College basketball's National College Player of the Year in 1995-96, Marcus Camby led Massachusetts to its finest season and its first-ever NCAA Final Four berth. The second player chosen in the 1996 NBA Draft, behind Allen Iverson, he was voted to the Schick All-Rookie First Team after a solid NBA debut with Toronto. After leading the NBA in blocked shots in his second season with the Raptors, he was traded to New York for veteran forward Charles Oakley and came on strong in the second half of the season as a key factor in the Knicks' charge to the 1999 Eastern Conference Championship.
Camby was a consensus National Player of the Year selection by the Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, CBS/Chevrolet, Basketball Weekly and The Sporting News. He won the Naismith and Wooden Awards as Player of the Year and was selected First Team All-America by AP, UPI, USBWA and Basketball Weekly. He led UMass to a 35-2 record in 1995-96 and the school's first-ever berth in the Final Four, averaging 20.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks. He was named MVP of the NCAA East Regional and set an NCAA Tournament career record with 43 blocks in 11 games. He posted a UMass record 336 blocks in 92 career games and became only the fourth college player ever to surpass 300 career blocks.
Though he missed 19 games of his rookie season because of an assortment of injuries, Camby posted a fine all-around season. He led the team and ranked 10th in the NBA with 2.06 blocks per game. He also ranked second on the team in rebounding at 6.3 rpg, third in scoring at 14.8 ppg and fourth in steals at 1.05 spg. He led the NBA in blocked shots in his second season at 3.65 per game, also contributing 12.1 ppg and a team-high 7.3 rpg. But faced with the prospect of his becoming a free agent after one more season, the Raptors decided to deal Camby to New York in June, 1998 in the deal that brought veteran power forward Charles Oakley to Toronto. After a difficult period of adjustment to a team that was used to playing a slower, half-court style of offense, Camby emerged as an energizing force during the second half of the season, especially when center Patrick Ewing was sidelined by injury. His shotblocking, rebounding and ability to beat other frontcourtmen up the floor were key factors in the Knicks' surprising run to the NBA Finals.
1999-2000 NOTES
Camby totaled 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks in a 111-101 OT win over
Milwaukee on November 8. He registered 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in a 103-91 victory in Detroit on November 5, and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, adding 14 points and 5 blocks in a 92-84 victory over Cleveland on November 2.
1998-99 NOTES
Camby struggled for much of the season but emerged as one of the most productive and popular players on the team when it was over. Accustomed to playing in a wide-open, running offense, he had trouble adjusting to the Knicks' more structured, half-court style that focused on working the ball in and out of the low post, where Patrick Ewing was stationed. But he adjusted as the season wore on, and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy tinkered with his sets to take advantage of Camby's unique talents in shotblocking and running the floor. When Ewing was hurt during the second half of the season and the playoffs, Camby emerged as a frontcourt leader and played a vital role as the Knicks went to the NBA Finals. He appeared in 46 games, all as a reserve, and averaged 7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.61 blocks per game. He was second on the team in shotblocking and fourth in rebounds. He shot a team-high .521 from the field and .553 from the free throw line.
Those numbers, however, don't reflect the way Camby seemed to energize the Knicks the majority of times he was inserted into the lineup. He scored in double figures 13 times and had double-digit rebounds seven times, resulting in four double-doubles. Over the final 15 games of the season he averaged 10.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 1.73 bpg and shot .583. He capped the campaign with a season-high 22 points against Miami on May 5, shooting 11-for-15 from the field. He pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds against Boston on March 20 and rejected a season-high eight shots at Chicago on February 11, the most by any Knick all season.
Camby played in all 20 playoff games for the Knicks, starting the last three games of the NBA Finals against San Antonio in place of the injured Ewing. Overall he averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.90 blocks and 1.20 steals in 25.5 minutes per game, shooting .566 from the field and .616 from the line. He led the Knicks in blocks and field goal percentage, was second in rebounds and steals and fifth in scoring and minutes played. His best series was against the Indiana Pacers, when he averaged 14.3 ppg and team-highs of 10.7 rpg, 3.00 bpg and 2.17 spg and shot .577 from the field. In the NBA Finals against San Antonio he led the team with 7.8 rpg and 2.00 bpg and was the third-leading scorer at 9.6 ppg.
