One of the most talented guards in the NBA, Latrell Sprewell sprang unexpectedly out of the University of Alabama to become an NBA All-Star in his second pro season and the Golden State Warriors' scoring leader four years in a row. He was the NBA's fifth-leading scorer in 1996-97 at a career-high 24.2 ppg, but was suspended after 14 games of the 1997-98 season following a physical altercation with Coach P.J. Carlesimo. Traded to New York, he overcame an early season stress fracture in his right heel to become the team's second-leading scorer in the 1998-99 season and its top scorer in postseason as the Knicks won the Eastern Conference Championship.
A springy guard who can improvise on his way to the basket, dunk over taller players and drain the three-point shot, Sprewell has surprised many fans who knew little about him when he was selected by the Warriors in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1992 NBA Draft. At Alabama at the same time as future NBA players Robert Horry and James Robinson, Sprewell, who spent two years of his eligibility at Three Rivers Community College, averaged 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals as a senior. A tireless player, he led the Southeastern Conference in minutes played with 36.2 per game. As an NBA rookie with the Warriors in 1992-93, Sprewell almost matched his college numbers, averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals to earn NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors. He was the first rookie in Warriors history to collect 1,000 points, 250 rebounds, 250 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks in a season. He also displayed his stamina, leading the Warriors in minutes played with 2,741.
The mercurial 6-5 guard had a breakthrough season in 1993-94, upping his scoring average by almost 6 points to 21.0 per game (11th in the league). "Spree" averaged 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.20 steals (ninth in the league) to earn a spot on the All-NBA First Team. At age 23 he was the youngest All-NBA First Team selection since Isiah Thomas in 1984. Although he was not listed on the 1994 All-Star ballot, he was selected for the game as a reserve and scored nine points in 15 minutes. Sprewell logged 3,533 minutes in 1993-94, the most by an NBA player in 16 years. He led all league guards with 76 blocks and ranked fourth in the league in total three-pointers with 141.
Despite his disappointment at the departure of close friends Billy Owens and Chris Webber in the early stages of the 1994-95 season, Sprewell continued to play at a high level. He led the Warriors in both scoring (20.6 ppg) and minutes played and returned to the All-Star Game, again scoring nine points. In 1995-96, Sprewell again led the Warriors in scoring (18.9 ppg) and minutes played (39.3 mpg, 10th in the NBA). He also topped the team in steals at 1.63 spg, ranking 16th in the league.
Sprewell enjoyed his best season as a pro in 1996-97, ranking fifth in the NBA in scoring at 24.2 ppg, leading the Warriors in assists at 6.3 apg and tying for the team lead in steals at 1.65 spg. He also was the leading scorer with 19 points for the West in the midseason All-Star Game. He averaged 21.4 points per game in 14 games for the Warriors at the start of 1997-98, but following an altercation at practice with Coach Carlesimo, he was suspended and forced to sit out the remainder of the season. He was finally traded to the New York Knicks on January 21, 1999 for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings.
Sprewell was used for most of the 1998-99 season in Starks' old role of providing instant offense off the Knicks bench. He missed 13 games early in the season due to a stress fracture in his right heel, but came on in the second half of the year to become the team's second-leading scorer at 16.4 ppg . In the playoffs, with center Patrick Ewing hobbled and finally sidelined by an Achilles injury, he picked up much of the scoring slack by averaging a team-high 20.4 ppg.
1999-2000 NOTES
Sprewell notched 30 points in a 99-96 win over Orlando on Nov. 27. He registered 32 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a 100-95 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 23, and totaled 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in his first game in Golden State since he was a member of the Warriors (Nov. 20). He tallied a team-high 26 points in a 102-95 victory in Denver on Nov. 16, and scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in a 102-93 loss in Cleveland on Nov. 5.
1998-99 NOTES
Sprewell overcame both an early season injury and the problem of fitting a player with a frenetic style into an offense used to a deliberate pace and had an outstanding comeback season in New York, becoming a crowd favorite at Madison Square Garden in the process. After starting the first two games of the season at small forward, and scoring 24 points in his Knicks debut against Orlando on February 5, he suffered a stress fracture of his right heel and was sidelined for 13 games. But he came back one month later and played in each of the remaining 35 games, making two more starts at small forward but generally coming in as the Knicks' sixth man to provide instant offense.
