Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) 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 who is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, predominantly with the Mavericks, but also for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

(who drafted him in

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 ...

), 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 ...

, and the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Spurs in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

High school career

Finley attended Proviso East High School in

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 United States Census. Histor ...

, graduating in 1991. In Finley's senior season, Proviso East won the 1991 IHSA class AA boys basketball tournament, and Finley was named to the all-tournament team. Finley's teammates, known collectively as the "Three Amigos", included future NBA draftees

Sherrell Ford Sherell Ford (born August 26, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ford was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round (26th overall) of the 1995 NBA ...

and

Donnie Boyce Donald Nathaniel Boyce (born September 2, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as head coach for Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois. He played college basketball at the University of Colorado. ...

. In 2007, Finley was voted one of the " 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament".

College career

The 6' 7"

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronge ...

was originally drafted out of

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

by the

as the 21st overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft. Finley held the all-time scoring record at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

for eleven years before being passed by

Alando Tucker Alando Forest Tucker (born February 11, 1984) is an American former collegiate basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketba ...

on March 10, 2007.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 28 , , 29.7 , , .453 , , .361 , , .742 , , 4.9 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .8 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , 35.0 , , .467 , , .364 , , .771 , , 5.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , 22.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 36.1 , , .466 , , .363 , , .786 , , 6.7, , 3.2 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 20.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 27 , , 37.0 , , .379 , , .284 , , .773 , , 5.2 , , 4.0 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 20.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 115 , , 112 , , 34.3 , , .440 , , .338 , , .769 , , 5.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , 18.7

NBA career

Phoenix Suns (1995–1996)

Finley was named to the 1995–96

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging fifteen points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He became only the third rookie in Suns history to score over 1,000 points in a season. Despite playing all 82 games in his rookie season, Finley was injured on the final day of regular season and did not play in the playoffs. He was traded by the Suns on December 26, 1996 to the

along with Sam Cassell,

A. C. Green A.C. Green Jr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iron Man", he holds a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played ...

and a second-round draft pick for Jason Kidd,

Tony Dumas Tony Dumas (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dumas played collegiately at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), whose athletic program is now known as t ...

and

Loren Meyer Loren Henry Meyer (born December 30, 1972) is a retired American professional basketball player who played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round (24th pick overall) o ...

Dallas Mavericks (1996–2005)

In his first season with the Mavericks, Finley led the team in scoring, assists and steals. Along with point guard

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

and forward

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

, he became an integral part of the Mavericks' late '90s "run and gun" offense. In 2000, he was selected to represent the Western Conference in the 2000 All-Star Game, in which he scored eleven points. On January 23, 2001, Finley tied an NBA record by recording eight steals in one half of a game. In 2001, he was again selected to represent the Western Conference on All-Star weekend. He played for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, which lost a record-three games and failed to win a championship for the first time in a major competition since

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

opened international competitions to NBA players. While Finley began to play more of a supporting role (

) as he aged and teammate

blossomed, he remained a clutch player for the Mavericks. In 2005, he was waived by Dallas to avoid luxury taxes (as part of the league's new labor agreement). Finley became an unrestricted free agent and after being pursued by

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, and Phoenix, he elected to remain in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

with the

San Antonio Spurs (2005–2010)

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= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, Finley adapted well to a secondary role as Manu Ginóbili's backup, developing and emphasizing his outside shooting. The Spurs were knocked out of the 2006 NBA playoffs by his former team one year after he made the switch. During the series, Finley was punched below the belt by former teammate Jason Terry during Game 5, which earned Terry a suspension for the next game of the series and the suspension decision irritated Cuban, the Mavericks' boss, but the Spurs lost Game 7 after an overtime. In the fifth and final game of San Antonio's first-round series against

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 ...

in 2007, Finley set the Spurs' record for three-point field goals in a playoff game, making eight of nine attempts. He eclipsed the previous record of seven set by teammate Bruce Bowen in 2003. Finley won his only NBA championship in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs in his 12th NBA season. At Finley's request, the Spurs bought out the final year of his contract and waived him on March 1, 2010, freeing him to sign with another team.

Boston Celtics (2010)

On March 4, 2010, Finley reached a verbal agreement with the

to join the team for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. He signed with the Celtics on March 6, 2010. The Celtics would reach the

2010 NBA Finals The 2010 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Laker ...

, but would lose to the defending champion

Los Angeles 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 ...

in seven games. At the end of the season, Finley announced he would retire.

