Brian Grant

Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972, in Columbus, Ohio) is a retired American basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious rebounding and blue-collar defense. During his career, he played with the Sacramento Kings (where he made First Team All-Rookie in the 1994-1995 season), Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. He currently resides with his wife, Gina, and four children in West Linn, Oregon.^[1]

College career

He was picked up on the Xavier University basketball team where he was second on the all-time leading scorers' list. He became the two-time Midwest Collegiate Conference Player of the Year at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He continued to practice with the coaches after each practice and continue to get better. All four seasons with Xavier University he led his team in rebounding, and was third on the all-time leading rebounding list. He was named to the Associated Press' honorable mention All-American team in his junior year, after ranking second in the nation in field goal percentage with 65.4 percent.

NBA career

Grant was drafted in the first round, eight overall, in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. He signed a 5-year, 29 million dollar contract.

Grant opted out of the deal following the 1997 season to sign a 7-year, $56 million deal with the Trail Blazers. After two years as the starting PF and one year as the Blazers' number one big man off the bench, Grant once again opted out of his deal to become a free agent, hoping to land a starting gig elsewhere.

In the summer of 2000 Grant signed a mega-deal with Miami: 7 years, $86 million, despite coming off season averages of 7.5 ppg and 5.5 rpgg. The deal raised eyebrows, but Heat GM Pat Riley insisted that Grant was the missing piece to the Heat's championship puzzle. Grant responded by putting up a career season of 15.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, and a career high 79.7% at the foul line, despite having to play out of position at center while his natural position is at power forward.

During the summer of 2004, he was traded (along with Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, and a future first-round draft pick) to the Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal. Grant was released the following off-season and signed with Phoenix. He was traded in the 2006 NBA Draft to the Boston Celtics with the rights to Rajon Rondo in exchange for a future first-round draft pick. After being waived by the Celtics on October 27, 2006, Grant formally announced his retirement after lingering injuries had reduced his level of play for several seasons.

He is nicknamed "The General" after growing up in the same town as Civil War Union general and President Ulysses S. Grant.

Grant also has a tattoo of famed reggae singer Bob Marley on his right arm, among others. He is widely known for the long dreadlocks he sported throughout most of his career.

Brian worked with current Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden in the 2009 off-season in Columbus, Ohio for the purposes of adding more toughness, basketball smarts, and miscellaneous advice.^[2]

Charity Work

Brian Grant is well known for his contributions to the communities in various cities. He has his own foundation called the Brian Grant Foundation. The mission of the Brian Grant Foundation is to assist seriously ill children, as well as their families, and under-privileged youth. The Brian Grant Foundation targets making an immediate impact on the lives of people who need assistance and meet the Foundation's criteria. These numerous acts of selflessness and generosity were recognized by the NBA in 1999 when he was awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. A few of the programs that The Brian Grant Foundation has launched are the "Scholastic Attendance Program", the "Christmas Adopt-A-Family Program", the "Thanksgiving Dinner Distribution Program" with Pazzo's Restaurant, Mother's Against Gang Violence, the TLC Soup Kitchen, and the "Brian Grant Free Summer Basketball Clinics" in Portland and Georgetown, Ohio.^[3]

Health

In January 2009, after talking with a neurologist at OHSU, Grant was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's Disease. Grant kept the diagnosis a secret for several months, but after discussions and encouragement by well-known Parkinson's sufferers Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali he acknowledged it publicly on May 18, 2009.^[4] He currently maintains a Twitter account and Facebook page in an effort to update his current status to fans, concerned citizens, etc.^[5][6]

References

External links

• NBA player profile @ NBA.com
• Official Website
• NBA.com - Brian Grant Through the Years Photo Gallery @ NBA.com
• Brian Grant Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com