Sprewell averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.24 steals in 33.3 minutes per game, shooting .415 from the field, .273 from the three-point arc and .812 from the free throw line. He ranked second on the Knicks in scoring and steals, fourth in assists and minutes and tied for fourth in rebounding. He scored 20 or more points 11 times and had two games of 30 or more, getting a season-high 31 against the Clippers on March 16 and 30 against Philadelphia on April 29. He also registered season-highs of seven rebounds at the Lakers on March 28 and eight assists against Charlotte on April 23. He averaged 24.3 ppg in the last eight games of the season, as the Knicks surged from a .500 record to capture the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. He then led the Knicks at 20.4 ppg in the playoffs as they upset top-seeded Miami en route to the Eastern Conference Championship and a berth in the NBA Finals, where they bowed to San Antonio in five games. He played in all 20 playoff contests and started the last eight at small forward while center Patrick Ewing was sidelined by injury, averaging a team-high 26.0 ppg in the Finals against the Spurs.
Sprewell averaged 17.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.39 spg in Knicks wins and led the Knicks in scoring in 12 games. He registered a game-high 30 points (11-17 FG, 3-3 3FG, 5-6 FT), 4 steals and 3 rebounds in an 85-70 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on April 29. He posted a game-high 29 points (8-12 FG, 12-15 FT) and 3 steals against the Atlanta Hawks on April 28, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the 4th quarter, and grabbed 3 rebounds, in a 94-87 victory over the Phoenix Suns on March 26. Sprewell totaled a game-high 27 points (10-17 FG) and 5 rebounds in a 96-78 victory over the Boston Celtics on March 20, and recorded a season and game-high 31 points (11-17 FG) and 4 rebounds in a 113-89 victory over the L.A. Clippers on March 16. He registered a team-high 28 points (7-14 FG, 2-3 3FG, 12-14 FT), 3 assists and 3 rebounds in a 108-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 15. On the injured list from Feb. 10 -March 5, Sprewell missed 13 games due to a stress fracture in his right heel. He Made his Knicks debut, posting a game-high 24 points and 6 rebounds, against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 5.
1997-98 NOTES
Sprewell went from being an All-Star guard to a cause celebrity in his sixth pro season. After 14 games he was averaging a team-high 21.4 points per game and was ranked 12th in the league in scoring. He had tallied 20 or more points nine times and had led the club in scoring eight times, including a season-high 45 points on opening night, October 31, at Minnesota. But on December 3 he was involved in a physical confrontation with Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo at a Warriors practice session. The next day he was suspended, and although an arbitrator later reduced the length of the NBA's one-year suspension, Sprewell did not play again in 1997-98.
1996-97 NOTES
Sprewell asserted himself as one of the NBA's premier scorers by averaging a career-high 24.2 ppg, fifth-highest in the league. He scored in double figures in 78 of the 80 games he played, getting 20+ 57 times, 30+ 17 times and 40+ six times, including a career-high 46 points (plus 10 rebounds and five steals) in a 105-93 win over Dallas on Jan. 21. His six 40-point games were the most by a Warrior since Purvis Short scored 40 or more eight times in 1984-85. But he did more for the Warriors than just score. He also led the team in minutes (41.9 mpg, third in the NBA), three-pointers made (147) and attempted (415), tied for the team lead in steals (1.65 spg, 22nd in the NBA), ranked second in assists (6.3 apg, 18th in the NBA) and third in rebounding (4.6 rpg). He posted career-highs in three-pointers made and attempted, assists and free throw percentage (.843, 19th in the NBA).
Sprewell posted 15 double-doubles and the first triple-double of his career, getting 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 122-115 overtime loss at Phoenix on March 28. He barely missed another triple-double against Philadelphia on Jan. 3 when he had 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He handed out a career-high 13 assists in a 120-103 victory over San Antonio on April 5, and he matched his career-high with 13 rebounds in the season-opening 97-85 loss to the Clippers on Nov. 1. Sprewell shot 22-for-25 from the foul line against the Clippers on March 10, both highs for the NBA in 1996-97. His 585 free throw attempts were the most by a Warrior since Short attempted 613 in 1984-85, and his 493 free throws made were the most by a Warrior since Chris Mullin had 513 in 1990-91.
Selected by the Western Conference coaches to the All-Star Game in Cleveland, Sprewell led the West with 19 points and also had three rebounds, two steals and one assists in 25 minutes. He had four dazzling dunks in the game, including a fast-break alley-oop and a slam over Scottie Pippen.
1995-96 NOTES
Sprewell was a force for the Warriors at both ends of the court, leading the team in scoring at 18.9 ppg and steals at 1.63 spg. He also led Warriors in minutes played at 39.3 mpg and contributed 4.9 rpg and 4.2 apg, ranking 10th in the NBA in minutes and 16th in steals. He shot .428 from the field, .789 from the line and .323 from three-point range, ranking second on the Warriors with 91 treys. In the Warriors' unsuccessful drive for the final playoff berth, he averaged 25.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.0 apg and 1.6 spg in the last eight games of the season, shooting .486 from the field, more than 50 points above his season average.
