Corey Benjamin

For the American theologian, see Benjamin L. Corey.

Corey Benjamin

Personal information
Born	(1978-02-24) February 24, 1978 (age 47) Compton, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Fontana (Fontana, California)
College	Oregon State (1996–1998)
NBA draft	1998: 1st round, 28th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career	1998–2008
Position	Guard
Number	25
Career history
1998–2001	Chicago Bulls
2001	Sutor Montegranaro
2002	Liaoning Flying Leopards
2002	Southern California Surf
2003	Atlanta Hawks
2002–2003	North Charleston Lowgators
2003–2004	Chalonnais
2004–2005	Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2005–2006	Guaros de Lara
2006	Conquistadores de Guaynabo
2006–2007	Benfica
2007–2008	Daegu Orions
Career highlights and awards
Pac-10 All-Freshman Team (1997) Second-team Parade All-American (1996) McDonald's All-American (1996) California Mr. Basketball (1996)
Career statistics
Points	835 (5.5 ppg)
Rebounds	259 (1.7 rpg)
Assists	143 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Corey Dwight Benjamin ^[1] (born February 24, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2003. He graduated from Fontana High School ^[2] in Fontana, California, then played college basketball for Oregon State University, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (28th overall) of the 1998 NBA draft.

NBA career

Benjamin stayed with the Bulls for three seasons, and during the 2002–03 campaign, he signed a pair of 10-day contracts to play for the Atlanta Hawks. Between his stints with Chicago and Atlanta, he played for Sutor Montegranaro in Italy, and the Southern California Surf in the American Basketball Association. He also suited up for the North Charleston Lowgators in the NBDL (now known as the NBA G League).

Benjamin is also known for an incident where he mentioned to teammate Randy Brown that he could beat Michael Jordan in a one-on-one game. Jordan had just retired, but he showed up at a Bulls practice to completely embarrass Benjamin in an 11–3 rout. ^{[3] [4]}

International career

Benjamin spent the final five years of his career playing abroad, first heading to France's Ligue Nationale de Basketball with Chalonnais for the 2003–04 season, followed by a stint in China for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2004–05.

Heading to Latin America for the 2005–06 campaign, Benjamin next joined the Guaros de Lara in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto, followed by a spell in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional with the Conquistadores de Guaynabo.

Benjamin then returned to Europe to play for Benfica in Portugal during the 2006–07 season. ^{[5] [6]} He wrapped up his overseas career with a second stint in Asia the following winter, going to South Korea to compete in the Korean Basketball League with the Daegu Orions.

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

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998–99	Chicago	31	1	10.3	.376	.214	.675	1.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	3.8
1999–00	Chicago	48	10	18.0	.414	.348	.598	1.8	1.1	0.6	0.5	7.7
2000–01	Chicago	65	5	13.2	.381	.259	.675	1.5	1.1	0.4	0.2	4.7
2002–03	Atlanta	9	0	16.9	.302	.154	.750	3.4	1.1	0.1	0.2	4.4
Career		153	16	14.3	.390	.289	.652	1.7	0.9	0.5	0.3	5.5

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1996-97	Oregon State	23	17	26.1	.432	.315	.653	4.0	1.3	1.1	0.5	14.9
1997–98	Oregon State	25	22	26.9	.539	.293	.713	5.0	2.2	1.9	0.7	19.8
Career		48	39	26.5	.491	.305	.688	4.5	1.8	1.5	0.6	17.5

Personal life

While a member of the Oregon State Beavers, Benjamin played on the same team as his older brother, Sonny. ^[7]

In 2000 Benjamin was arrested and charged with one count of domestic battery. ^[8] He was arrested again in 2016. ^[9]

In 2021, Benjamin apologised after a video of his daughter punching another player during a basketball game went viral. ^[10]

References

1. "Corey Dwight Benjamin, Born 02/24/1978 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
2. "Corey Benjamin". Basketball Reference. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
3. Bayless, Skip. "JORDAN BACK IN GYM TONING UP (NO, THAT'S NOT WHY)," CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Nov. 28, 1999).
4. Remembering When A Retired Michael Jordan Came By The Bulls Practice To Accept A Challenge From Corey Benjamin
5. L C B – Liga dos Clubes de Basquetebol
6. Basquetebol 2006/2007 Retrieved November 13, 2017.
7. Baum, Bob (February 27, 1997). "High school star Benjamin ready for homecoming". AP News . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
8. Johnson, K.C (October 19, 2000). "BENJAMIN'S ARREST CLOUDS BULLS FUTURE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
9. "Teenager Banned From Multiple Girls Basketball Tournaments Following Incidents Of On-Court Violence". CBS News. November 11, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
10. Kaplan, Anna. "Mother Charged For Urging Daughter To 'Hit' Basketball Opponent, Calif. DA Says". Forbes. Retrieved September 19, 2022.

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com  and  Basketball Reference