Bryon Demetrise Russell (born December 31, 1970) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. During a

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 St ...

(NBA) career that spanned from 1993 to 2006, he played for the Denver Nuggets,

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

and Los Angeles Lakers and was a key member of the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, helping them reach back-to-back NBA finals appearances in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. Russell also played for the Hollywood Fame and Long Beach Breakers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He finished his career with the

Los Angeles Lightning The Los Angeles Lightning was a professional basketball team in the Independent Basketball Association (IBA). The Lightning was owned by Mark Harwell, an entertainment industry executive, and played at the Gilbert Sports Arena on the campus of Cal ...

of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The I ...

(IBA), winning a championship in 2009.

NBA career

After playing three years of

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 ...

with Long Beach State University, Russell was drafted forty-fifth overall in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Hou ...

by the Utah Jazz. From 1997 to 2000, he played in every regular-season game. He went to back-to-back NBA Finals with the Jazz in 1997 and 1998, but lost to the Chicago Bulls. Russell had his best season with the Jazz in the 1999–2000 season, when he averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. After playing nine seasons for the Jazz, Russell signed with the Washington Wizards as a free agent for the 2002–2003 season. Russell then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent for the 2003–2004 season and made it to the

2004 NBA Finals The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion ...

but lost to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. He then signed with the Denver Nuggets as a free agent and played with them from 2004 to 2006. He was a part of the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

roster for a brief time in 2006 after being traded by the Nuggets but never appeared in a game for them. Russell's alma mater, Long Beach State University, retired his jersey in 2010.

Russell and Michael Jordan

Russell is best remembered for guarding Michael Jordan at the end of

Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals was a professional basketball game that was played on June 14, 1998 between the visiting Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, now known as Vivint Arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game is widely cit ...

. Jordan made the game-winning shot over Russell, although many fans believe Jordan pushed off Russell during the play. The referees did not call a foul on the play, and Russell later remarked, "Whether he pushed off or not, he was making that shot." He and Jordan were teammates when they played for the Washington Wizards during the

2002–03 NBA season The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. This would be Michael Jordan's last season in the NBA ...

, which was Jordan's last. In 2009, Jordan mentioned Russell in his Hall of Fame induction speech, recalling an interaction they had during Jordan's first retirement in 1994: " this time, I had no thoughts of coming back and playing the game of basketball. Bryon Russell came over to me and said, 'Why did you quit? You know I could guard you.' ... From this day forward, if I ever see ussellin shorts, I'm coming at him." In response, Russell challenged Jordan to a game of one-on-one for charity. Such a match-up has not yet taken place, though the Utah Flash of the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

did stage a halftime game between Russell and a Jordan look-alike.ESP
D-League owner offers refunds to fans
"Associated Press". December 8, 2009. Retrieved on August 17, 2021

Career statistics

NBA statistics

Regular season

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

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 67 , , 48 , , 16.7 , , .484 , , .091 , , .614 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , 15 , , 13.7 , , .437 , , .295 , , .667 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .8 , , .2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 9 , , 9.8 , , .394 , , .350 , , .716 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 31.2 , , .479 , , .409 , , .701 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 7 , , 27.1 , , .430 , , .341 , , .766 , , 4.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 50 , , 35.4 , , .464 , , .354 , , .795 , , 5.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 70 , , 35.4 , , .446 , , .396 , , .750 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 46 , , 31.7 , , .440 , , .413 , , .779 , , 4.2 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 40 , , 30.3 , , .380 , , .341 , , .821 , , 4.5 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 70 , , 23 , , 19.8 , , .353 , , .329 , , .768 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. 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 ...

, 72 , , 1 , , 13.1 , , .402 , , .384 , , .769 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 70 , , 2 , , 14.7 , , .377 , , .376 , , .792 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , ... , , ... , , ... , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 841 , , 392 , , 23.5 , , .431 , , .369 , , .750 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - class=sortbottom

Playoff statistics

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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 sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .400 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

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

, 2 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .571 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 0 , , 25.5 , , .468 , , .472 , , .816 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 20 , , 20 , , 37.9 , , .461 , , .356 , , .721 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 20 , , 13 , , 34.9 , , .469 , , .365 , , .716 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

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

, 11 , , 11 , , 35.2 , , .426 , , .250 , , .722 , , 6.1 , , 1.2 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

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

, 10 , , 10 , , 37.1 , , .421 , , .289 , , .756 , , 5.4 , , 2.1 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 42.8 , , .446 , , .455 , , .917 , , 7.2 , , 3.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 30.0 , , .250 , , .400 , , 1.000 , , 4.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , ... , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 105 , , 63 , , 29.3 , , .440 , , .365 , , .759 , , 4.2 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 9.9 , -

References

External links

* *
Greatest NBA clutch shots
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Bryon 1970 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Denver Nuggets players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers players Small forwards Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Washington Wizards players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople