Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins (born June 16, 1955) 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 18 seasons in 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) for 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

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

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, and

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

Career

The ,

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

graduate played center, and gained high esteem for his defense, particularly his rebounding and shot- blocking ability. On February 21, 1979, while playing for the

, Rollins blocked a career high 12 shots in a 106–83 win over 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 ...

. In all, he finished in the top three in blocked shots six times, including leading the league during the

1982–83 NBA season The 1982–83 NBA season was the 37th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the 1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers season, Philadelphia 76ers winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0 in ...

, during which he would finish second in

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The NBA Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and b ...

voting. At the time of his retirement 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 ...

, he was fourth all-time in career blocked shots, behind only

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

and

Mark Eaton Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he w ...

, with a total of 2,542. He currently holds the ninth highest total of career blocked shots, having been passed on the list by

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

, David Robinson,

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

, and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

. During his playing career, Rollins was given the nickname "The Intimidator". In 1983, as a member of the

, playing in Game 3 of the first round, he got into a fight with

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

of 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), ...

. In retaliation for allegedly being called a "sissy", Rollins elbowed Ainge in the face. Ainge subsequently tackled Rollins to the ground and the two began to wrestle. Rollins then bit Ainge's middle finger so badly that it required a couple of stitches. After the fight, Ainge was ejected and Rollins was not. However, the Celtics went on to win the series 2–1. The incident inspired opposing fans to occasionally hold up signs referring to the incident with sayings like "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em" during some of his subsequent games. In the late 1980s, still with the Hawks, Rollins was asked how he felt about the team playing an exhibition game in the Soviet Union. Rollins replied that he had already been to the Soviet Union, "and I don't need to go back." Rollins was a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

with the

, serving as an assistant coach from 1993 to 1999 and backup center during the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons. He was an assistant coach for the

Washington Wizards 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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

and

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and the second (and last) coach of the now-defunct Greenville Groove of the

National Basketball Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

(NBDL). He went 22-28 while the Groove dissolved after the season ended. Rollins joined the WNBA's

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

in 2006 as an assistant coach. On June 1, 2007, he was named interim head coach following

Richie Adubato Richard Adam Adubato (born November 23, 1937) is an American former basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams, the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Orlando Magic. He ...

's resignation early in the season. Rollins led the Mystics to a 17–14 record. On July 19, 2008, following lopsided losses to the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

and

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

, which put the Mystics at 8–14 on the season and 2.5 games out of playoff position, he was relieved of his duties. The Mystics' aggregate record under Rollins over the two seasons was 25–28, second best in Mystics history. He was replaced on an interim basis by one of his assistants, Jessie Kenlaw. In 2013, Rollins became an assistant coach with the WNBA's Chicago Sky. One small distinction for Rollins was that he was the last player to wear canvas Converse All Stars (leather ones were worn in 1982 by

Micheal Ray Richardson Michael Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955), known as Micheal Ray Richardson, is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA dr ...

) in the NBA when in the 1979–80 season he laced up modified Chuck Taylors which had the Circle Star patch removed on the inside ankle. Instead these had star chevrons sewed to the sides of the canvas similar to the Converse All Star II that had been sold earlier.

Achievements

* First athlete in any sport at Clemson to have jersey number retired * Only Clemson basketball player to average a double-double in four straight seasons * NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 1982–83 season * NBA All-Defensive First Team, 1983–84 season

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 80 , , , , 22.4 , , .487 , , , , .703 , , 6.9 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 2.7 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , , , 23.5 , , .535 , , , , .631 , , 7.3 , , .6 , , .6 , , 3.1 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , , , 25.9 , , .558 , , , , .714 , , 9.4 , , .9 , , .7 , , 3.0 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , , , 26.1 , , .552 , , .000 , , .807 , , 7.2 , , .9 , , .7 , , 2.9 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 39 , , 25.5 , , .584 , , , , .612 , , 7.7 , , .7 , , .4 , , 2.8 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 30.9 , , .510 , , .000 , , .726 , , 9.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , style="background:#CFECEC;', 4.3* , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 76 , , 30.5 , , .518 , , , , .621 , , 7.7 , , .8 , , .5 , , 3.6 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 60 , , 25.0 , , .549 , , , , .720 , , 6.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , 2.4 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 61 , , 24.1 , , .499 , , .000 , , .767 , , 6.2 , , .6 , , .5 , , 2.3 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 75 , , 58 , , 23.5 , , .546 , , , , .724 , , 6.5 , , .3 , , .6 , , 1.9 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 59 , , 23.2 , , .512 , , , , .875 , , 6.0 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.7 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 60 , , 2 , , 9.7 , , .449 , , .000 , , .632 , , 2.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , .6 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 19 , , 14.0 , , .456 , , .000 , , .688 , , 3.2 , , .5 , , .3 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, 37 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .424 , , , , .571 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , .5 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 59 , , 5 , , 11.8 , , .535 , , , , .867 , , 2.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 1.1 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 42 , , 0 , , 5.9 , , .268 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , .1 , , .4 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 45 , , 1 , , 8.5 , , .547 , , , , .600 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , .2 , , .8 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 3 , , 9.4 , , .476 , , , , .677 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , .1 , , .7 , , 1.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,156 , , 463 , , 20.8 , , .522 , , .000 , , .700 , , 5.8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 2.2 , , 5.4

Playoffs

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

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

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

, 2 , , , , 25.5 , , .583 , , , , .250 , , 4.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 2.0 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

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

, 9 , , , , 23.6 , , .412 , , , , .692 , , 7.9 , , .6 , , .3 , , 2.7 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

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

, 5 , , , , 26.8 , , .581 , , , , .600 , , 7.6 , , .6 , , .4 , , 2.8 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

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

, 2 , , , , 32.5 , , .333 , , , , .750 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 3.0 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

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

, 3 , , , , 39.3 , , .481 , , , , .333 , , 10.0 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 3.3 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

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

, 5 , , , , 30.4 , , .400 , , , , .625 , , 6.8 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 27.6 , , .553 , , , , .636 , , 8.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 1.7 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

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

, 9 , , 9 , , 24.6 , , .536 , , , , .714 , , 5.9 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.8 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 12 , , 27.8 , , .556 , , , , .867 , , 5.9 , , .5 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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

, 5 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .750 , , , , .600 , , 3.2 , , .2 , , .6 , , 1.4 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

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

, 3 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .333 , , , , .750 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 5.3 , , 1.000 , , , , , , .5 , , .0 , , .2 , , .2 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , , , .7 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 9.7 , , .400 , , , , , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 14 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .600 , , , , .250 , , .4 , , .0 , , .0 , , .4 , , .5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 93 , , 30 , , 19.4 , , .505 , , .000 , , .624 , , 4.6 , , .3 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 3.9

References

External links

Coach profile
@ NBA.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollins, Tree 1955 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American basketball coaches All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Basketball coaches from Florida Basketball player-coaches Basketball players from Polk County, Florida Centers (basketball) Chicago Sky coaches Clemson Tigers men's basketball players Cleveland Cavaliers players Detroit Pistons players Greenville Groove coaches Houston Rockets players Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Orlando Magic assistant coaches Orlando Magic players Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida United States men's national basketball team players Washington Mystics head coaches Washington Wizards assistant coaches

Career

Achievements

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links