Earl Boykins

Earl Boykins

Boykins with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2011
UTEP Miners
Position	Assistant coach
League	Conference USA
Personal information
Born	(1976-06-02) June 2, 1976 (age 48) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Listed weight	133 lb (60 kg)
Career information
High school	Cleveland Central Catholic (Cleveland, Ohio)
College	Eastern Michigan (1994–1998)
NBA draft	1998: undrafted
Playing career	1998–2012
Position	Point guard
Number	7, 5, 11, 12, 6
Coaching career	2013–present
Career history
As player:
1998–1999	Rockford Lightning
1999	New Jersey Nets
1999	Cleveland Cavaliers
1999	Orlando Magic
2000	Cleveland Cavaliers
2000–2002	Los Angeles Clippers
2002–2003	Golden State Warriors
2003–2007	Denver Nuggets
2007	Milwaukee Bucks
2008	Charlotte Bobcats
2008–2009	Virtus Bologna
2009–2010	Washington Wizards
2010–2011	Milwaukee Bucks
2012	Houston Rockets
As coach:
2013–2019	Douglas County HS
2021–present	UTEP (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
EuroChallenge champion (2009) Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (1998) AP Honorable mention All-American (1998) 2× First-team All-MAC (1997, 1998) MAC tournament MVP (1998) No. 11 retired by Eastern Michigan Eagles USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1997)
Career NBA statistics
Points	5,791 (8.9 ppg)
Rebounds	877 (1.3 rpg)
Assists	2,092 (3.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's Basketball Representing   United States Summer Universiade 1997 Trapani Team competition

Earl Antoine Boykins ^[1] (born June 2, 1976) ^[2] is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the UTEP Miners. He played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets. Standing at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) in height, Boykins is the second-shortest player in NBA history behind Muggsy Bogues. He also played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and overseas in Italy.

Boykins started his coaching career as the head coach for the Douglas County High School boys varsity basketball team from 2013 to 2019. He joined the UTEP Miners as an assistant coach in 2021.

Early life

Boykins was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1976. As a child his 5' 8" father, Willie Williams, would sneak Boykins into a gym in his gym bag. Boykins grew up playing in recreational leagues with his father and other grown men. ^[3] Boykins played high school basketball at Cleveland Central Catholic High School where he averaged 24.6 points per game and led the school to a 23–2 record as a senior. In 2015, The Plain Dealer ranked him the best Cleveland-area high school basketball player of the 1990s. ^[4] Eastern Michigan and Iowa were the only two Division I basketball programs to offer Boykins an athletic scholarship, though Iowa later withdrew its offer. ^{[5] [6]}

College career

Boykins played college basketball at Eastern Michigan University from 1994 to 1998. Eastern Michigan won the MAC tournament in 1996 and 1998. He earned All-Mid-American Conference first-team honors in his junior and senior year. Also, during his senior season, Boykins was second in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in scoring, with an average of 26.8 points per game. He holds the career record for total assists (624) at Eastern Michigan University. ^[2] In his last game he scored 18 points in a losing effort to Michigan State. ^[7] On February 27, 2011, Boykins' No. 11 jersey was retired and raised to the rafters in a ceremony at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center. ^[8]

Professional career

First NBA stint

Boykins was never drafted by an NBA team, but he was signed to short-term contracts by five different NBA teams before signing a five-year, $13.7 million contract with the Denver Nuggets prior to the 2003–2004 season. ^[9] On November 11, 2004, Boykins scored 32 points in a 117–109 Nuggets' home win over the Detroit Pistons, making him the shortest player in NBA history to score 30 or more points during a game. ^[10] After spending three full seasons and a portion of a fourth season with Denver, Boykins was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in January 2007. ^[11] After finishing the season in Milwaukee, Boykins opted out of his contract; he later signed with the Charlotte Bobcats partway through the 2007–2008 season and finished the season there. ^[12]

Italy

Following the 2007–08 NBA season, Boykins was an unrestricted free agent. Instead of signing with an NBA team, he decided to play basketball in Europe and signed a one-year, $3.5 million net income contract with Virtus Bologna of the Italian A League. ^[13] The one-year deal made Boykins the highest-paid basketball player in the Italian League and included income from Bologna's sponsorship and marketing arms, which is not an option for NBA players because of salary-cap restrictions. ^[14]

On December 26, 2008, it was announced by Virtus owner Claudio Sabatini that Boykins was cut from the club due to behavioral issues after Boykins flew home to the United States in order to see his sick son. ^{[15] [16]} However, a few days later, thanks to the intervention of Virtus general manager Andrea Luchi, it was announced that Boykins was staying with the club. ^{[14] [17]} On April 26, 2009, his team won the EuroChallenge Cup by defeating Cholet Basket. In June 2009, he was released by Virtus.

Return to NBA

Boykins signed with the Washington Wizards in November 2009, making his return to the National Basketball Association. Boykins was a much-needed addition to the Wizards, after guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the remainder of the current season after a misdemeanor gun possession charge stemming from a locker room incident. In the December 2, 2009, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Boykins sank two free throws to clinch the Wizards' victory.

