Erick Dampier
Encyclopedia
Erick Travez Dampier is an American
professional basketball
player who last played for the Miami Heat
. He is a 6 ft 11 in / 265 lb. center
.
, where he led the rural county to two state championships. Dampier played college basketball
at Mississippi State University
. While there he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi
. He was an early entry to the 1996 NBA draft after his junior season, in which he led MSU to the 1996 Southeastern Conference
tournament championship, and the NCAA
Final Four
before being drafted as the tenth pick in the first round by the Indiana Pacers
.
He played 72 games in his rookie year with the Pacers, starting 21 of them and finishing with averages of 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. On August 12, 1997 he and Duane Ferrell
were traded to the Golden State Warriors
for Chris Mullin
.
He spent the next seven years, primarily as the starting center, for the Warriors, hitting his peak production in 2003–04 with averages of 12.3 points, 12 rebounds and 1.85 blocks per game. However, some critics claimed that he stepped up his production because he was in a contract year
, and indeed he was considered a top free-agent commodity in the 2004 off-season.
On August 24, 2004, Dampier was signed and traded to the Dallas Mavericks
along with Dan Dickau
, Evan Eschmeyer
and rights to Steve Logan
in exchange for Christian Laettner
, Eduardo Nájera
, 2 future first round picks and rights to Luis Flores
and Mladen Sekularac
. In his first season in Dallas he played in 59 games (starting 56), averaging 9.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.85 blocks per game.
On July 13, 2010, Dampier was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats
along with Matt Carroll
and Eduardo Nájera
in exchange for Tyson Chandler
and Alexis Ajinça
. He was waived on September 14, 2010.
On November 23, 2010, he signed a contract with the Miami Heat
.
| align="left" | 1996–97
| align="left" | Indiana
| 72 || 21 || 14.6 || .390 || 1.000 || .637 || 4.1 || .6 || .3 || 1.0 || 5.1
|-
| align="left" | 1997–98
| align="left" | Golden State
| 82 || 82 || 32.4 || .445 || .000 || .669 || 8.7 || 1.1 || .5 || 1.7 || 11.8
|-
| align="left" | 1998–99
| align="left" | Golden State
| 50 || 50 || 28.3 || .389 || .000 || .588 || 7.6 || 1.1 || .5 || 1.2 || 8.8
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Golden State
| 21 || 12 || 23.6 || .405 || .000 || .529 || 6.4 || .9 || .4 || .7 || 8.0
|-
| align="left" | 2000–01
| align="left" | Golden State
| 43 || 26 || 24.1 || .401 || .000 || .532 || 5.8 || 1.4 || .4 || 1.4 || 7.4
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Golden State
| 73 || 46 || 23.8 || .435 || .000 || .645 || 5.3 || 1.2 || .2 || 2.3 || 7.6
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Golden State
| 82 || 82 || 24.1 || .496 || .000 || .698 || 6.6 || .7 || .3 || 1.9 || 8.2
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Golden State
| 74 || 74 || 32.5 || .535 || .000 || .654 || 12.0 || .8 || .4 || 1.9 || 12.3
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Dallas
| 59 || 56 || 27.3 || .550 || .000 || .605 || 8.5 || .9 || .2 || 1.4 || 9.2
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Dallas
| 82 || 36 || 23.6 || .493 || .000 || .591 || 7.8 || .6 || .3 || 1.3 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Dallas
| 76 || 73 || 25.2 || .626 || .000 || .623 || 7.4 || .6 || .3 || 1.1 || 7.1
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Dallas
| 72 || 64 || 24.4 || .643 || .000 || .575 || 7.5 || .9 || .3 || 1.5 || 6.1
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" | Dallas
| 80 || 80 || 23.0 || .650 || .000 || .638 || 7.1 || 1.0 || .3 || 1.2 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
| align="left" | Dallas
| 55 || 47 || 23.3 || .624 || .333 || .604 || 7.3 || .6 || .3 || 1.4 || 6.0
|-
| align="left" | 2010–11
| align="left" | Miami
| 51 || 22 || 16.0 || .584 || .000 || .545 || 3.5 || .4 || .3 || .9 || 2.5
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 972 || 771 || 24.6 || .498 || .125 || .626 || 7.2 || .8 || .3 || 1.4 || 7.5
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Dallas
| 13 || 13 || 23.7 || .597 || .000 || .393 || 7.5 || .5 || .5 || 1.4 || 7.0
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Dallas
| 19 || 2 || 23.9 || .540 || .000 || .614 || 6.7 || .3 || .6 || 1.3 || 5.0
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 2 || 7.6 || .667 || .000 || .500 || 3.4 || .2 || .0 || .0 || 1.0
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 5 || 19.0 || .412 || .000 || .400 || 4.2 || .0 || .2 || .6 || 3.6
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" | Dallas
| 10 || 10 || 25.5 || .611 || .000 || .619 || 6.1 || .7 || .4 || .9 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 4 || 23.6 || .000 || .000 || .417 || 6.6 || .6 || .2 || 1.0 || 1.0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 57 || 36 || 22.2 || .541 || .000 || .521 || 6.2 || .4 || .4 || 1.0 || 4.8
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional 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 who last played for 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...
