Thomas James Gugliotta (born December 19, 1969) 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 thirteen 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 life

The youngest of seven children, Gugliotta has far Italian descents (from Sicily), and attended Walt Whitman High School. His two older brothers, Frank Jr. and Charlie, both enjoyed limited collegiate success on the hardwood and played professionally in Europe. His father called an old friend,

Jim Valvano James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, most notably at North Caroli ...

at North Carolina State University during his senior season and told Valvano that his youngest son was going to be a special basketball player. Valvano took a chance on Gugliotta and brought him to Raleigh.

College career

During his freshman season, "Googs" was limited by a knee injury. However, he emerged in the second half of the ACC season as a member of the rotation for the Wolfpack and appeared in 28 games, averaging two points and 1.3 rebounds per game. During the offseason, Valvano began telling crowds at Wolfpack Club meetings that Gugliotta was beginning to blossom. Emerging as a taller, heavier sophomore, Gugliotta averaged 11.1 points and seven rebounds a game. As a junior, Gugliotta began to show his star potential, averaging more than 15 points and nine rebounds per game. As a senior, Gugliotta averaged more than 22 points and almost 10 rebounds per game.

NBA

Gugliotta was drafted in 1992 out of

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

with the sixth overall pick by the

Washington Bullets 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 ...

. In 13 NBA seasons he averaged 13.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 2.8 apg over 763 regular season games, but appeared in only 12 playoff games. His best years were with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

, scoring 20.6 and 20.1 ppg in the 1996–1997 and 1997–1998 seasons. Gugliotta also played for the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics,

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), ...

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 ...

Accident

On December 17, 1999, Gugliotta had a near-death experience. Having trouble sleeping after games, Gugliotta took a supplement marketed as a "sleep aid" which included furanon di-hydro, also known as gamma butyrolactone, or GBL. Gugliotta was talking to his wife, Nikki, on his cellular telephone when he collapsed and stopped breathing. His wife heard the commotion and called the wife of teammate Rex Chapman, who was able to call her husband on the bus and instruct him to check his bag for the supplement bottle. The information saved Gugliotta's life, as doctors were able to give him an antidote in the emergency room moments later.ESPN The Magazine: Close Call (by Tom Gugliotta)
/ref>

Personal

Tom met his wife, Nikki, at North Carolina State and later had a daughter, Greer. They were later divorced. He was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made s ...

on Long Island in the Basketball Category with the Class of 1994.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, style="text-align:left;", Washington , 81 , , 81 , , 34.5 , , .426 , , .281 , , .644 , , 9.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 78 , , 78 , , 35.8 , , .466 , , .270 , , .685 , , 9.3 , , 3.5 , , 2.2 , , 0.7 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 6 , , 6 , , 37.7 , , .398 , , .500 , , .788 , , 8.8 , , 3.0 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 40 , , 40 , , 33.1 , , .443 , , .311 , , .567 , , 7.4 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 31 , , 17 , , 32.8 , , .454 , , .318 , , .762 , , 7.2 , , 4.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.9 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 78 , , 78 , , 36.3 , , .471 , , .302 , , .773 , , 8.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 81 , , 81 , , 38.7 , , .442 , , .258 , , .820 , , 8.7 , , 4.1 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1997–98 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 41 , , 41 , , 38.6 , , .502 , , .118 , , .821 , , 8.7 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 20.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 43 , , 43 , , 36.3 , , .483 , , .286 , , .794 , , 8.9 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–00 , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 54 , , 32.7 , , .481 , , .125 , , .775 , , 7.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 2 , , 20.3 , , .392 , , .250 , , .792 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 44 , , 40 , , 25.7 , , .422 , , .333 , , .757 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 11 , , 16.6 , , .455 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30, , 3 , , 10.1 , , .313 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , 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 ...

, 25 , , 24 , , 20.6 , , .375 , , .333 , , .700 , , 5.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-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 ...

, 20 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .297 , , – , , .667 , , 2.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 27 , , 9 , , 27.7 , , .431 , , .308 , , .784 , , 5.5 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 7.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 763 , , 608 , , 30.9 , , .451 , , .284 , , .784 , , 7.3 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 13.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 19.0 , , .429 , , .000 , , .750 , , 8.0 , , 3.0 , , 2.0 , , – , , 9.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1996–97 , style="text-align:left;", Minnesota , 3 , , 3 , , 40.3 , , .422 , , .750 , , .600 , , 5.3 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , 0.7 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.3 , , .371 , , – , , .750 , , 8.3 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 21.5 , , .308 , , – , , .778 , , 3.8 , , 0.8 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .500 , , – , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 12 , , 6 , , 27.9 , , .393 , , .750 , , .690 , , 4.8 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.5 , , 9.6

Notes

External links

Historical Player Profile
at NBA.com * * https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/guglito01.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Gugliotta, Tom 1969 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Italian descent Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from New York (state) Boston Celtics players Golden State Warriors players Minnesota Timberwolves players National Basketball Association All-Stars NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players People from Huntington Station, New York Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York United States men's national basketball team players Utah Jazz players Washington Bullets draft picks Washington Bullets players