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 (appro ...

player who is the assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(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. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

(who drafted him in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

), 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

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

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Early life

Finley attended Proviso East High School in

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in 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 census. History There was limited European-Am ...

, 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 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 for the Colorado Buffaloes. ...

. In response to winning the state championship, Finley was invited to travel to

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A northern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, Deerfield is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore, ...

, where he played against

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

in a game of H-O-R-S-E and a 1-on-1 game to three points. Jordan H-O-R-S-E and won the game of 1-on-1 three to one. Both games were recorded and broadcast on a sporting chance segment for WBBM CBS Chicago. 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 basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

was originally drafted out of

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

by the

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

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

for eleven years before being passed by Alando Tucker 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 play ...

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 Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in th ...

, A.C. Green and a second-round draft pick for

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

, Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer.

Dallas Mavericks (1996–2005)

Finley flourished in Dallas. 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 great ...

, 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 An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

, 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 language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

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 List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and Phoenix, he elected to remain in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

with the

San Antonio Spurs (2005–2010)

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Finley adapted well to a secondary role as Manu Ginóbili's backup, developing and emphasizing his outside shooting. The Spurs would face Finley's former team the Mavericks in the second round of the 2006 NBA playoffs. In Game 5 of the series, Finley was punched by former teammate

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guar ...

, earning Terry a suspension for the next game of the series and irritating Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The Spurs would force a seventh game after facing a 3–1 deficit, but ultimately fell to the Mavericks in overtime. In the fifth and final game of San Antonio's first-round series against

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

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 reached the

2010 NBA Finals The 2010 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2009–10 NBA season, 2009–10 season and conclusion of 2010 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs, held from June 3 to 17, 2010. A best-of ...

, but lost 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

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

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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

games. He majored in business management at Wisconsin. Although he did not graduate at the time due to the NBA draft, he completed his bachelor's degree in 2014 in agricultural and applied economics at Wisconsin. Finley attended the same high school as

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

head coach

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...

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'' and ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

''.

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 , - , rowspan="2" align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , style="background:#cfecec;", 27* , , 18 , , 29.5 , , .475 , , .255 , , .812 , , 4.4 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" ,

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, style="background:#cfecec;", 56* , , 36 , , 35.6 , , .432 , , .387 , , .807 , , 4.5 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 16.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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

, style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , 41.0 , , .444 , , .331 , , .823 , , 5.3 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 20.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 42.2 , , .457 , , .401 , , .820 , , 6.3 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 22.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 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" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 16 , , 22.2 , , .412 , , .364 , , .918 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 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 , - , rowspan="2" align="left" , , align="left" ,

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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 year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, align="left" ,

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

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, align="left" ,

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

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, 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 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 39.9 , , .382 , , .269 , , .600 , , 3.2 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .6 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, align="left" ,

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

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, 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 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, align="left" ,

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

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, align="left" ,

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

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, 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 2002 FIBA World Championship players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Living people Film producers from Illinois American men's basketball players Boston Celtics players Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Dallas Mavericks players NBA All-Stars Sportspeople from Melrose Park, Illinois Basketball players from Cook County, 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 Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade

Early life

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