Nazr Mohammed

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Nazr Mohammed

Position	Center/power forward
Height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Weight	250 lb (110 kg)
League	NBA
Team	Charlotte Bobcats
Jersey	#6
Born	September 5, 1977 (1977-09-05) (age 30) Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
College	Kentucky
Draft	29th overall, 1998 Utah Jazz
Pro career	1998–present
Former teams	Philadelphia 76ers 1998-2000 Atlanta Hawks 2000-2003 New York Knicks 2003-2004 San Antonio Spurs 2005-2006 Detroit Pistons 2006-2007
Official profile	Info Page

Nazr Tahiru Mohammed (first name pronounced NAH-Zi) (born September 5, 1977, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player with the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. He plays both center and power forward positions. He is 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) and 250 lb (113.4 kg). For his height he has good mobility on the floor. He is aggressive in offensive rebounding and putbacks. He is a consistently good free-throw shooter averaging 78.5% in 2005-06 season.

[edit] Early life

The son of an immigrant from Ghana, Mohammed was raised in Chicago and attended high school at Kenwood Academy. Mohammed entered the University of Kentucky in the fall of 1995 at a hefty 315 pounds, and saw little playing time during their NCAA Championship season. After slimming down for his sophomore year, Mohammed shared the starting center spot with Jamaal Magloire and was a key contributor in 1997, when the Cats were runners-up to Arizona. Mohammed would once again share the starting post position with Magloire in 1998, and once again they would bring the NCAA Championship home to Kentucky for the second time in three years.

[edit] NBA career

After his junior year, Mohammed was faced with a decision on whether to come back to school or enter the draft, and ultimately decided to enter the 1998 NBA Draft. He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round, as the 29th pick overall. Utah traded his rights to the Philadelphia 76ers for a future first round pick, which would turn out to be Quincy Lewis in the 1999 NBA Draft. He would spend two and a half seasons in Philadelphia. He then played for the Atlanta Hawks through the middle of the 2004 season, at which point he went to the New York Knicks. Mohammed split the 2004-05 season between the Knicks and the Spurs (who acquired him in a trade for Malik Rose). In a combined 77 games for both teams, he averaged 9.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game. He won the 2005 NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs as a member of their starting lineup.

During Mohammed's second season in San Antonio he shared the starting center position with Rasho Nesterovic, averaging 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. He was a key contributor to the team's first round series victory over Sacramento, averaging 7.0 points per game and nailing his second career three-point basket late in Game 1.^[1] Mohammed, however, played sparingly in the team's second round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks. After the season, he turned down a four-year contract extension and did not return to the Spurs. On July 4th, 2006, it was announced that he had come to terms on an agreement with the Detroit Pistons to become their starting center. After beginning the season in the starting five, the arrival of Chris Webber on January 16, 2007 made him gradually fall out of the team's rotation, the culmination being his 5 minutes in two postseason contests. He averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 51 games (33 starts), with about 15 minutes of action per game.

Mohammed was traded from the Detroit Pistons to the Charlotte Bobcats on December 14th, 2007, in exchange for Primož Brezec and Wálter Herrmann. He had a season-high 20 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and a season-high 4 blocks against the Knicks on December 21st.^[2]

On February 11th, 2008, Nazr scored a season high 22 points, and pulled down 11 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• NBA.com Official Profile
• Profile of Mohammed prior to his entering the NBA