Cassell (right) speaking with Caron Butler
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Los Angeles Clippers | |
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Position | Assistant coach |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born |
Baltimore, Maryland |
November 18, 1969
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
Paul Laurence Dunbar (Baltimore, Maryland) Maine Central Institute (Pittsfield, Maine) |
College |
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NBA draft | 1993 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24th overall |
Selected by the Houston Rockets | |
Playing career | 1993–2008 |
Position | Point guard |
Number | 10, 19, 20, 28 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1993–1996 | Houston Rockets |
1996 | Phoenix Suns |
1996–1997 | Dallas Mavericks |
1997–1999 | New Jersey Nets |
1999–2003 | Milwaukee Bucks |
2003–2005 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2005–2008 | Los Angeles Clippers |
2008 | Boston Celtics |
As coach: | |
2009–2014 | Washington Wizards (assistant) |
2014–present | Los Angeles Clippers (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Career statistics | |
Points | 15,635 (15.7 ppg) |
Assists | 5,939 (6.0 apg) |
Rebounds | 3,221 (3.2 rpg) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Samuel James "Sam" Cassell Sr (born November 18, 1969) is an American retired professional basketball player and current assistant coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. Drafted 24th overall in the 1993 NBA draft out of Florida State University, Cassell played for eight different teams during his 15-year career. He was selected to the NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA Team once, both in the 2003–04 season. He played the point guard position.
In his first two seasons, he helped the Houston Rockets win back to back championships and won a third with the Boston Celtics in 2008, his last season. He also helped the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves reach the Conference Finals of the playoffs in 2001 and 2004 respectively, the latter's first-ever in franchise history, and helped the Los Angeles Clippers to their first-ever playoff series victory in 2006. Known for his mid-range jumpshot, Cassell often made clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter to help his team win games.
After graduating from Paul Lawrence Dunbar Community High School in East Baltimore, Maryland, Cassell spent a post graduate year at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine under coach Max Good. From MCI, Cassell was successfully recruited to attend DePaul University. He was declared academically ineligible based on National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Proposition 48 standards, and ended up starting his college career at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, where he was known as a big scorer. He moved on to Florida State University in Tallahassee for his junior and senior years. In his senior year in 1992–93, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game and led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in steals. Cassell and teammate Bob Sura formed the highest scoring and rebounding backcourt in the nation with 38.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Cassell's 1992–93 Seminoles team finished with a 25–10 record and advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to the University of Kentucky's Wildcats.