Melvin Anderson Ely (; born May 2, 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who used to be an assistant coach for the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The fr ...

of the

NBA G League 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 De ...

. A 6'10", ,

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 ...

–

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from

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, Ely was drafted by the

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in the first round (12th overall pick) of the 2002 NBA draft. At Fresno State, he enjoyed a prolific career under the coaching of

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Rebe ...

High school career

While attending Harvey Thornton High School, Ely earned All-American honors from

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and Parade. As a senior in 1997, he averaged 15.5 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game and 5.2 blocked shots per game during the regular season and was named the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

player of the year and first team all-state. Ely led his Wildcats to a second-place finish in 1995 and 1996 and third-place in 1997. During Ely's 3 years as a starter, Thornton Township posted a combined record of 93 wins and 4 losses, including marks of 32–1 in 1997, 31–1 in 1996 and 30–2 in 1995. In 2007, Ely was voted one of the "

100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) celebrated 100 years of the IHSA State Tournament in the 2006-07 season. A list of "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament" was assembled on December 14, 2005. Throughout the state, 281 ind ...

", recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament.

College career

Under the guidance of coach

, Ely led the Bulldogs to two NCAA tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001. He also won the WAC Player of the Year award in two consecutive seasons in 2001 and 2002.

Professional career

After two seasons in Los Angeles with limited playing time, Ely was traded by the Clippers along with teammate

Eddie House Edward Lee House II (born May 14, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. A guard known for his three-point shooting, House played for nine NBA teams in 11 seasons in the league. He was a member of the Boston Celtics team that ...

on July 14, 2004, to the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

for two second-round draft picks in 2005 and 2006. During the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Ely rejuvenated his career as a prominent reserve role player. On October 2, 2006, he rejected offers from the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns to sign a one-year, $3 million contract to remain with the Bobcats. On February 13, 2007, 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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in exchange for forward

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October ...

and a second-round draft pick in 2009. He played only 6 games for the Spurs, averaging 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He did not play for the Spurs in the playoffs yet he still won the championship ring. In the 2007 off-season, Ely signed with the

New Orleans Hornets 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 ...

. It was formally announced on September 12 that it was a two-year contract. In 2012, Ely signed with the Brujos de Guayama of Puerto Rico. On October 27, 2012, Ely signed with the Dallas Mavericks along with guard Chris Douglas-Roberts. He and Douglas-Roberts were waived the next day. On November 1, 2012, he was acquired by the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado ...

of the

NBA D-League 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 ...

. In September 2013, Ely signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. However, he was waived on October 26. In November 2013, he was re-acquired by the Texas Legends. On February 3, 2014, Ely was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On April 14, 2014, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans for the rest of the season. Ely's final NBA game was April 16, 2014 in a 105 - 100 win over the Houston Rockets where he recorded 4 points and 1 block. On July 15, 2014, he was traded to the

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 ...

. On July 30, 2014, he was waived by the Wizards. In September 2014, Ely signed a one-year deal with the Gunma Crane Thunders of the Japanese bj league. On November 2, 2017, Ely was Inducted in to the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame with some of his 2005 Fresno State teammates in attendance.

Coaching career

On August 23, 2015, Ely was hired to join Martin Knezevic's staff in the newly-formed AmeriLeague in Las Vegas (league folded prior to the season). On September 27, 2016, he was hired by the

to serve as an assistant coach.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 52 , , 7 , , 15.4 , , .495 , , .000 , , .703 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , .6 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 42 , , 2 , , 12.1 , , .431 , , .000 , , .595 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , .4 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 79 , , 17 , , 20.9 , , .432 , , .000 , , .575 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .9 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 57 , , 22 , , 23.6 , , .508 , , .000 , , .667 , , 4.9 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .8 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 24 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .383 , , .000 , , .686 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , .3 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;" , † , align="left" ,

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, 6 , , 0 , , 10.8 , , .300 , , .000 , , .583 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .7 , , .3 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 52 , , 1 , , 11.9 , , .472 , , .000 , , .552 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 31 , , 4 , , 12.0 , , .389 , , .000 , , .639 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 30 , , 2 , , 12.2 , , .549 , , .000 , , .619 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .1 , , .4 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 2 , , 0 , , 13.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 375 , , 55 , , 16.0 , , .460 , , .000 , , .625 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , .6 , , 5.3

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

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, align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 7 , , 0 , , 8.4 , , .267 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 0 , , 8.4 , , .267 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.1

References

External links

NBA.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, Melvin 1978 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Japan American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Canton Charge coaches Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats players Denver Nuggets players Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball players Gunma Crane Thunders players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Harvey, Illinois Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Texas Legends players Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople