Shawn Respert

Shawn Respert

Personal information
Born	(1972-02-06) February 6, 1972 (age 53) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [a]
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Bishop Borgess (Redford, Michigan)
College	Michigan State (1990–1995)
NBA draft	1995: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Drafted by	Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career	1995–2003
Position	Point guard
Number	3, 31, 24, 21, 2
Coaching career	2011–present
Career history
As a player:
1995–1997	Milwaukee Bucks
1997–1998	Toronto Raptors
1998	Dallas Mavericks
1999	Phoenix Suns
1999–2000	Adecco Milano
2000–2001	Near East
2001–2002	Fillattice Imola
2002–2003	Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński
As a coach:
2013–2016	Memphis Grizzlies (assistant)
Career highlights
NABC Player of the Year (1995) Sporting News College Player of the Year (1995) Consensus first-team All-American (1995) Third-team All-American – UPI (1994) Big Ten Player of the Year (1995) No. 24 retired by Michigan State Spartans
Career NBA statistics
Points	851 (4.9 ppg)
Rebounds	226 (1.3 rpg)
Assists	177 (1.0 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's basketball Representing   United States Goodwill Games 1994 St. Petersburg National team Summer Universiade 1993 Buffalo National team

Shawn Christopher Respert (born February 6, 1972) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He attended Bishop Borgess High School, and he came to prominence while playing college basketball at Michigan State. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for four seasons from 1995 to 1999. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in October 2024.

College career

Respert was a standout at Michigan State. He and point guard Eric Snow combined to form one of the nation's most prolific backcourt tandems for head coach Jud Heathcote's Spartans. Respert was the team's leading scorer all four seasons at Michigan State and finished his career second all-time in scoring among Big Ten players with 2,531 points (trailing only Calbert Cheaney) and first in Big Ten games with 1,545 games played. He capped a brilliant career by being named a unanimous first team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year and Sporting News and NABC National Player of the Year ^[1] with a 25.6 scoring average during his 1994–95 senior season. He left East Lansing as the Spartans all-time leading scorer and began the tradition of out-going seniors kissing the logo at center court during their final home game.

College 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

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1990–91	Michigan State	1	-	3.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
1991–92	Michigan State	30	30	31.8	.503	.455	.872	2.1	2.1	1.1	0.1	15.8
1992–93	Michigan State	28	28	34.3	.481	.429	.856	4.0	2.6	0.9	0.2	20.1
1993–94	Michigan State	32	32	33.6	.484	.449	.840	4.0	2.5	1.3	0.2	24.3
1994–95	Michigan State	28	28	33.6	.473	.474	.869	4.0	3.0	1.4	0.0	25.6
Career		119	118	33.0	.484	.454	.857	3.5	2.5	1.2	0.1	21.3

Professional career

Respert was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1st round, with the 8th overall pick, of the 1995 NBA draft. The Blazers traded his NBA rights to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to Gary Trent and a first-round pick. Respert was traded to Toronto in his second year, where he scored 5.6 points a game. He next played briefly in Dallas the next season and then had a second stint with the Raptors. Respert finished his career in Phoenix during the 1998–99 season. He was under contract with Los Angeles Lakers for a brief period in October 2000 but was waived before playing in any NBA games for them. In his NBA career, Respert played in 172 games and scored a total of 851 points on averages of 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game.

He played professionally in Italy for Adecco Milano (1999–2000) and Fillattice Imola (2001–2002). He also played in Poland for Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński (2002–2003).

Respert had stomach cancer but did not admit it until 2005. He started being bothered with stomach cramps towards the end of his rookie season. He noticed a lump below his belly button even after changing his diet. Respert was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a series of tests at Milwaukee's St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in May 1996. After confirmation through a second opinion, he underwent daily radiation therapy for three consecutive months, losing twenty pounds in the process. The only people who knew about this treatment were the Bucks' trainers, doctors, his coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. and Michigan State backcourt partner Eric Snow. He only told a select few; not even his family and girlfriend knew, because "people don't want to hear excuses in pro sports, even if the excuse is cancer." ^[2]

NBA 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

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1995–96	Milwaukee	62	0	13.6	.387	.344	.833	1.2	1.1	0.5	0.1	4.9
1996–97	Milwaukee	14	0	5.9	.316	.111	1.000	0.5	0.6	0.0	0.0	1.4
1996–97	Toronto	27	0	15.3	.442	.396	.844	1.2	1.2	0.7	0.1	5.6
1997–98	Toronto	47	4	14.8	.450	.373	.815	1.6	0.9	0.6	0.0	5.5
1997–98	Dallas	10	0	21.5	.429	.231	.571	2.7	1.7	0.5	0.0	8.2
1998–99	Phoenix	12	1	8.3	.361	.308	.700	1.1	0.7	0.4	0.0	3.1
Career		172	5	13.7	.414	.340	.816	1.3	1.0	0.5	0.0	4.9

Coaching career

Respert became a volunteer coach at Prairie View A&M in Texas in 2004. In early 2005, he was hired to be director of basketball operations at Rice University for 21⁄2 years. He then spent two years as the director of player development of the NBA's minor league, the NBA Development League. In September 2008, he was hired by the Houston Rockets as the director of player programs. ^[3] On December 6, 2011, Respert was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves as a player development coach. ^[4] He was named an assistant coach by the Memphis Grizzlies in September 2013. ^[5] Respert then moved to the Chicago Bulls as a director of player development in 2018. ^[6] His tenure with the Bulls lasted until the end of the 2019–20 season when his contract expired. ^[7]

Notes

• ^a Respert's listed height has ranged from 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m).

References

1. DeFabo, Mike. "'I remember being extremely thankful:' Respert's tradition of kissing the court lives on". Lansing State Journal.
2. "Shawn Respert's NBA career was stunted by cancer". ESPN . Associated Press. January 8, 2005. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
3. Respert hired as Director of Player Programs for the Houston Rockets
4. "Wolves Announce Basketball and Coaching Staffs". Minnesota Timberwolves. December 6, 2011.
5. "Grizzlies announce coaching staff". Memphis Grizzlies.
6. Johnson, K. C. (April 11, 2018). "Shawn Respert views coaching as selfless way to repay game he loves — and almost lost". chicagotribune.com.
7. "Shawn Respert will not return as Bulls' director of player development". nbcsports.com. May 14, 2020.

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com  ·  Basketball Reference
• TheDraftReview.com - Respert's NBA Draft History Page
• Article on Respert's struggle with stomach cancer
• Shawn Respert – college basketball player statistics at Sports Reference