Personal life

Finley began playing basketball in elementary school. His favorite player was

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

and he would occasionally go to

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 ...

games. He majored in business management at Wisconsin.NBA.com : Michael Finley Bio Page
/ref> Finley attended the same high school as current

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

head coach Doc Rivers.

Other work

Basketball

He works in the front office as the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the

Film

Finley was one of the producers of the films ''

Lee Daniels' The Butler ''The Butler'' (full title ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'') is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and with a screenplay by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's '' Washington Post'' article "A B ...

'' and ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

''.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1186828/

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 82 , , 72 , , 39.2 , , .476 , , .328 , , .749 , , 4.6 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 15.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 27 , , 18 , , 29.5 , , .475 , , .255 , , .812 , , 4.4 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, 56 , , 36 , , 35.6 , , .432 , , .387 , , .807 , , 4.5 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 16.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 41.4* , , .449 , , .357 , , .784 , , 5.3 , , 4.9 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 21.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 50 , , 41.0 , , .444 , , .331 , , .823 , , 5.3 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 20.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 42.2 , , .457 , , .401 , , .820 , , 6.3 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 22.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 42.0* , , .458 , , .346 , , .775 , , 5.2 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 21.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 69 , , 69 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 39.9* , , .463 , , .339 , , .837 , , 5.2 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , 20.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 69 , , 69 , , 38.3 , , .425 , , .370 , , .861 , , 5.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 19.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 72 , , 72 , , 38.6 , , .443 , , .405 , , .850 , , 4.5 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 18.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 64 , , 64 , , 36.8 , , .427 , , .407 , , .831 , , 4.1 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 15.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 18 , , 26.5 , , .412 , , .394 , , .852 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .1 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 16 , , 22.2 , , .412 , , .364 , , .918 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 61 , , 26.9 , , .414 , , .370 , , .800 , , 3.1 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 77 , , 28.8 , , .437 , , .411 , , .823 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 25 , , 6 , , 15.8 , , .381 , , .317 , , .667 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 21 , , 1 , , 15.0 , , .506 , , .463 , , .333 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1103 , , 875 , , 34.5 , , .440 , , .390 , , .813 , , 4.1 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , 15.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 0 , , 14.5 , , .476 , , .250 , , 1,000 , , 2.0 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 11.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 43.4 , , .360 , , .362 , , .818 , , 5.3 , , 4.4 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 19.7 , - , align="left" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 46.6 , , .466 , , .378 , , .900 , , 6.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 24.6 , - , align="left" ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, align="left" ,

, 20 , , 20 , , 41.1 , , .435 , , .412 , , .864 , , 5.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 18.3 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 69 , , .382 , , .269 , , .600 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .6 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, align="left" ,

, 13 , , 13 , , 37.8 , , .425 , , .393 , , .889 , , 4.3 , , 2.2 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, align="left" ,

, 13 , , 4 , , 31.6 , , .476 , , .383 , , .900 , , 3.8 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

† , align="left" ,

, 20 , , 20 , , 26.9 , , .410 , , .419 , , .897 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

, 17 , , 11 , , 23.0 , , .402 , , .365 , , 1.000 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 28.6 , , .441 , , .467 , , .750 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .2 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, align="left" ,

, 18 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .250 , , .273 , , 1.000 , , .6 , , .2 , , .2 , , .0 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 129 , , 96 , , 30.3 , , .418 , , .388 , , .866 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 11.8

Finals

, - style="text-align: Center;" , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 18.5 , , .261 , , .083 , , .667 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , , .0 , , 3.8 , - style="text-align: Center;" , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 4 , , 13.2 , , .250 , , .077 , , .667 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .7 , , .0 , , 2.5

References

External links

* at NBA.com *
SI.com – Pro Basketball – Michael Finley Player Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, Michael 1973 births Living people African-American basketball players Film producers from Illinois American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Boston Celtics players Dallas Mavericks players National Basketball Association All-Stars People from Melrose Park, Illinois Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Maywood, Illinois United States men's national basketball team players Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players 2002 FIBA World Championship players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade gold medalists for the United States Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople

High school career

College career

College statistics

NBA career

Phoenix Suns (1995–1996)

Dallas Mavericks (1996–2005)

San Antonio Spurs (2005–2010)

Boston Celtics (2010)

Personal life

Other work

Basketball

Film

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Finals

See also

References

External links