Michael Cage

Michael Cage
Cage with the San Diego State Aztecs in 1982–83
Personal information
Born (1962-01-28) January 28, 1962 (age 62)
West Memphis, Arkansas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight224 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Memphis
(West Memphis, Arkansas)
CollegeSan Diego State (1980–1984)
NBA draft1984: 1st round, 14th overall pick
Selected by the San Diego Clippers[1]
Playing career1984–2000
PositionPower forward / center
Number44, 4, 45
Career history
19841988Los Angeles Clippers
19881994Seattle SuperSonics
19941996Cleveland Cavaliers
1996–1997Philadelphia 76ers
19972000New Jersey Nets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points8,278 (7.3 ppg)
Rebounds8,646 (7.6 rpg)
Steals1,050 (0.9 spg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Representing  United States
Basketball
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Team competition

Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Basketball career

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A 6'9" power forward/center from San Diego State, he is the Aztecs' all-time rebounding leader and second leading scorer as of 2011.[2] Cage was the 14th pick of the 1984 NBA draft. He played 15 NBA seasons (1984–2000) with five teams: the Los Angeles Clippers, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets.

On January 19, 1987, Cage scored a career-high 29 points in a loss against the San Antonio Spurs.[3]

During the 1987–88 season when, as a member of the Clippers, he led the league in rebounding with 13.0 per game. He was on a personal duel with Charles Oakley, who was playing with the Chicago Bulls at the time. Cage needed to register 28 rebounds in his final game to beat out Oakley for the rebounding title. He ended up grabbing 30.[1] Just weeks later, during the 1988 NBA draft, Cage was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for a future first-round pick and Gary Grant.[4] During his first season in Seattle, Cage would make the postseason for the first time in his career.[4] Several years later, during the 1993 NBA Playoffs, Cage and the SuperSonics would come within one game of reaching the NBA Finals, losing to the Charles Barkley-led Suns in seven games.[5]

During his career, Cage earned the nicknames "John Shaft" and "Windexman"[1] (as in "cleaning the glass") for his rebounding prowess and hard work on defense.

Cage held the record for most career 3-point attempts without a make (0–25) until Zaza Pachulia reached 0–26 for his career during the 2017–2018 season. Pachulia retired after the 2018 - 2019 season and he still holds the record at 0 - 31.

Cage's final game was on January 17, 2000, in a 96–101 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers where he recorded 3 rebounds and 1 assist, but no points.

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

NBA

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Source[4]

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85 L.A. Clippers 75 41 21.5 .543 .737 5.2 .7 .5 .4 7.1
1985–86 L.A. Clippers 78 12 20.1 .479 .000 .649 5.3 1.0 .8 .4 6.7
1986–87 L.A. Clippers 80 76 36.5 .521 .000 .730 11.5 1.6 1.2 .8 15.7
1987–88 L.A. Clippers 72 70 36.9 .470 .000 .688 13.0* 1.5 1.3 .8 14.0
1988–89 Seattle 80 71 31.7 .498 .000 .743 9.6 1.6 1.2 .7 10.3
1989–90 Seattle 82* 82* 31.6 .504 .698 10.0 .9 1.0 .5 9.7
1990–91 Seattle 82* 55 26.1 .506 .000 .625 6.8 1.1 1.0 .7 6.4
1991–92 Seattle 82 69 30.0 .566 .000 .620 8.9 1.1 1.2 .7 8.8
1992–93 Seattle 82 66 26.3 .526 .000 .469 8.0 .8 .9 .6 6.1
1993–94 Seattle 82* 42 20.8 .548 .000 .486 5.4 .5 .9 .5 4.6
1994–95 Cleveland 82* 21 24.9 .521 .000 .602 6.9 .7 .7 .8 5.0
1995–96 Cleveland 82 80 32.1 .556 .000 .543 8.9 .6 1.1 1.0 6.0
1996–97 Philadelphia 82 24 15.2 .468 .000 .463 3.9 .5 .6 .5 1.8
1997–98 New Jersey 79 17 15.2 .512 .000 .556 3.9 .4 .6 .6 1.3
1999–00 New Jersey 20 7 12.1 .500 1.000 4.1 .5 .4 .4 1.4
Career 1,140 733 26.1 .515 .000 .664 7.6 .9 .9 .6 7.3

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1989 Seattle 8 0 21.9 .609 .000 .409 5.8 .6 .9 .4 7.1
1991 Seattle 5 0 16.0 .429 .765 4.2 .4 .6 .4 5.0
1992 Seattle 9 4 21.9 .559 1.000 5.7 .4 .7 .9 4.3
1993 Seattle 19 2 19.9 .525 .389 5.8 .5 .7 .4 4.8
1994 Seattle 5 5 18.6 .375 .333 5.4 .8 .8 1.0 2.8
1995 Cleveland 4 0 20.3 .444 .000 .000 4.5 .8 .5 1.0 4.0
1996 Cleveland 3 3 33.7 .571 .600 9.3 .7 .7 1.7 6.3
Career 53 14 20.8 .523 .000 .493 5.7 .6 .7 .6 4.9

Personal life

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On September 17, 2014, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced Cage would be joining their broadcast team, replacing analyst Grant Long.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "CLIPPERS: Catching up with Michael Cage – 8/9/11". nba.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  2. ^ Canepa, Nick (February 25, 2011). "According to Cage, SDSU a strong enough 'team' to conquer Jimmer". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  3. ^ Michael Cage scores a career high 29 points (1987)
  4. ^ a b c "Michael Cage NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  5. ^ 1993 NBA Western Conference Finals SuperSonics vs. Suns
  6. ^ "Michael Cage to Join Thunder Broadcast Team". thunder.nba.com. September 17, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
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