Michael Lawrence Chappell (born January 21, 1978) is a retired American 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 born in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was originall ...

College career

After being recruited heavily by the top universities in America, Mike Chappell attended college at Duke University from 1996 to 1998 and was coached under

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...

. At Duke, Chappell started in over half of their games in 1998. Chappell transferred to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the fall of 1998. Under the leadership of

Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spar ...

, Chappell contributed to a dynamic team that won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

National Title in 2000 and made it to the Final Four in 2001.

Professional career

Upon graduation from

, Chappell joined the rosters of the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

(2001–2002) and

Canberra Cannons The Canberra Cannons are a defunct basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates. After t ...

(2002–2003) in the

Australian National Basketball League The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Australasia, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier professional men's basketball league in Australia and New Z ...

(NBL). His popularity within the NBL brought him back to star for the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

in 2003. In 2004, Mike Chappell set a new NBL record after scoring an explosive 44-points in a game against the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

. Word of Chappell's success in the NBL reached the US, and he was selected to play for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

in the 2004 NBA Summer League in

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 List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. During the 2002 NBL off-season, Chappell and the Cannons embarked on a short tour of the United States playing various college teams. On one occasion they played against the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center. For that game, the Cannons featured former Michigan State player,

NBA 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 ...

legend with the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the most decorated players in basketball history,

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

. The game, a celebration of Johnson's induction into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2002, saw the Cannons defeat the Spartans 104–85.Canberra Cannons featuring Magic Johnson
/ref> After his stint in the NBL, Mike Chappell ventured out into

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

where he played in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

(Queluz). He also has played basketball professionally in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

(Champville). In August 2006, Chappell signed a deal to join the

Sendai 89ers The Sendai 89ers (仙台89ERS) are a Japanese professional basketball team that compete in the first division of the B.League. They are based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. The team name is based on the city's founding year, 1889. Current roste ...

for the Basketball Japan League. In May 2007, Chappell signed a deal to join the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

as their second import, which saw him returning to the Australian NBL once again. One of Chappell's new teammates at the 36ers was his Michigan State teammate of 1999–2001, Adam Ballinger. Joined Ukrainian Basketball League club Budivelnik Kyiv (Kiev) from summer 2008 to December 2008. Joined Basketball Japan League club

Tokyo Apache Tokyo Apache (東京アパッチ) was a Japanese basketball club, based in the city of Tokyo, Kantō Region. They played in the bj league, the top-level Japanese professional League. Their home games were played at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium I ...

autumn 2009. Made playoffs against

Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan. The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa-based machine parts manufact ...

where they lost. Left the club in May 2010.

Personal life

When he is not playing basketball, Chappell's favorite pastime is spending time with his son, Isaiah Chappell, who was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, New Zealand on March 16, 2005 and consequently holds dual citizenship. The New Zealand national basketball team, The

Tall Blacks The New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the ...

, has jokingly extended an open invitation for Chappell's son to join their roster some day.

References

External links

Top 10 first-year fits

Men's college basketball briefs

Ultrasound scanning breakthrough shows 3D baby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Mike 1978 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Portugal American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American expatriate basketball people in Uruguay American men's basketball players BC Budivelnyk players Canberra Cannons players Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players New Zealand Breakers players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Southfield, Michigan Basketball players from Oakland County, Michigan Sendai 89ers players Tokyo Apache players Waikato Titans players Wollongong Hawks players Small forwards Shooting guards 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Vaqueros de Bayamón basketball players