Wesley in 2006
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Personal information | |
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Born |
San Antonio, Texas |
November 14, 1970
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Listed weight | 229 lb (104 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Longview (Longview, Texas) |
College | |
NBA draft | 1992 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 1992–2007 |
Position | Point guard / Shooting guard |
Career history | |
1992–1993 | Wichita Falls Texans |
1993–1994 | New Jersey Nets |
1994–1997 | Boston Celtics |
1997–2004 | Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets |
2004–2006 | Houston Rockets |
2006–2007 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 11,842 (12.5 ppg) |
Rebounds | 2,405 (2.5 rpg) |
Assists | 4,159 (4.4 apg) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
David Barakau Wesley (born November 14, 1970) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the NBA and CBA. He is the current television color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans. He is the cousin of former NBA player Michael Dickerson.
David graduated from Longview High School in Longview, Texas. He was classmates with former NFL player Bobby Taylor. Wesley played his freshman year at Temple Junior College, then transferred to Baylor University. Wesley averaged 17 points per game and 4.4 assists per game in 72 total games at Baylor, and left in 1992, 33 hours short of a degree in physical education.
When Wesley left Baylor University in 1992, many scouts considered him too small (at 6'1") to play as a shooting guard in the NBA, and doubted his ability to make the transition to point guard. As a result, Wesley was not selected in the 1992 NBA draft. He spent the 1992–93 season in the CBA playing for the Wichita Falls Texans, and signed with the New Jersey Nets as a free agent in 1993. He later played for the Boston Celtics, the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets the Houston Rockets, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wesley dispelled the initial doubts about his ability to succeed in the NBA, averaging almost 13 points and 4.6 assists per game over a 14-year career, including ten straight seasons with double-digit scoring averages (1995–96 through 2004–05). He received praise as a tenacious man-to-man defender, and a reliable outside shooter. Wesley played in 55 playoff games and scored double figures in more than half of them.