxton was inducted into the Hofstra Hall of Fame on January 29, 2011.

NBA career

Claxton was selected by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

with the 20th overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft.NBA.com Bio
His rookie-scale contract was worth four years and $4.68 million; he opted out of the fourth year to become a free agent. Claxton missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury suffered during the preseason. In 2002, Claxton was traded to the

for Mark Bryant,

Randy Holcomb Randy Alfred Holcomb Jr. (born August 8, 1979), also known as Raed Farid Elhamali, is an American-Libyan businessman and former professional basketball player. After being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2002 NBA draft, Holcomb went on ...

, and

John Salmons John Rashall Salmons (born December 12, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Miami. ...

, where he played on the Spurs' 2003 championship team as the backup to starting point guard

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

. In 2003, Claxton was signed by 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 ...

to a three-year contract worth $10 million. On February 24, 2005, Claxton and Dale Davis were traded from the Warriors to the New Orleans Hornets for

Baron Davis Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who is a studio analyst for the ''NBA on TNT''. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, and twice led the NBA in s ...

. On July 12, 2006, Claxton signed a contract worth approximately $25 million over four years with the

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 (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

. Claxton only played 44 games with the Hawks, as he was injured every year after he signed with the team. During the 2006–07 season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.4 assists per game. On June 25, 2009, Claxton and

Acie Law Acie Law IV (born January 25, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. In his four seasons at Texas A&M University, Law scored 1,653 points and was credited with 540 assists. Nicknamed "Captain Clutch" for his ability to take o ...

were traded to the Golden State Warriors for

Jamal Crawford Aaron Jamal Crawford (born March 20, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2000 to 2020. He is regarded as one of the best ball handlers in NBA history,. He was nam ...

. Claxton never reported to the Warriors and was waived by Golden State on February 6, 2010, without appearing in a game for them.

Post-playing career

Claxton served as a college scout with the

before joining the

men's basketball staff in 2013. On April 7, 2021, he was hired as head coach at Hofstra.

Personal life

Claxton's parents are from

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

. His sister, Lisa, played for the St. John's Red Storm women's basketball team. His brother Michael (M. Buckets) 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 ...

for the

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association (Football Championship Sub ...

. Claxton has two daughters, Aniya and London, with ex-wife Meeka. The couple announced their divorce in July 2014.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 67 , , 18 , , 22.8 , , .400 , , .121 , , .838 , , 2.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , align="left" ,

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

, 30 , , 0 , , 15.7 , , .462 , , .000 , , .684 , , 1.9 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Golden State , 60 , , 29 , , 26.6 , , .427 , , .182 , , .813 , , 2.6 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Golden State , 46 , , 44 , , 32.6 , , .431 , , .192 , , .761 , , 3.3 , , 6.2 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 16 , , 3 , , 22.8 , , .373 , , .111 , , .610 , , 1.9 , , 5.5 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , New Orleans/Oklahoma City , 71 , , 3 , , 28.4 , , .413 , , .270 , , .769 , , 2.7 , , 4.8 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 12.3 , - , 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 ...

, 42 , , 31 , , 25.1 , , .327 , , .214 , , .550 , , 1.9 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 7.5 , , .286 , , .000 , , .500 , , .0 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 334 , , 128 , , 25.6 , , .409 , , .193 , , .762 , , 2.5 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 9.3

Playoffs

, - , 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" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 9.8 , , .333 , , .000 , , .667 , , .2 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

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" ,

, 24 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .438 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.9 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.2 , - , 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" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 0 , , 12.6 , , .427 , , .000 , , .740 , , 1.5 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 4.6

Head coaching record

College

Notes

References

External links

NBA.com player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Speedy 1978 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York (state) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Golden State Warriors players Hofstra Pride men's basketball coaches Hofstra Pride men's basketball players New Orleans Hornets players People from Hempstead (village), New York Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Nassau County, New York 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople