William Edward Perdue III (born August 29, 1965) 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 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 was a member of four
NBA championship
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 ...
teams, three with 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 1 ...
(1991–1993) and one with 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 ( ...
(1999). Perdue is now a
Studio analyst for
NBC Sports Chicago
NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is an American regional sports network that broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports- ...
during their pre-game and post-game
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 1 ...
broadcasts.
Biography
Perdue attended
Merritt Island High School
Merritt Island High School is a public high school located in Merritt Island, Florida. It was built in 1965.
Principals
#Robert Bruton: 1965 - 1983
#Hank Smith: 1983 - 1999
#David M. Piccolo: 2000 - 2002
#Gary Shiffrin: 2002 - 2013
#Dr. Karyle G ...
in
Merritt Island, Florida
Merritt Island is a peninsula, commonly referred to as an island, in Brevard County, Florida, United States, located on the eastern Floridian coast, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the name of an unincorporated town in the central and so ...
College
He 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
Vanderbilt Commodores
The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...
, where he was named a third-team
All-American and named the
Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and SEC Male Athlete of the Year in 1988.
Professional career
He was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 11th overall pick in the
1988 NBA draft. The Bulls won three championships from 1991–1993 during Perdue's career. Perdue was mainly a backup to center
Bill Cartwright
James William Cartwright (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and a former head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 7'1" (2.16 m) center, he played 16 seasons for the N ...
. He became a regular starter during the
1994–95 NBA season
The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Orlando Magic 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions.
Notable occurrences
*The Hou ...
, during which he averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
The emergence of
Luc Longley
Lucien James Longley (born 19 January 1969) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player. He was the first Australian to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons. Long ...
made him expendable, and before the next season's training camp, the Bulls traded him 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 ( ...
for
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...
. The Spurs won the NBA championship in 1999, Perdue's fourth.
[Will Perdue bio]
. NBA.com. Retrieved on April 21, 2009.
In August 1999, Perdue rejoined the Bulls as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. He started 15 of 67 games for them in 1999–2000, averaging 2.5 points and 3.9 rebounds. After the 1999–2000 season, Perdue left Chicago and signed with 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 ...
, where he averaged 1.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 4.5 minutes in 13 games.
[ He averaged 4.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over a thirteen-year career.Will Perdue statistics]
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on April 21, 2009.
References
External links
at basketball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perdue, Will
1965 births
Living people
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Florida
Centers (basketball)
Chicago Bulls draft picks
Chicago Bulls players
College basketball announcers in the United States
National Basketball Association broadcasters
People from Melbourne, Florida
Portland Trail Blazers players
San Antonio Spurs players
Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players