. He is a 6 ft 11 in / 265 lb. 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...
.
Career
Dampier played competitively at Lawrence County High School in Monticello, MississippiMonticello, Mississippi
Monticello is a town in Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,726 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lawrence County.-Geography:Monticello is located at ....
, where he led the rural county to two state championships. Dampier played college 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...
at Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
. While there he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
. He was an early entry to the 1996 NBA draft after his junior season, in which he led MSU to the 1996 Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
tournament championship, and the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
before being drafted as the tenth pick in the first round by the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
.
He played 72 games in his rookie year with the Pacers, starting 21 of them and finishing with averages of 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. On August 12, 1997 he and Duane Ferrell
Duane Ferrell
Duane Ferrell is retired American professional basketball player.-Early life and college career:...
were traded to the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
for Chris Mullin
Chris Mullin (basketball)
Christopher Paul Mullin is a retired American basketball player and former general manager of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He has also been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame....
.
He spent the next seven years, primarily as the starting center, for the Warriors, hitting his peak production in 2003–04 with averages of 12.3 points, 12 rebounds and 1.85 blocks per game. However, some critics claimed that he stepped up his production because he was in a contract year
Contract year phenomenon
Contract year phenomenon is a term used in North American sports to describe the occurrence when athletes perform at a very high level in the season prior to their free agency eligibility...
, and indeed he was considered a top free-agent commodity in the 2004 off-season.
On August 24, 2004, Dampier was signed and traded to the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
along with Dan Dickau
Dan Dickau
Daniel David "Dan" Dickau is an American professional basketball player.-Early life and college:Born in Portland, Oregon, Dickau graduated from Prairie High School in Brush Prairie, Washington. He played for the University of Washington Huskies prior to transferring to, and becoming a standout...
, Evan Eschmeyer
Evan Eschmeyer
Evan Bruce Eschmeyer is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the 2nd round of the 1999 NBA Draft. A 6'11" center from Northwestern University, Eschmeyer played in four NBA seasons from 1999–2003...
and rights to Steve Logan
Steve Logan
Steve Deontay Logan is an American professional basketball player. He played with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats...
in exchange for Christian Laettner
Christian Laettner
Christian Donald Laettner is a retired American professional basketball player and entrepreneur. He had a distinguished college and national career, and played in the National Basketball Association for thirteen seasons, from 1992–2005. He is presently a minority holder for the Major League...
, Eduardo Nájera
Eduardo Nájera
Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez is a Mexican professional basketball player in the NBA, currently playing for the Charlotte Bobcats.-Personal information:...
, 2 future first round picks and rights to Luis Flores
Luis Flores
Luis Alberto Flores is a professional basketball player from the Dominican Republic. He is a 6 ft 2 in and 205 lb guard. He grew up in the United States, in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City, and attended Norman Thomas High School...
and Mladen Sekularac
Mladen Šekularac
Mladen Šekularac is a Montenegrin professional basketball player.At one point Šekularac was considered to be one of the biggest European talents and was projected as NBA Draft lottery pick candidate. His reputation was such that his club at the time, KK FMP, put a €1,300,000 price tag on his...
. In his first season in Dallas he played in 59 games (starting 56), averaging 9.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.85 blocks per game.
