Dallas Mavericks | |
---|---|
Position | Scout |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born |
Ciudad Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico |
July 11, 1976
Nationality | Mexican |
Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Cornerstone Christian Academy (San Antonio, Texas) |
College | Oklahoma (1996–2000) |
NBA draft | 2000 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38th overall |
Selected by the Houston Rockets | |
Playing career | 2000–2012 |
Position | Power forward / Small forward |
Number | 14, 21 |
Coaching career | 2012–2015 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
2000–2004 | Dallas Mavericks |
2004–2005 | Golden State Warriors |
2005–2008 | Denver Nuggets |
2008–2010 | New Jersey Nets |
2010 | Dallas Mavericks |
2010–2012 | Charlotte Bobcats |
As coach: | |
2012–2015 | Texas Legends |
2015–present | Dallas Mavericks (scout) |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez (Spanish pronunciation: [eˈðwarðo ˈnaxeɾa]) (born July 11, 1976) is a retired Mexican professional basketball player and currently a scout with the Dallas Mavericks. He is also a pregame and postgame analyst on Mavericks Live on Fox Sports Southwest, where he is identified as Eddie. Before being promoted to a scout with the Mavs, he was head coach of the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League.
Eduardo Nájera was only the second Mexican-born NBA player (Horacio Llamas was the first) and was the first Mexican player to be drafted. He is the son of Servando Nájera and Rosa Irene Pérez.
Nájera played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, from 1997–2000, becoming a major star there. He helped the team to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances during his college career, as well as finishing in the school's all-time top ten in nine statistical categories. Before being drafted into the NBA in 2000, Nájera received rave reviews from scouts, who boasted on Nájera's quick first step and extraordinary rebounding ability. He is only the second Mexican-born player to join the NBA. He was the first Mexican player to be drafted into the NBA (Horacio Llamas being undrafted).
Nájera played for the Mexican team in the 1997 World University Games and helped them achieve a fourth-place finish in the 1999 World University Games.
He saw significant action as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000–01 and 2001–02, but recurrent knee injuries limited his action in his last two years in Dallas.