Pervis Ellison
Ellison at the 1987 Pan American Games
Personal information
Born (1967-04-03) April 3, 1967
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolSavannah (Savannah, Georgia)
CollegeLouisville (1985–1989)
NBA draft1989: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career1989–2000
PositionCenter
Number42, 43, 29
Career history
1989–1990Sacramento Kings
1990–1994Washington Bullets
1994–2000Boston Celtics
2000Seattle SuperSonics
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points4,494 (9.5 ppg)
Rebounds3,170 (6.7 rpg)
Assists691 (1.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place1987 Indianapolis Team competition

Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his clutch play with the University of Louisville, after leading Louisville to a national championship, Ellison was the first overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft. His professional career was largely hindered by injuries, though he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1992.

Collegiate career

At 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), 242 lb (110 kg), he started all four years as the center under coach Denny Crum. In his freshman year he led Louisville to its second national championship, scoring a game-leading 25 points and adding 11 rebounds in the 72-69 championship win over Duke,[1] and was then named the Most Outstanding Player—the second time a freshman had ever been awarded that honor, after Arnie Ferrin in 1944 for Utah.

Professional career

Ellison was made the first overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. Teammate Danny Ainge gave Ellison the nickname "Out of Service Pervis" for the many injuries that would plague him during his professional career. An injury kept him on the sidelines for 48 of 82 games of his rookie year, after which he was traded to the Washington Bullets in a three-team trade involving the Utah Jazz that also sent Jeff Malone to the Jazz and Eric Leckner, Bob Hansen, and draft picks to the Kings. On April 6, 1991, Ellison scored a career-best 30 points while adding 12 rebounds in a win over the Indiana Pacers.[2] Although he sometimes played as a backup in 1990–1991, the following year he became a full time starter and earned Most Improved Player honors after averaging 20.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.68 blocks per game. Among the best games of Ellison's NBA career occurred on January 31, 1992, when he recorded 19 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocked shots and 2 steals against the Knicks.

Assorted injuries plagued his career, including two knee problems that kept him benched for 29 games in 1992–93 and 30 games in 1993–94. Ellison signed with the Boston Celtics after he was released by Washington in April 1994, but did not play until midway through the following season because he was still rehabilitating from knee problems. A broken toe suffered while moving furniture kept him out of most games between 1996 and 1998. After participating in 69 out of a possible 246 games over the final three seasons with the Celtics, he joined the Seattle SuperSonics in 2000 but retired after playing nine games. He once coached basketball for Life Center Academy in Burlington, New Jersey[3] and is a resident of Voorhees Township, New Jersey.[4] His son Malik played for him at Life Center Academy and is a professional basketball player.[5]

Career statistics

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

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1989–90 Sacramento 342225.5.442.000.6285.81.9.51.78.0
1990–91 Washington 763025.6.513.000.6507.71.3.62.110.4
1991–92 Washington 666438.0.539.333.78211.22.9.92.720.0
1992–93 Washington 494834.7.521.000.7028.82.4.92.217.4
1993–94 Washington 472425.1.469.000.7225.11.5.51.17.3
1994–95 Boston 551119.7.507.000.7175.6.6.41.06.8
1995–96 Boston 692920.7.492—.6416.5.9.61.45.3
1996–97 Boston 6420.8.375—.6004.3.7.81.52.5
1997–98 Boston 33813.5.571—.5883.3.9.6.93.0
1999–2000 Boston 3059.0.442—.7142.2.4.3.31.8
2000–01 Seattle 904.4.286—1.0001.3.3.0.2.7
Career 47424524.5.520.050.6896.71.5.61.69.5

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1995 Boston 4017.0.579—1.0004.3.5.51.36.0

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Louisville vs. Duke Box Score (Men), March 31, 1986". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "PACERS CLOSE PLAYOFFS TO BULLETS". The Washington Post.
  3. ↑ "Jersey Side Sports". www.philly.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20.
  4. ↑ Schwartz, Erik. "Basketball tournament to honor slaying victim", Courier Post, September 15, 2005. Accessed March 17, 2011. "Also expected to appear and sign autographs are Pervis Ellison a Voorhees resident and YMCA member who was the top pick in the 1989 NBA draft."
  5. ↑ "Catching Up With.....Malik Ellison". Savannah Herald. May 6, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
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