Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace: Four-time All-Star, 2004 NBA champion, and holder of the single-season and all-time career technical foul records.

Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and played for six teams during his 16-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A four-time NBA All-Star, Wallace won an NBA championship as a member of the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

Quick Facts

Born: 17 September 1974
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
High school: Simon Gratz (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
College: North Carolina (1993–1995)
Draft round: 1
Draft pick: 4
Drafted by: Washington Bullets
Career position: Power forward; center

Lore & Background

Wallace was born and raised in a single-mother household in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. He attended Simon Gratz High School, where he was named USA Today's High School Player of the Year. He played college basketball at the University of North Carolina under coach Dean Smith, leading the Tar Heels to the NCAA Final Four in 1995. He was selected fourth overall by the Washington Bullets in the 1995 NBA draft. Wallace played for the Bullets, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks. He won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004 and reached the NBA Finals again in 2005. He holds the single-season record for technical fouls (41 in 2000–01) and is the all-time leader in career technical fouls (317).

Reader's Guide

Wallace was a four-time NBA All-Star (2000, 2001, 2006, 2008). He averaged a career-best 19.4 points per game in 2002 for the Trail Blazers. He was named to the All-Rookie second team in 1996. He scored a career-high 42 points on February 20, 2001. In the 2004 NBA Finals, he recorded 26 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4. He signed a five-year, $57 million contract with the Pistons after the 2004 championship. He retired in 2010, then returned for a one-year deal with the New York Knicks in 2012, announcing his second retirement on April 17, 2013.

Did You Know?

Wallace was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2004 and played only one game for them, scoring 20 points.
He paid for replica WWE World Heavyweight Championship belts for his Pistons teammates after the 2004 title.
Wallace changed his jersey number from #30 to #36 after signing a new contract with Detroit in 2004.
He was suspended for seven games in 2003 for threatening referee Tim Donaghy.
Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse were teammates at North Carolina and both entered the 1995 NBA draft.