Boykins playing for the Bucks in 2011

On August 19, 2010, the Bucks signed him to a one-year deal. ^[18] Boykins signed a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets on March 26, 2012. ^[19] Boykins has not played in the NBA since.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

In the summer of 2017, Boykins competed in The Basketball Tournament on ESPN for Paul Champions. Competing for the $2 million grand prize, Boykins helped lead his team to two victories in the TBT Jamboree which secured Paul Champions' spot as one of the 64 teams in the tournament. During the Jamboree, Boykins averaged 24.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. In their first-round match up, Boykins scored a game-high 25 points, helping the Champions to a 78–74 victory over the Talladega Knights; a team led by former NBA players Josh Boone and Gary Forbes. Boykins and the Champions would eventually fall in the second-round to the number one seeded Untouchables. ^[20]

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998–99	New Jersey	5	0	10.2	.476	.200	.000	.8	1.2	.2	.0	4.2
1998–99	Cleveland	17	0	10.0	.345	.154	.667	.8	1.6	.3	.0	2.6
1999–00	Orlando	1	0	8.0	.750	.000	.000	1.0	3.0	.0	.0	6.0
1999–00	Cleveland	25	0	10.1	.473	.400	.783	1.0	1.8	.5	.0	5.3
2000–01	L.A. Clippers	10	0	14.9	.397	.125	.824	1.1	3.2	.5	.0	6.5
2001–02	L.A. Clippers	68	2	11.2	.400	.310	.770	.8	2.1	.3	.0	4.1
2002–03	Golden State	68	0	19.4	.429	.377	.865	1.3	3.3	.6	.1	8.8
2003–04	Denver	82	3	22.5	.419	.322	.877	1.7	3.6	.6	.0	10.2
2004–05	Denver	82	5	26.4	.413	.337	.921	1.7	4.5	1.0	.1	12.4
2005–06	Denver	60	0	25.7	.410	.346	.874	1.4	3.8	.8	.1	12.6
2006–07	Denver	31	4	28.3	.413	.373	.908	2.0	4.3	.8	.1	15.2
2006–07	Milwaukee	35	19	33.0	.427	.419	.886	2.2	4.5	.9	.0	14.0
2007–08	Charlotte	36	0	16.0	.355	.318	.831	.9	2.7	.4	.0	5.1
2009–10	Washington	67	1	16.7	.427	.317	.865	1.1	2.6	.4	.0	6.6
2010–11	Milwaukee	57	0	15.1	.443	.380	.841	1.0	2.5	.7	.1	7.2
2011–12	Houston	8	0	13.9	.333	.222	.867	1.4	2.1	.1	.0	4.9
Career		652	34	19.9	.417	.348	.876	1.3	3.2	.6	.1	8.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004	Denver	5	0	24.2	.444	.357	.857	2.4	3.8	1.0	.2	13.4
2005	Denver	5	1	30.4	.397	.000	.895	1.0	3.8	.8	.2	14.2
2006	Denver	5	0	28.0	.322	.211	.795	1.4	4.0	.8	.0	11.0
Career		15	1	27.5	.389	.225	.837	1.6	3.9	.9	.1	12.9

Coaching career

In 2014, Boykins was hired as the head coach of the Douglas County High School boys varsity team in Castle Rock, Colorado. ^[21]

In 2021, Boykins was hired as an assistant coach with the UTEP Miners. ^[22]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career free throw percentage leaders

References

1. "Player Profile". FIBA.
2. "Bio". NBA. June 2, 1976. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
3. Wolff, Alexander (November 17, 1997). "The Best Little Player in America if You Believe the Official Listings, Eastern Michigan's Senior Point Guard, Earl Boykins, Keeps Getting Smaller as His Scoring Grows". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 30, 2016.
4. Wright, Branson (February 13, 2015). "Earl Boykins takes top spot on Plain Dealer All-Decade basketball team for 1990s (photos, video, poll)". Plain Dealer . Retrieved February 8, 2022.
5. Yantz, Tom (March 16, 1996). "Confident Guards Run Eastern Michigan's Game". Hartford Courant . Retrieved February 8, 2022.
6. Bacon, John U. (March 3, 2011). "Earl Boykins: The little guy that outlasted them all". Michigan Radio . Retrieved December 30, 2016.
7. "Spartans Advance". The New York Times . March 13, 1998. p. C3.
8. "Earl Boykins' No. 11 Jersey To Be Retired Sunday, Feb. 27". Eastern Michigan Athletics. February 23, 2011. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
9. Broussard, Chris (November 9, 2003). "Inside the N.B.A.; At 5-5, Boykins Has Overcome Big Obstacles". New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
10. "Boykins adds career-high 32 in win". ESPN. November 11, 2004. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
11. "Bucks get Boykins in trade with Nuggets". Reuters. January 11, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
12. Finnan, Bob (February 1, 2008). "Boykins Signs with Bobcats". News-Herald.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
13. "Cats' Boykins latest NBA player to bolt for Europe, signs $3.5 million net pay deal". ESPN. August 6, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
14. "Agent: Boykins to stay in Italy". ESPN. December 29, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
15. Matteo Manna. "Boykins cut from Virtus for behavior". Tripladoppia.com. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
16. Tjarks, Jonathan (March 12, 2012). "Boykins cut by Virtus Bologna". Realgm.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
17. Talkbasket.net Boykins to stay with Virtus. Archived January 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
18. "Bucks sign point guard Boykins to one-year deal". NBA.com. August 19, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
19. "Rockets sign Earl Boykins to 10-day contract". Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
20. "Player card of Earl Boykins on MyStatsOnline.com".
21. Ben Macaluso (March 3, 2016). "Earl Boykins is back, building Colorado basketball from the ground up". Mile High Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
22. "UTEP Miners men's basketball introduces new staff, Earl Boykins".

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com    and  Basketball Reference  
• Italian A League player profile
• My Life as a Little Man at SportsIllustrated.com