Stephen Graham (basketball)

Last updated

Stephen Graham
Stephen Graham Nets.jpg
Graham with the Nets
Personal information
Born (1982-06-11) June 11, 1982 (age 43)
Wilmington, Delaware
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Brandon (Brandon, Florida)
College
NBA draft 2005: undrafted
Playing career2005–2013
Position Small forward / shooting guard
Number9, 1, 24, 23, 26
Coaching career2015–present
Career history
As a player:
2005–2006 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2005 Houston Rockets
2006 Chicago Bulls
2006 Cleveland Cavaliers
2006–2007 Portland Trail Blazers
20072009 Indiana Pacers
2009–2010 Charlotte Bobcats
2010–2011 New Jersey Nets
2011 Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2012 Capitanes de Arecibo
2013 Guaros de Lara
As a coach:
2015–2016 Fort Wayne Mad Ants (assistant)
20162025 Denver Nuggets (player development)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Stephen Graham (born June 11, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player coach. Graham's twin brother, Joey, was his college teammate and has also played in the NBA.

Contents

High school and college career

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Graham played competitively at Florida's Brandon High School, and was team captain his senior year in which he averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists per game; in that year, he and his brother Joey led Brandon to the state finals. Graham was named to Hillsborough County's All-Conference team his junior year and to the All-State team his senior season. He played in the AAU's Junior Olympics National Game and was named an All-American. He was a member of both Tampa's championship AAU Sunshine State Games' team, and Nike's traveling Florida team. He was recruited by South Florida, Richmond, Florida State and Florida. [1]

Graham spent his freshman and sophomore college basketball seasons (2000–01; 2001–02) with the University of Central Florida Knights, then transferred to Oklahoma State University for his junior year (2002–03) in which he redshirted. [1] In his first season with the Cowboys in 2003–04, he only twice scored 12 points, his season-high. [2] He averaged a mere 2.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game overall, [3] but he was named first-team Academic All-Big 12 for his academic achievements. [1] A highlight in his senior season in 2004–05 was leading the Cowboys with 22 points in a 78–75 home loss to Gonzaga on December 28, 2004. [4] For his second and final season for Oklahoma State, he averaged 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. [3]

Professional career

After playing through his senior year with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Graham declared for the 2005 NBA draft. However, he was not selected. He played for the Phoenix Suns in the Las Vegas Summer League, and then for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2005 preseason, but was not offered a longer contract by either team. He then joined the CBA, a minor league, signing with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Graham was signed by the NBA's Houston Rockets on December 10, 2005, but was cut on December 29 after playing in six games. [5]

After returning to the Skyforce in the interim, he signed a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls on January 17, 2006. [6] He played his first game in a Bulls uniform three days later against the Rockets. However, Graham saw limited playing time with the Bulls and his contract was not extended when it expired.

On February 6, Graham was signed to a 10-day contract by the Cleveland Cavaliers. [7] On February 20, he was signed to a second 10-day contract, [8] then for the rest of the season. [9]

He spent the first two months of the 2006–07 NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers, but was waived on January 2, 2007, playing with an old acquaintance, the Skyforce in South Dakota, who were now a part of the D-League.

In July 2007, he signed with the Indiana Pacers. [10]

He signed with the Charlotte Bobcats in September 2009. [11]

On September 15, 2010, Graham signed with the New Jersey Nets. [12] The Nets waived Graham on December 22, 2011, following the lockout. [13]

On March 13, 2012, Graham was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. [14]

On September 30, 2013, Graham signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. [15] However, he was waived on October 26. [16]

On December 21, 2013, Graham signed with Guaros de Lara. [17]

Graham competes for the Ants Alumni in The Basketball Tournament. He was a forward on the 2015 team who made it to the semifinals, falling 87–76 to Team 23.

Coaching career

On October 21, 2015, he was hired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to work as an assistant coach. [18]

He was announced as a player development coach for the Denver Nuggets for the 2016–17 season. [19] On May 30, 2025, it was announced that Graham and the Nuggets would be parting ways. [20]

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

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2005–06 Houston 606.3.375.2001.0001.2.5.3.02.8
2005–06 Chicago 306.7.200.2501.0001.0.3.0.01.7
2005–06 Cleveland 1309.0.424.000.8891.3.2.2.22.8
2006–07 Portland 14111.8.425.273.8891.5.4.3.13.2
2007–08 Indiana 2205.8.586.500.7501.0.4.2.04.0
2008–09 Indiana 52613.2.414.303.8061.8.6.2.15.4
2009–10 Charlotte 70811.5.496.320.6461.9.3.3.14.2
2010–11 New Jersey 592816.3.405.238.8162.1.7.2.03.4
Career2394312.2.446.308.7661.8.5.2.14.0

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2010 Charlotte 202.5.000.000.000.0.5.5.0.0
Career202.5.000.000.000.0.5.5.0.0

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Stephen Graham". Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  2. "NCAA College Basketball Players – NCAA Basketball – ESPN".[ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "Stephen Graham".
  4. "Gonzaga vs. Oklahoma State – Game Recap – December 28, 2004 – ESPN". Archived from the original on December 29, 2004.
  5. "Rockets Release Stephen Graham". NBA.com . December 29, 2005. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  6. NBA. "Stephen Graham Info Page". NBA.com . Retrieved October 12, 2007.
  7. "Cavaliers Sign Stephen Graham to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com . February 6, 2006. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  8. "Cavaliers Sign Stephen Graham to a Second 10-Day Contract". NBA.com . February 20, 2006. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  9. "Cavaliers Sign Stephen Graham; Waive Nailon". NBA.com . February 24, 2006. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  10. "Stevie Signs with the Pacers". Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
  11. Five Former OSU Players On NBA Training Camp Rosters [ permanent dead link ]
  12. "NETS Sign Free-Agent Forward Stephen Graham". NBA.com . September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  13. Stephenson, Colin (December 22, 2011). "Nets waive swingman Stephen Graham". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012.
  14. "Fort Wayne Mad Ants Transactions - RealGM". Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  15. "Bucks add Junior Cadougan, Olek Czyz, Stephen Graham, Trey McKinney Jones to training camp :InsideHoops". September 30, 2013.
  16. "Milwaukee Bucks waive Trey McKinney Jones, Olek Czyz and Stephen Graham :InsideHoops". October 26, 2013.
  17. http://www.basketball.realgm.com/international/league/82/Venezuelan-LPB/team/1074/Guaros/transactions/2014%5B%5D
  18. "Mad Ants Finalize Coaching Staff for 2015–16 Season". OurSportsCentral.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  19. "Meet the 2016–17 Nuggets Coaches". NBA.com .
  20. "Nuggets defensive coordinator Ryan Saunders, other assistant coaches not retained under David Adelman". denverpost.com. Retrieved June 8, 2025.