Matthew Patrick Maloney (born December 6, 1971) 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 who played seven 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 St ...

(NBA).

Early years

Maloney was born in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ce ...

, but grew up in

Haddonfield, New Jersey :''Not the fictional Illinois town from the Halloween film series.'' Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593,

College career

Maloney began his basketball career at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, transferring after his freshman year to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and played three seasons as a Penn Quaker. During Maloney's three seasons as a Penn Quaker, the team went 42–0 in the Ivy League with him as a starting guard, including three Ivy League championships and subsequently three bids to the NCAA tournament. The Penn Quakers went 69–14 during Maloney's career. He was also a three-time first-team All-Ivy selection, and was the Ivy League's Player of the Year his senior season. Maloney holds several Quaker records, including a 37-point game (sophomore year vs. American; tied for fourth-best single game scoring performance in program history), 91 three-pointers made in single season (second all-time, 1992–93), 44.4% three-pointer field goal percentage (fifth all-time, 1992–93), 89.7% free throw percentage (61 of 68, first all-time, 1993–94), and 62 steals in a single season (fourth all time, 1993–94). In the Philadelphia Big 5, Maloney was a two-time first-team All-Big 5 selection (1992–93 and 1994–95). Maloney was second-team All-Big 5 selection in 1993–94.

Professional career

Never drafted by a

team, he spent time in the CBA before finding playing time with three clubs in the former competition over the course of six seasons. Maloney played with the Houston Rockets from 1996 to 1999,Maloney expects to sign with Houston
; Daily Pennsylvanian, September 5, 1996 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 ...

during 1999–2000 and 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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

for the 2000–01 and 2002–03 seasons. He is notable for his rookie season when the two players in front of him on the depth chart had season ending injuries and Maloney was able to start all 82

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...

games at point guard for a Rockets squad with future Hall of Famers

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

, and Hakeem Olajuwon. The club won 57 games, eventually losing to 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), ...

in six games in the Western Conference Finals during the 1997 playoffs. Maloney's father, Jim, a longtime assistant coach for John Chaney at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

, died only months before Maloney began playing for his first NBA team. During his career he appeared in 21 playoff games and scored a total of 177 points, achieving a career-high 26 points twice during the 1997 playoffs.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maloney, Matt 1971 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Maryland Basketball players from New Jersey Chicago Bulls players Grand Rapids Mackers players Haddonfield Memorial High School alumni Houston Rockets players Penn Quakers men's basketball players People from Haddonfield, New Jersey People from Silver Spring, Maryland Point guards Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Maryland Undrafted National Basketball Association players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players