Sprewell scored in double figures 67 times, 20 points or more 37 times and 30 points or more eight times, the Warriors winning six of those eight games. He had a season-high 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting in a 117-96 win at Atlanta on Dec. 29. He posted three double-doubles, including 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Philadelphia on Jan. 3. He twice handed out nine assists, at Milwaukee on Jan. 18 and against Denver on April 4. One of his best overall games came in a 99-94 win over Milwaukee on March 16. He had 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals. Sprewell started 78 games, missing four in November due to an infection and swelling in his left elbow following a collision with Jamal Mashburn of Dallas on Nov. 18.
1994-95 NOTES
Sprewell should have followed his breakthrough season of 1993-94 with an even more superlative year in 1994-95, but team turmoil and personal grievances made it a trying campaign for the third-year guard. Upset by the trade that sent Chris Webber to the Washington Bullets, Sprewell spent much of the year wearing Webber's number on the back of his playing shoes. He was suspended twice for conduct detrimental to the team and missed 13 games altogether, the highest total of his career.
Despite his personal troubles, Sprewell became the first Warriors guard to start in an All-Star Game since Guy Rogers in 1966 and was the youngest Warriors player to start in an All-Star Game since Rick Barry, also in 1966. Sprewell totaled 9 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in the All-Star contest.
His numbers dropped in several categories in 1994-95. He shot just .418 from the floor, the lowest mark of his career, and .276 from three-point range, down from .361 in 1993-94. He finished the season with a scoring average of 20.6 points per game, just below his 21.0 average of the previous year, to finish 17th in the league. He shot .827 from the free-throw line in the season's final month to push his free-throw percentage to a career-best .781. One of the best backcourt defenders in the league, Sprewell outscored opposing off guards by an average of 4.4 points per game. He led the Warriors with an average of 1.62 steals per game and registered 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per outing.
1993-94 NOTES
No NBA player raised his stock higher than Sprewell did in 1993-94. Once an unheralded prospect out of the University of Alabama and a late first-round draft pick in 1992, Sprewell became the best shooting guard in the NBA in only his second season. When injuries sidelined both Tim Hardaway and Sarunas Marciulionis for the entire year and Chris Mullin for the first part of the season, Golden State Warriors Coach Don Nelson leaned on Sprewell to pick up the slack in the backcourt. Sprewell played more minutes (3,533) than any other NBA player in 1993-94. However, the young guard was up to the challenge. A talented all-around player who could shoot, drive, and defend, Sprewell led the Warriors in scoring with 21.0 points per game. He also averaged 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists, canned 141 three-pointers, and notched 180 steals.
If Sprewell went through his rookie season relatively unnoticed, he earned plenty of accolades in his sophomore campaign. At midseason he was selected to play in his first NBA All-Star Game and tallied 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in 15 minutes of play. At age 23, he was the youngest member of the Warriors to play in an All-Star Game since 22-year-old Keith Wilkes (later Jamaal Wilkes) represented Golden State in 1976. At season's end, Sprewell was named to the All-NBA First Team at off guard, taking a spot that had been occupied by Michael Jordan for the previous eight years. For good measure he was also selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
In addition to leading Golden State in scoring during the regular season, Sprewell also finished second on the club in point production during the postseason, averaging 22.7 points. Despite his efforts, the Warriors were swept by the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
1992-93 NOTES
Latrell Sprewell didn't play varsity basketball until his senior year in high school, when he averaged 28 points. Although he wasn't recruited by a Division I school, Sprewell was an All-Southeastern Conference selection as a senior at Alabama, averaging 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals. Warriors fans booed the selection of yet another midsized player when Golden State selected Sprewell with the 24th pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. They were hoping the Warriors would go for a bigger man. The fans aren't booing now.
Sprewell was one of the league's most compelling success stories, averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 35.6 minutes in 77 games. Injuries to other players forced him to start 69 games at both guard slots. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Sprewell became the first rookie in club history to register at least 1,000 points, 250 rebounds, 250 assists, 100 steals, and 50 blocks in a season. Among active players this season, only Michael Jordan, Ron Harper, Willie Anderson, and Lionel Simmons achieved those milestones as rookies. And only Jordan, Harper, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Reggie Lewis, Reggie Williams, and Nick Anderson matched that feat in 1992-93.
Sprewell was the fifth-leading scorer among rookies. He ranked first in assists and three-point shooting and second in steals. He led the Warriors in minutes (2,741)-the first rookie to do so since Joe Barry Carroll in 1980-81. Sprewell made 73 of 198 three-pointers to rank third in NBA history among rookies, behind only Dennis Scott (125) and Dana Barros (95). He scored in double figures 61 times, including 23 straight to end the season, and led the team in scoring 14 times.
Sprewell burned the Los Angeles Lakers for 36 points, adding 9 rebounds and 9 assists, in a 122-116 overtime win on April 8. It was the highest-scoring performance by a Warriors rookie since Mitch Richmond's 37 on March 31, 1989.
