Tony Battie

Tony Battie
Battie with the Magic in 2008
Personal information
Born (1976-02-11) February 11, 1976 (age 48)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolSouth Oak Cliff (Dallas, Texas)
CollegeTexas Tech (1994–1997)
NBA draft1997: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career1997–2012
PositionCenter / power forward
Number4, 40, 7
Career history
1997–1998Denver Nuggets
19992003Boston Celtics
2003–2004Cleveland Cavaliers
20042009Orlando Magic
2009–2010New Jersey Nets
20102012Philadelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points5,082 (6.1 ppg)
Rebounds4,287 (5.1 rpg)
Blocks713 (0.9 bpg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

High school and college career[edit]

Battie attended South Oak Cliff High School[1] in Dallas and played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders where he ended his career as the school all-time leader in blocked shots with 162 blocks. His best season, statistically, was in his junior year when he scored 18.8 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game.[2]

NBA career[edit]

Battie was drafted fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1997 NBA draft, where he played one season. The Nuggets, who were deterred by Battie's inefficiency during his rookie season, traded Los Angeles Lakers along with Tyronn Lue for Nick Van Exel during the 1998 NBA draft. Battie, however, did not play for the Lakers due to the then-ongoing NBA lockout. In 1999, he was traded to the Boston Celtics for Travis Knight, and Battie flourished in Boston.

He remained with the Celtics for six years before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Eric Williams and Kedrick Brown in exchange for Ricky Davis, Chris Mihm, Michael Stewart, and a second-round pick. The following season The Cavaliers traded Battie to the Orlando Magic for Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter, and the Magic's second-round draft pick, Anderson Varejão.[3]

On June 25, 2009, Battie was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee in exchange for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson.[4] In July, 2010 Battie signed a contract with Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent. He would spend the last two seasons with the 76ers before announcing his retirement.[5]

Battie was a solid role player who only became more valuable with age. As an offensive player, he lacked the skills to be an effective scorer, but he still developed an adept mid-range jump shot. Battie's worth came from his perfected offensive and defensive screens which aided in the team strategy. On the defensive side, Battie was an average rebounder and blocker. As his career progressed, Battie's veteran presence was a helpful tool to young, emerging teams like the Magic and the 76ers.[6]

Personal life[edit]

In September 2000, Battie's then teammate, Paul Pierce, was stabbed at the Buzz Club, a late night dance club in the Boston Theater District; Battie and his brother saved Pierce by rushing him to a nearby hospital.[7]

NBA career statistics[edit]

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

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1997–98 Denver 65 49 23.2 .446 .214 .702 5.4 .9 .8 1.1 8.4
1998–99 Boston 50* 15 22.4 .519 .000 .672 6.0 1.1 .6 1.4 6.7
1999–00 Boston 82 4 18.4 .477 .125 .675 5.0 .8 .6 .9 6.6
2000–01 Boston 40 25 21.1 .537 .000 .638 5.8 .4 .7 1.5 6.5
2001–02 Boston 74 73 24.6 .541 .000 .413 6.5 .5 .8 .9 6.9
2002–03 Boston 67 62 25.1 .539 .200 .746 6.5 .7 .5 1.2 7.3
2003–04 Boston 23 6 21.8 .479 1.000 .697 5.1 .9 .3 .9 5.9
2003–04 Cleveland 50 1 19.5 .427 .125 .768 4.8 .7 .4 .9 5.4
2004–05 Orlando 81 32 23.4 .460 .000 .723 5.6 .5 .4 1.0 4.9
2005–06 Orlando 82* 82* 27.0 .507 .000 .664 5.6 .6 .6 .8 7.9
2006–07 Orlando 66 66 23.9 .489 .000 .675 5.2 .5 .4 .5 6.1
2008–09 Orlando 77 3 15.6 .489 .222 .659 3.6 .4 .3 .3 4.8
2009–10 New Jersey 15 0 8.9 .350 .250 .700 1.5 .2 .3 .1 2.4
2010–11 Philadelphia 38 0 9.9 .469 .667 .571 2.6 .3 .1 .4 2.6
2011–12 Philadelphia 27 11 10.9 .373 .000 1.000 2.5 .6 .1 .2 1.6
Career 837 429 21.1 .488 .162 .690 5.1 .6 .5 .9 6.1

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 Boston 16 16 27.7 .488 .000 .619 7.6 .8 .6 1.9 6.1
2003 Boston 10 10 21.3 .564 .000 .500 4.9 .5 .4 1.4 6.6
2007 Orlando 4 4 21.8 .389 .000 .250 4.0 .3 .0 .0 3.8
2009 Orlando 21 0 6.1 .467 .000 .600 1.0 .1 .0 .1 2.1
2011 Philadelphia 5 0 7.6 .429 .000 .500 2.0 .0 .0 .6 1.4
Career 56 30 16.2 .493 .000 .550 3.9 .4 .3 .9 4.1

References[edit]

  1. ^ "My High School: South Oak Cliff", The Dallas Morning News sports section online
  2. ^ "Tony Battie – Basketball Tips". bestbasketballtips.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  3. ^ "An appeal to new coach Steve Clifford: Reinvent Stan Plan and make Orlando Magic fun again" Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  4. ^ "Nets Acquire Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee from Orlando". NBA.com. June 25, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  5. ^ Sixers sign free agent Tony Battie
  6. ^ "Player: Tony Battie". hoopshype.com. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Lena Williams (September 26, 2000). "PRO BASKETBALL; Nightclub Incident Leaves Celtic Recovering From Stab Wounds – New York Times". Query.nytimes.com. Retrieved November 11, 2008.

External links[edit]