Brian Grant
Encyclopedia
Brian Wade Grant is a retired American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He played the power forward
Power forward (basketball)
Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...

 and center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

 positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. He was known for his tenacious rebounding
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...

 and blue-collar defense. During his career, he played with the Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...

 (where he made First Team All-Rookie in the 1994–95 season), Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...

, Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

, Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 and Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

.

College career

He was picked up on the Xavier University basketball team where he was second on the all-time leading scorers' list. He became the two-time Midwest Collegiate Conference Player of the Year at Xavier University
Xavier University (Cincinnati)
Xavier University is a co-educational Jesuit university in the United States located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation and has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,000 students and graduate enrollment of 2,600 students. Xavier is primarily...

 in Cincinnati, Ohio. All four seasons with Xavier University he led his team in rebounding, and was third on the all-time leading rebounding list. He was named to the Associated Press' honorable mention All-American team in his junior year, after ranking second in the nation in field goal percentage with 65.4 percent.

NBA career

Grant was drafted in the first round, eighth overall, in the 1994 NBA Draft
1994 NBA Draft
The 1994 NBA Draft took place on June 29, 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is notable for the fact that two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season...

 by the Sacramento Kings. He signed a 5-year, 29 million dollar contract.

Grant opted out of the deal following the 1997 season to sign a 7-year, $56 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. After two years as the starting PF and one year as the Blazers' number one big man off the bench, Grant once again opted out of his deal to become a free agent, hoping to land a starting job elsewhere.

In the summer of 2000 Grant signed a mega-deal with Miami: 7 years, $86 million, despite coming off season averages of 7.5 ppg and 5.5 rpgg. The deal raised eyebrows, but Heat GM Pat Riley
Pat Riley
Patrick James "Pat" Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a retired coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams...

 insisted that Grant was the missing piece to the Heat's championship puzzle. Grant responded by putting up a career season of 15.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, and a career high 79.7% at the foul line, despite having to play out of position at center-his traditional position was power forward.

During the summer of 2004, he was traded (along with Caron Butler
Caron Butler
James Caron Butler, widely known as Caron Butler , is an American professional basketball player who most recently played at small forward for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.-Early life:...

, Lamar Odom
Lamar Odom
Lamar Joseph Odom is an American professional basketball forward with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.-Early life:...

, and a future first-round draft pick) to the Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

. Grant was released the following off-season and signed with Phoenix. He was traded in the 2006 NBA Draft
2006 NBA Draft
The 2006 NBA Draft was held on June 28, 2006 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players,...

 to the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 with the rights to Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Pierre Rondo is an American professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association . Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Rondo attended Eastern High School and Oak Hill Academy for his high-school basketball career, before receiving a...

 in exchange for a future first-round draft pick. After being waived by the Celtics on October 27, 2006, Grant formally announced his retirement after lingering injuries had reduced his level of play for several seasons.

He is nicknamed "The General" after growing up in the same town of Georgetown, Ohio
Georgetown, Ohio
Georgetown is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,691 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. Georgetown was the childhood home of Ulysses S...

 as Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 general and President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

.

Brian worked with current Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...

 center Greg Oden
Greg Oden
Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA....

 in the 2009 off-season in Columbus, Ohio for the purposes of adding more toughness, basketball smarts, and miscellaneous advice.

Charity work

Brian Grant is well known for his contributions to the communities in various cities. Grant served as the Oregon and Southwest Washington spokesperson for Ronald McDonald House Charities when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers. Grant and Ronald McDonald House Charities teamed up in July of 1999 to hold “Brian’s Bash” – a celebrity golf tournament in Portland – to raise money for seriously and terminally ill children.

During his time as an NBA player, he started his own foundation in order to assist seriously ill children, as well as their families, and under-privileged youth. These numerous acts of selflessness and generosity were recognized by the NBA in 1999 when he was awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. A few of the programs that The Brian Grant Foundation has launched are the "Scholastic Attendance Program", the "Christmas Adopt-A-Family Program", the "Thanksgiving Dinner Distribution Program" with Pazzo's Restaurant, Mother's Against Gang Violence, the TLC Soup Kitchen, and the "Brian Grant Free Summer Basketball Clinics" in Portland< Oregon and Georgetown, Ohio.

After retiring from the NBA and moving his family back to his adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon, Grant was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in November 2008. With new friends in Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, who share the disease with Brian, he decided to recreate The Brian Grant Foundation; this time, with a new focus and mission. In partnering again with his foundation's former executive director, Lauren Forman, the new charity supports efforts toward the education and awareness of Parkinson’s disease in order to increase earlier diagnosis, educate patients and their families, and provide a viable forum for people affected by the disease. The foundation hosts an annual fundraiser called, Shake It Till We Make It, in order to raise money to provide support and resources for all those affected by Parkinson's Disease. Shake It Till We Make It is a two-day celebrity gala and golf tournament hosted in Portland, OR.

Additionally, The Brian Grant Foundation partners up with other foundations, such as the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, to support and fund research dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease and to finding improved therapies for people living with Parkinson’s Disease.

Health

In November of 2008, after talking with a neurologist at OHSU, Brian Grant was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

. Through discussions and encouragement by well-known Parkinson's sufferers Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...

 and Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

, Grant publicized his diagnosis in 2009.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK