Mario Elie

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Mario Elie
Mario Elie 2008 (Flickr).jpg
Elie in 2008
Personal information
Born (1963-11-26) November 26, 1963 (age 61)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Power Memorial
(Manhattan, New York)
College American International (1981–1985)
NBA draft 1985: 7th round, 160th overall pick
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career1986–2001
Position Shooting guard / small forward
Number8, 20, 17
Coaching career2003–2016
Career history
As player:
1986–1987 Killester
1987Miami Tropics
1987 Unión de Santa Fe
1987–1989 Ovarense
1989–1991 Albany Patroons
1990–1991 Philadelphia 76ers
19911992 Golden State Warriors
1992–1993 Portland Trail Blazers
19931998 Houston Rockets
19992000 San Antonio Spurs
2000–2001 Phoenix Suns
As coach:
2003–2004 San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
20042006 Golden State Warriors (assistant)
20072009 Dallas Mavericks (assistant)
20092011 Sacramento Kings (assistant)
20112013 New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets (assistant)
2015–2016 Orlando Magic (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 6,265 (8.6 ppg)
Rebounds 2,017 (2.8 rpg)
Assists 1,875 (2.6 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Mario Antoine Elie (born November 26, 1963) is an American former professional basketball coach and player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Elie grew up in New York City and played college basketball at American International College, before being drafted in the seventh round of the 1985 NBA draft as the 160th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Contents

Elie began his professional basketball career with Ireland's Killester in 1986. He went on to play in Portugal and Argentina, as well as in the USBL, CBA and WBL. Elie first played in the NBA in 1990 for the Philadelphia 76ers and went on to play for the Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns. A role player known for his defense and toughness, Elie won three NBA championships: two with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995, and one with the Spurs in 1999.

Elie began his coaching career in 2003 as an assistant with the Spurs, and later held similar positions with the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, and Orlando Magic.

Early life

Elie, who is of Haitian heritage, was born and raised in the Manhattan borough of New York City. [1] [2] He was named "Mario" for opera singer Mario Lanza. [3]

Elie attended Power Memorial Academy. After being cut from the freshman basketball team, Elie made the junior varsity team the following season; one of his teammates was future NBA star Chris Mullin. [3]

Early career

After Division I schools failed to recruit him, Elie played college basketball at the Division II level for American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. [3] He led AIC to the NCAA Division II Tournament Quarter-Final [4] and became the school's all-time leading scorer. [3] He was selected with the 160th pick (out of 162 total) in the 1985 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, [5] but was cut from the team during training camp. [6]

In 1986, Elie started his professional career in Ireland with Killester, where he won Player of the Year honors. [7] Elie played for the USBL's Miami Tropics, [8] Elie played eight games in Argentina with Unión de Santa Fe. [9] [10] He then spent two seasons in Portugal with Ovarense, helping them win their first national title. [11] He spent two seasons with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1991, [12] earning All-CBA First Team honors in 1991. [13]

NBA career

In December 1990, he made his NBA debut, joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a 10-day contract. [14] He played three games for the 76ers between December 28 and January 2. [15] In February 1991, he joined the Golden State Warriors, [14] where he remained for the rest of the 1990–91 season as well as the 1991–92 season. [16] Elie spent the 1992–93 season with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to the Houston Rockets prior to the 1993–94 season. [16]

Elie won two NBA championships with the Rockets, in 1994 and 1995. [3] During this period, Elie was dubbed the "Junkyard Dog" by his teammates. [6] One highlight of Elie's career came when he hit a game-winning three-pointer in Game 7 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns to break a tie with 7.1 seconds. The shot is called the "Kiss of Death" by Rockets fans, as Elie made a taunting kissing gesture towards the Suns' bench after the shot. [17] While Elie was a key role player for the Rockets off the bench throughout the regular season and the playoffs, he became a starter in the 1995 NBA Finals. This move paid off for the Rockets, as Elie averaged 16.3 points per game in the Finals while shooting 65% from the field. [18] [19]

Elie played for the Rockets through the 1997–98 season and then signed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he played for two seasons. [20] The Spurs reportedly signed Elie in an effort to add "nastiness" to their team. Elie started for the Spurs for much of the season. [18] With Elie, the Spurs won their first-ever NBA championship in 1999. [21]

After playing the 2000–01 season for the Phoenix Suns, [16] Elie retired. [22] He finished his career with 6,265 points in 732 NBA games. [5]

In 2007, Elie was inducted into the New York Basketball Hall of Fame. He has been named one of the top ten players in Houston Rockets history. [23]

During his playing career, Elie was a role player who performed well in clutch situations. [24] [6] He had a reputation as a tough defender, a fierce competitor, [3] and an accurate outside shooter. [20]

Coaching career

On September 28, 2007, Elie was hired by the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach. [25] He served with the Mavericks for one season. On June 22, 2009, Paul Westphal hired Elie as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings. [26] On December 8, 2011, Elie was added to former teammate Avery Johnson's coaching staff with the New Jersey Nets. [27] On June 26, 2015, he was hired by the Orlando Magic as an assistant coach. [28]

Personal life

Elie is married to Gina Gaston, a journalist and anchorwoman for Houston's Channel ABC13. Elie and Gaston have triplets. [29] [30] [31]

Elie speaks four languages: English and French from growing up in a Haitian-Creole household, Portuguese from playing pro basketball in Portugal, and Spanish from playing in Argentina. [32]

In December 2010, Elie was arrested in Sacramento, California for allegedly driving while intoxicated. [33] [34]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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
  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1990–91 Philadelphia 306.7.286.500.5000.30.30.00.02.0
1990–91 Golden State 30020.8.507.375.5003.61.50.60.37.7
1991–92 Golden State 793221.2.521.329.8522.92.20.90.27.8
1992–93 Portland 82721.4.458.349.8552.62.20.90.28.6
1993–94 Houston 67824.0.446.355.8602.73.10.70.19.3
1994–95 Houston 811323.4.499.398.8422.42.30.80.18.8
1995–96 Houston 451630.8.504.323.8523.43.11.00.211.1
1996–97 Houston 787734.4.497.420.8963.04.01.20.211.7
1997–98 Houston 735927.2.452.291.8332.13.01.10.18.4
1998–99 San Antonio 473727.5.471.374.8662.91.91.00.39.7
1999–00 San Antonio 797928.1.427.398.8463.22.40.90.17.5
2000–01 Phoenix 686722.1.423.360.7972.31.90.90.24.4
Career73239525.5.473.365.8542.82.60.90.28.6

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1991 Golden State 9721.9.5001.000.8443.61.40.60.19.3
1992 Golden State 4220.0.6391.000.6675.52.51.30.012.5
1993 Portland 4013.0.5001.000.8891.51.00.50.35.0
1994 Houston 23016.6.396.313.8511.71.70.30.15.8
1995 Houston 22628.9.504.431.7952.82.51.00.09.1
1996 Houston 8029.1.439.375.9172.81.80.90.49.8
1997 Houston 161637.4.466.400.8393.53.80.90.311.5
1998 Houston 5126.6.444.333.6672.61.20.40.06.6
1999 San Antonio 171730.9.384.267.8373.52.91.30.17.9
2000 San Antonio 4428.8.273.143.9444.31.81.30.07.5
2001 Phoenix 4425.8.452.154.7503.31.80.80.39.0
Career1165726.3.452.367.8362.92.30.80.18.5

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References

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