Athletes - Ben Wallace

Home > Listing Index > Athletes > Ben Wallace

	Athletes - Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace (born September 10, 1974 in White Hall, Alabama) is a professional basketball player in the NBA who plays center (and sometimes power forward) for the Detroit Pistons. He is listed at 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in, although as he himself has stated probably stands closer to 2.01 m, 6 ft 7 in) and 109 kg (240 lb). As of 2005, he is regarded as the premier defensive player in the league. His nickname is "Big Ben."

Wallace has gained great notoriety in the Detroit area and nationwide, and fans often arrive at his games sporting wigs in honor of his trademark afro hairstyle. However, he now only has this for some home games; for most games, he has his hair styled into cornrows.

Basketball career

Wallace played college basketball at Virginia Union, a Division II school. As an undrafted player, he was signed as a rookie free agent by the Washington Bullets on October 2, 1996.

In 1999, Wallace was traded to the Orlando Magic alongside with Tim Legler, Terry Davis, and Jeff McInnis for Ike Austin. On August 3, 2000, he was traded alongside with Chucky Atkins to the Detroit Pistons for Grant Hill. Since then, he has been considered the quintessential defensive specialist, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2004-05 seasons. In the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, he led the league in both rebounds and block shots. In 2003, he was voted by fans to first NBA All-Star Game as the starting center for the Eastern Conference. He became the first undrafted player to ever start an All-Star Game. He, along with Chauncey Billups, captained the Pistons' 2004 NBA championship team.

Player profile

Wallace features an impressive physique (even measured against the standards of his NBA peers) which allows him to out-muscle most of his opposition and play bigger than his body. Wallace constantly ranks among the best rebounders and shot blockers. His uncanny defensive timing allows him to defend with great intensity without committing a foul (his career average of 2.1 fouls per game is considered low). In addition, he is seen also as one of the most reliable contributors, rarely failing to deliver in important games.

His drawback is his offensive game. Although he averaged almost 10 points per game in 2005, he is not considered an offensive threat. He has tried to work hard on becoming less of an offensive liability. Realizing his limitations on offense, he will make smart passes in addition to making cuts to the basket to receive a pass for a potential easy lay-up. Like other big men in the NBA, namely Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain, Wallace is an atrocious free throw shooter. In fact, he is the worst free throw shooter in NBA history out of any player with more than 1000 attempts. As of October 2005, his NBA career average is 42.0%. This ineptitude at the free throw line results in his sometimes becoming a target of the so-called "Hack-a-Shaq" defense.

Year	        Age	Team	G	PPG	FGP	FTP	3PP	RPG	APG


1996-97 	22 	WAS 	34	1.1	.348	.300	.000	1.7	0.1
1997-98 	23 	WAS 	67	3.1	.518	.357	.000	4.8	0.3
1998-99 	24 	WAS 	46	6.0	.578	.356	.000	8.3	0.4
1999-00 	25 	ORL 	81	4.8	.503	.487	.000	8.0	0.8
2000-01 	26 	DET 	80	6.4	.490	.336	.250	13.2	1.5
2001-02 	27 	DET 	80	7.6	.531	.423	.000	13.0	1.4
2002-03 	28 	DET 	73	6.9	.481	.450	.167	15.4	1.6
2003-04 	29 	DET 	81	9.5	.421	.490	.125	12.6    1.7
2004-05 	30 	DET 	74	9.8	.453	.428	.111	12.2	1.8
Totals                          616	6.5	.479	.420	.133	10.6	1.2

On February 9, 2006, for the fourth time in his career, Wallace was selected to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas as a reserve for the Eastern Conference.

Accolades

NBA Champion: 2004
4-time NBA All-Star: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
3-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2005
4-time All-NBA Defensive First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
2-time All-NBA Second Team: 2003, 2004
2-time All-NBA Third Team: 2002, 2005
2-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounds per game: 2002 (13.0), 2003 (15.4)
NBA regular-season leader, blocks per game: 2002 (3.5)
2-time NBA regular-season leader, total rebounds: 2001 (1052), 2003 (1026)
NBA regular-season leader, total defensive rebounds: 2001 (749)
NBA regular-season leader, total offensive rebounds: 2003 (293)
NBA regular-season leader, total blocks: 2002 (278)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Ben Wallace ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Ben Wallace; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Athletes - Ben Wallace

Basketball career

Player profile

Accolades

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay