Darrell Armstrong

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Darrell Eugene Armstrong (born June 22, 1968 in Gastonia, North Carolina) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's New Jersey Nets.

[edit] Player profile

Armstrong has been long respected around the NBA for his intensity and hard-nosed defense. In his prime (1998-2000) he not only averaged double digit points per game, but also over two steals a game and over six assists. His defense is even more impressive than his numbers show because of his mastery of drawing charges.

[edit] Early life

Armstrong did not play basketball in high school until his senior year, and did not play again until his junior year of college.^[1] Armstrong played college basketball at Fayetteville State University. After college he was not drafted by the NBA, but played in the Global Basketball Association and United States Basketball League as well as in Europe. He began his basketball career for a team in Larnaca, Cyprus called Pezoporikos.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] NBA career

He first signed with the NBA as a free agent for the Orlando Magic in 1995, he played just 3 games, scoring 10 points in 8 minutes of action. In 95-96 he played just 13 games and 41 minutes of action, scoring 42 points total. He saw 67 games in his first full season on the roster in the 1997-98 season averaging 6 points per game in 15 minutes per game off the bench. Armstrong won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award and the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1999 thus becoming the first player in NBA history to win both awards simultaneously. In a 1999 game against the 76ers, Armstrong stole an inbounds pass and streaked to the other end of the court for a game winning layup as time expired. He subsequently became the starting point guard for the Magic. His career year was in 99-00, everaging 16.2ppg in 31 mpg and played more minutes the following year. During his nine years in Orlando, the Magic never posted a losing record, making the post-season seven times. During the 2003 off-season, Armstrong signed with the New Orleans Hornets as a free agent. He was traded by the Hornets to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dan Dickau and a second round draft pick on December 3, 2004. After appearing in the 2005-2006 NBA Finals with the Mavericks, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Anthony Johnson in July 2006. He is one of the most accurate free throw shooters ever, shooting 87% from the free throw line. Played 50 games with New Jersey in the 07-08 season, averaging 2.5ppg in 11.0mpg and buried three 3-pointers in his final appearance of the season.

Armstrong was released by the Pacers on October 1, 2007, and signed with the Nets after clearing waivers.^[2][3]

[edit] Miscellaneous

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Despite his short height, he has abillity to dunk. Armstrong made a fool of himself as he accidentally completed a reverse layup in the 1996 Slam Dunk Contest. The "dunk" was deemed the worst dunk in NBA Slam Dunk Contest history by Kenny Smith.^[4]

On July 7, 2003, he was arrested after an incident outside an Orlando night club. He was subsequently charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, but the case was eventually dismissed.^[5]

On December 19th, 2005, while he was still with the Dallas Mavericks, Armstrong was fined $1,000 for grabbing a microphone before a Mavs game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Center and yelling "How 'bout those Redskins!" Only a few hours prior, the Cowboys had been routed by the Redskins 35-7. Armstrong was raised in North Carolina as a Redskins fan.^[6]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• NBA.com - Darrell Armstrong
• ESPN.com - Darrell Armstrong
• Darrell Armstrong Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
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