Walter Berry (born May 14, 1964) 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. After spending three 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), he had a very successful career in various leagues around Europe and the
EuroLeague. Berry played the
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 ...
position. Out of New York, Berry was originally nicknamed "The Truth."
College career
Berry 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 his hometown college,
St. John's University, with the then called
St. John's Redmen. At St. John's he won the
John Wooden Award
The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...
, the
Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year award, plus the
USBWA College Player of the Year
The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the outstanding men's college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The trophy is considered to be the oldest of its kind and has been given out since 195 ...
award in 1986, after averaging 23 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Berry, nicknamed, "The Truth", was also the second leading scorer on St. John's
1985 Final Four team.
Professional career
NBA
Berry was selected by the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
with the 14th overall pick in the
1986 NBA draft. He only played 7 games for the Blazers before he was traded to 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 exchange for
Kevin Duckworth
Kevin Jerome Duckworth (April 1, 1964 – August 25, 2008) was an American professional basketball player who played as center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of Illinois, he played college basketball at Eastern Illinois U ...
. He spent three seasons in the
NBA
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 St ...
, from 1986 to 1989, with the Trail Blazers, Spurs,
New Jersey Nets
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
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 ...
. However, he did not get along with some of his coaches, including
Larry Brown, while with the San Antonio Spurs. He was released by the New Jersey Nets, after failure to conform to team policy.
Unhappy Berry Is Waived By nets.
/ref> He holds NBA career averages of 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Europe
In 1989, Berry went to Italy, where he played for Italian LBA League club Paini Napoli. After that, he spent much of his career playing in Greece, in the Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
and the EuroLeague, where he forged a reputation as one of the most savvy scorers, with a wide variety of shots and ways of scoring.
Later career
Berry would continue to play basketball for Jayson Williams
Jayson Williams (born February 22, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New Jersey Nets. He played his first three seasons with the ...
' NBA Charity Team. He joined Jayson Williams at the 2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
in Salt Lake City, where Williams' NBA charity team played exhibition game
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
s.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-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 ...
, 7 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .750 , , – , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.9
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-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 ...
, 56 , , 45 , , 28.0 , , .529 , , .000 , , .648 , , 5.4 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 17.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-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 ...
, 73 , , 56 , , 26.3 , , .563 , , – , , .600 , , 5.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.9 , , 17.4
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, 29 , , 17 , , 19.2 , , .468 , , – , , .683 , , 4.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 8.9
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 40 , , 14 , , 20.0 , , .541 , , .500 , , .713 , , 3.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , 8.8
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 205 , , 132 , , 23.7 , , .539 , , .200 , , .638 , , 4.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 14.1
Playoffs
, -
, 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;", 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 ...
, 3, , 0, , 31.3, , .540, , .000, , .800, , 7.0, , 2.0, , 1.7, , 0.7, , 22.0
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, style="text-align:left;", Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, 4, , 0, , 14.3, , .500, , –, , .875, , 2.3, , 1.3, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 8.3
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 7 , , 0 , , 21.6 , , .526 , , .000 , , .826 , , 4.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 14.1
References
External links
FIBA EuroLeague Profile
Italian League Profile
Spanish League Profile
Greek League Profile
* 198
Oscar Robertson Trophy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Walter
1964 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
All-American college men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American expatriate basketball people in Slovenia
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from New York City
Aris B.C. players
Houston Rockets players
Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players
Liga ACB players
Makedonikos B.C. players
New Jersey Nets players
Olympiacos B.C. players
Pallacanestro Cantù players
Panteras de Miranda players
P.A.O.K. BC players
People from East Harlem
Portland Trail Blazers draft picks
Portland Trail Blazers players
Power forwards (basketball)
San Antonio Spurs players
San Jacinto Central Ravens men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Manhattan
St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople