Rex Chapman
Encyclopedia
Rex Everett Chapman is a retired American 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. Chapman was a college standout at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 and went on to play for four NBA
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...

 teams through his 12-year career in the league. He later served as the vice president of player personnel with the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

.

College career

A high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 basketball star at Apollo High
Apollo High School (Owensboro, Kentucky)
Apollo High School is a high school, that is part of Daviess County Public Schools district, located in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was named after the Apollo Space Program, and opened in 1969 as a junior high school. It then converted into a high school in 1972 and held their first graduation in 1974...

 in Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...

, Chapman was heavily recruited by many universities. He chose, however, to stay close to home when he signed with the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

. Chapman was a star with the Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...

 where he was named to the All-SEC
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...

 Team during his freshman and sophomore years. Chapman and Wildcat teammate and future NBA journeyman Winston Bennett
Winston Bennett
Winston George Bennett III is a retired American professional basketball player and current men's basketball head coach for Mid-Continent University.-High school and college career:...

 helped lead Kentucky to their 37th SEC title with a 27-6 record during his sophomore year. The Wildcats were ranked as the 6th college basketball team in the nation by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 and UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...

 and secured the number two seed in the South region of the 1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1988, and ended with the championship game on April 4 returning to Kansas City, Missouri...

. Kentucky's talents led the team to the tournament's Sweet Sixteen, where they suffered a defeat against Villanova
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

. Chapman scored 30 in a losing effort. Chapman amassed a total of 1,073 points in only two years at Kentucky before opting to enter the NBA Draft
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...

.

Charlotte Hornets

Chapman was selected with the 8th overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft
1988 NBA Draft
The 1988 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 1988 in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Notable undrafted players:...

 and became the first player ever signed by the Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte Hornets (NBA)
The Charlotte Hornets was a professional American basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They played in the Atlantic, Midwest, and Central divisions of the National Basketball Association. The Hornets began play during the 1988–89 NBA season as an expansion franchise, along with the...

 in the franchise's history. Chapman was popular among basketball fans in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, as he averaged 16.9 points per game his first season there. He could not help the Hornets win many games, however, as the expansion team went 20-62 that year.

Chapman finished 6th behind Dominique Wilkins
Dominique Wilkins
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is a retired American professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA...

 during his first NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Slam Dunk Contest
The Slam Dunk Contest is an annual National Basketball Association competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was inaugurated by the American Basketball Association at its All-Star Game in 1976 in Denver, the same year the slam dunk was legalized in the NCAA...

 but during the 1989-1990 season
1989-90 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers*Rookie of the Year: David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs*Defensive Player of the Year: Dennis Rodman, Detroit Pistons...

, Chapman, along with his teammate Kendall Gill
Kendall Gill
Kendall Cedric Gill is a retired American professional basketball player, now a sports analyst for Comcast Sports Net and the Big Ten Network.-Early life:...

, entered the NBA all star dunk competition for the second time. Despite performing a two hands and two balls dunk stunt, he lost to the Celtics Dee Brown, finishing tied for second in the competition.

Chapman averaged 17 points per game that year, but the Hornets were not much better than a year earlier. After one-and-a-half more seasons with the Hornets, Chapman was traded midway through the 1991–1992 season to the Washington Bullets
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

. He was injured, however, and could only participate in the final game of the season. This would turn out to be the first of a number of injuries that gave Chapman trouble during the rest of his career.

Washington Bullets & Miami Heat

Chapman was traded to the Washington Bullets in exchange for Tom Hammonds
Tom Hammonds
Tom Edward Hammonds is a retired American professional basketball player and National Hot Rod Association drag racer. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and attended Crestview High School in Crestview, Florida....

 on February 19, 1992. Here he played 60 games during the 1993–94 season and 45 games during the 1994–95 season . He had his second major injury during the latter season, after which he was traded to 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...

. By the time Chapman was with the Heat, he was noticeably losing his hair, and opted to shave his head completely and sport a bald look. Chapman had what started out as a great season, and averaged 14.8 points per game that year, but he was placed on the injured list again and only participated in 56 games and eventually signed with the 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...

.

Phoenix Suns

As with many other Suns players, Chapman became a fan favorite upon his arrival in Phoenix for the 1996-1997 season. He played in 65 games, and scored 13 points per game. His popularity in Phoenix was enhanced by a shot in game four of the 1997 First Round against the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...

. Chapman is probably best known by basketball fans because of this one particular moment: the 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...

, up two games to one, were trailing the SuperSonics by three points with seconds to go at America West Arena
US Airways Center
US Airways Center is a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1992, and is the home of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena...

 in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

. With the inbounded ball seemingly on its way out of bounds, Chapman saved it and threw up a three-pointer, making the shot with 1.9 seconds left and sending the game into overtime. Despite this miraculous play, the Suns ended up losing the game, and the deciding game 5, and were eliminated from the playoffs. Chapman has declared publicly he does not like to be reminded of the moment too much because the Suns still lost.

Chapman played 68 games during the 1997–1998 season for the Suns, scoring almost 16 points per game. But he would be injured again during the strike shortened 1999 season, playing 38 games. Chapman would play 53 games during the 1999–2000 season, but he became re-injured and decided to retire from the NBA then.

Chapman played a total of 666 regular season NBA games, scoring 9,731 points for an average of 14.6 points per game, with 1,798 assists for an average of 2.7 assists per game, and 1,645 rebounds, for 2.5 rebounds per game.

Post-playing life

After retiring from active play Chapman remained with the Suns, first as a scout and later as Director of Basketball Operations. For the 2004 and 2005 NBA Playoffs
NBA Playoffs
The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

, he served as a color commentator on TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...

. In 2005, he moved from Phoenix to accept a personnel scout position with the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...

. In 2006, he accepted the position of vice president of player personnel with the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

.

External links

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