Stephen Robert Scheffler (born September 3, 1967) 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 played in the
NBA
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 ...
. He is left-handed.
College career
Scheffler attended
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
, located in
West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...
, where he played under head coach
Gene Keady
Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American Hall of Fame basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 t ...
. During his freshman season, he got limited minutes coming off the bench, while appearing in 16 games and averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds a game. After his freshman season, Scheffler played in twice as many games during his sophomore season. He improved his scoring and rebounding, with averages of 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds a game, while recording a .708 field goal percentage, which became a Big Ten single-season record. He helped lead the
Boilermakers
A boilermaker is a Tradesman, tradesperson who Metal fabrication, fabricates steels, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bure ...
to a
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
title, along with seniors
Todd Mitchell
Ernest Todd Mitchell (born July 26, 1966) is an American retired professional basketball player. He was a , small forward, and played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers from 1984 to 1988.Everette Stephens, a sixth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, making it to the Sweet Sixteen, and onto a 29–4 record after losing to a
Mitch Richmond
Mitchell James Richmond III (born June 30, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Moberly Area Community College and Kansas State University. He was a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Te ...
-led
Kansas State
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...
team.
Scheffler's junior season showed just as much improvement as his sophomore season. Averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds a game, he also improved his free-throw percentage with a .776 accuracy, while holding a .667 field goal percentage. With key players gone from the prior season, Scheffler carried the Boilers to a 15–16 record in a highly competitive and stacked conference. He was named the team MVP and an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. After the 1988–89 season, Scheffler was selected as a reserve center on the Gold Medal U.S. Team in the
World University Games
The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...
in
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
.
As a senior at Purdue, Scheffler averaged 16.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game, and scored in double figures in 28 of the 30 games he appeared. After coming off his junior season without a postseason, he and Jimmy Oliver led the Boilers to an NCAA Second Round appearance, where they lost to
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 ...
by one point as a number 2 seed. He helped Purdue to a 22–8 record in his senior season. Making 71 of his last 78 free throws with a .805 percent accuracy in his career, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a Third-Team All American in his senior year.
Throughout his four seasons at Purdue, Scheffler set the NCAA career field-goal percentage record at .685, which broke
Ohio State
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
's
Jerry Lucas
Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 Olympic medal, gold medal Olympian and international player be ...
' record of .678, which was set in 1962. The 6 ft 9 in, 250-pound center-forward became one of four Boilers to win the conference player of the year honors, along with Jim Rowinski in 1984,
Glenn Robinson
Glenn Alan Robinson Jr. (born January 10, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dog" and "the Chosen One", he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1994 to 2005 for the Milwaukee Bucks, Atl ...
in 1994 and Caleb Swanigan in 2017. The "Incredible Hulk" currently holds Purdue's basketball squat max record at 458 pounds and is tied at first with Glenn Robinson and Kenny Williams with 309 pounds in the power clean. He had a vertical leap of 33 inches.
Professional career
Scheffler was selected by the
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...
in the 2nd round (39th overall) of the
1990 NBA draft
The 1990–91 NBA season, 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He became a nine-time All-Sta ...
. He played for the Hornets,
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
,
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
and
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...
in 7
NBA
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 ...
seasons. Scheffler was a member of the Sonics when they reached the
1996 NBA Finals
The 1996 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1995–96 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics (64–18) played the Eastern ...
and played briefly in four of the six games 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 ...
and the
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 ...
as a crowd favorite at
KeyArena
Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it wa ...
coming off the bench. He was embraced as a fan favorite in Seattle for his rare appearances and stellar efforts at scoring in late-game blowout situations.
Scheffler had the ability to excel in Summer League games against young players and NBA journeymen, but then struggled getting his shot off against NBA regular season competition.Clippers' move good news for Bobcats' cause page accessed July 17, 2008 He finished his 7-year, 174-game NBA career with averages of 1.9 points in 5.3 minutes per game, while shooting 55.8% from the floor. Scheffler appeared in 178 games with eight starts. He developed a high percentage mid-range jump shot during his tenure in the NBA.
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
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 ...
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
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 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
Scheffler's older brother, Tom Scheffler, also played at Purdue and in the NBA. Tom played 39 games for the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...