Ranked 2nd on the Knicks, and 15th in the NBA, in blocked shots, (1.61
bpg) Camby scored in double-figures in 13 games, grabbing 10-or-more rebounds in 7 games and logging 4 double-doubles. He scored a game-high 22 points (11-15 FG) and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 101-88 victory over the Miami Heat on May 5. He totaled 18 points (8-11 FG) and game-highs of 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in an 110-105 win over the Charlotte Hornets on April 23. He posted a game-high 18 points (7-10 FG, 4-4 FT) and a team-high 13 rebounds
against the Washington Wizards on April 14, and registered 19 points (8-13 FG)
and 8 rebounds in a 93-78 victory over the New Jersey Nets on April 11. Camby recorded 13 points (5-7 FG) and team-highs of 9 rebounds and 3 blocked
shots against the Chicago Bulls on March 12. He totaled a team-high 19 points
(8-12 FG) and a game-high 12 rebounds in a 98-86 victory over the
Washington Wizards on March 11, and posted 11 points and a game-high 12
rebounds, for his first double-double with the Knicks, in a 95-85 win over the
Toronto Raptors on February 16.
1997-98 NOTES
Camby led the NBA in shotblocking in only his second pro season,
averaging 3.65 blocks per game. He became the first Toronto player ever to
lead the league in any statistical category. He also was Toronto's top
rebounder at 7.3 rpg and finished third on the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg.
He also averaged 1.08 spg in 31.8 mpg. He played in 63 games, making 58
starts, and missed 18 games due to an assortment of injuries that included
tendinitis in his knees (seven games), an abdominal strain (five), a jammed
neck (three), a sprained right thumb (two) and a strained left adductor (one).
He also missed one game on suspension.
Camby posted a pair of triple-doubles in less than a week, getting 15 points, 12 rebounds and a franchise-record 11 blocks at New Jersey on April 14 and posting 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks in the season finale against Philadelphia on April 19. He also had 10 double-doubles, getting at least 20 points eight
times and blocking at least seven shots on six occasions. He tied the
franchise record for a non-overtime game by grabbing 18 rebounds against
Sacramento on January 21, starting a nine-game stretch in which he
averaged 11.2 rpg. He scored a season-high 28 points against Indiana on
December 15 and dished a career-high seven assists against Philadelphia
on January 26. One of his best games came on March 15 at Golden State
when he led the Raptors to an overtime win with 23 points, 16 rebounds and
5 blocks after being listed as doubtful prior to the game because of a
strained left adductor. Following the season, Camby was traded to New
York on June 25 in exchange for veteran power forward Charles Oakley, the
rights to second-round draft pick Sean Marks and cash.
1996-97 NOTES
Camby played in 63 games as a rookie, 38 of them as a starter. He missed
19 due to injuries or illness--14 because of an injured lower back, two due
to a hyperextended knee, two because of the flu and one due to a sprained
left ankle. When healthy, Camby showed his solid all-around skills by
leading the team in shotblocking at 2.06 bpg, ranking second in rebounding
at 6.3 rpg, third in scoring at 14.8 ppg and fourth in steals at 1.05 spg. He
ranked 10th in the NBA in shotblocking and tops among rookies, and his
field goal percentage of .482 also was the best among first-year players. He
was voted to the Schick All-Rookie First Team and was the league's Rookie
of the Month for March, when he averaged 21.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and
2.5 blocks.
In the four-game period from March 18-23 he averaged 29.3
points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks and shot .547. He started that stretch
with 36 points and nine rebounds in a 117-105 win over Philadelphia on
March 18 and came back with 28 points and 14 rebounds in a 99-97 win at
Detroit the next night. He had 16 points, a season-high 16 rebounds and 7
blocks in a 102-97 loss to Charlotte on March 21 and a season-high 37
points in a 90-79 defeat at the hands of Atlanta on March 23.
Camby scored 20 or more points 17 times, including 10 in March and a club-record six games in a row March 11-19. He blocked five or more shots seven
times, and tied a team record with nine blocks in a 110-86 win over Phoenix
on Feb. 1. He participated in the Schick Rookie Game at All-Star Weekend
and set an event record with 12 rebounds. He also scored 18 points in just