On July 13, 2010, Dampier was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
along with Matt Carroll
Matt Carroll (basketball)
Matthew Carroll is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA.Carroll is tall and weighs . He played high school basketball at Hatboro-Horsham High School in Horsham, Pennsylvania under coach Walt Ostrowski. He played college basketball at the University of...
and Eduardo Nájera
Eduardo Nájera
Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez is a Mexican professional basketball player in the NBA, currently playing for the Charlotte Bobcats.-Personal information:...
in exchange for Tyson Chandler
Tyson Chandler
Tyson Cleotis Chandler is an American professional basketball center who most recently played for the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. He was also a member of the United States men's national basketball team.-High school:...
and Alexis Ajinça
Alexis Ajinça
Alexis Ajinça is a French professional basketball player who last played with the Toronto Raptors of the NBA...
. He was waived on September 14, 2010.
On November 23, 2010, he signed a contract with 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...
.
Regular season
|-| align="left" | 1996–97
| align="left" | Indiana
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
| 72 || 21 || 14.6 || .390 || 1.000 || .637 || 4.1 || .6 || .3 || 1.0 || 5.1
|-
| align="left" | 1997–98
| align="left" | Golden State
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| 82 || 82 || 32.4 || .445 || .000 || .669 || 8.7 || 1.1 || .5 || 1.7 || 11.8
|-
| align="left" | 1998–99
| align="left" | Golden State
| 50 || 50 || 28.3 || .389 || .000 || .588 || 7.6 || 1.1 || .5 || 1.2 || 8.8
|-
| align="left" | 1999–00
| align="left" | Golden State
| 21 || 12 || 23.6 || .405 || .000 || .529 || 6.4 || .9 || .4 || .7 || 8.0
|-
| align="left" | 2000–01
| align="left" | Golden State
| 43 || 26 || 24.1 || .401 || .000 || .532 || 5.8 || 1.4 || .4 || 1.4 || 7.4
|-
| align="left" | 2001–02
| align="left" | Golden State
| 73 || 46 || 23.8 || .435 || .000 || .645 || 5.3 || 1.2 || .2 || 2.3 || 7.6
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" | Golden State
| 82 || 82 || 24.1 || .496 || .000 || .698 || 6.6 || .7 || .3 || 1.9 || 8.2
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Golden State
| 74 || 74 || 32.5 || .535 || .000 || .654 || 12.0 || .8 || .4 || 1.9 || 12.3
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | Dallas
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
| 59 || 56 || 27.3 || .550 || .000 || .605 || 8.5 || .9 || .2 || 1.4 || 9.2
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Dallas
| 82 || 36 || 23.6 || .493 || .000 || .591 || 7.8 || .6 || .3 || 1.3 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Dallas
| 76 || 73 || 25.2 || .626 || .000 || .623 || 7.4 || .6 || .3 || 1.1 || 7.1
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Dallas
| 72 || 64 || 24.4 || .643 || .000 || .575 || 7.5 || .9 || .3 || 1.5 || 6.1
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| align="left" | Dallas
| 80 || 80 || 23.0 || .650 || .000 || .638 || 7.1 || 1.0 || .3 || 1.2 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| align="left" | Dallas
| 55 || 47 || 23.3 || .624 || .333 || .604 || 7.3 || .6 || .3 || 1.4 || 6.0
|-
| align="left" | 2010–11
2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...
| align="left" | Miami
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...
| 51 || 22 || 16.0 || .584 || .000 || .545 || 3.5 || .4 || .3 || .9 || 2.5
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 972 || 771 || 24.6 || .498 || .125 || .626 || 7.2 || .8 || .3 || 1.4 || 7.5
Playoffs
|-| align="left" | 2004–05
2005 NBA Playoffs
The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...
| align="left" | Dallas
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
| 13 || 13 || 23.7 || .597 || .000 || .393 || 7.5 || .5 || .5 || 1.4 || 7.0
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
2006 NBA Playoffs
The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
| align="left" | Dallas
| 19 || 2 || 23.9 || .540 || .000 || .614 || 6.7 || .3 || .6 || 1.3 || 5.0
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 2 || 7.6 || .667 || .000 || .500 || 3.4 || .2 || .0 || .0 || 1.0
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 5 || 19.0 || .412 || .000 || .400 || 4.2 || .0 || .2 || .6 || 3.6
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" | Dallas
| 10 || 10 || 25.5 || .611 || .000 || .619 || 6.1 || .7 || .4 || .9 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" | Dallas
| 5 || 4 || 23.6 || .000 || .000 || .417 || 6.6 || .6 || .2 || 1.0 || 1.0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 57 || 36 || 22.2 || .541 || .000 || .521 || 6.2 || .4 || .4 || 1.0 || 4.8