Michael Finley |
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Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973, in Melrose Park, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player who is a member of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
The 6' 7" shooting guard/small forward was originally drafted out of University of Wisconsin-Madison by the Phoenix Suns as the 21st overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft. Finley held the all-time scoring record at Wisconsin for eleven years, but was passed by Alando Tucker on March 10, 2007. At Wisconsin, his nickname was 'Shooter'.
He had an impressive rookie season, being named to the 1995–96 NBA All-Rookie First Team, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging fifteen points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He became only the third rookie in Suns history to score over 1,000 points in a season. Despite his solid play, he was traded by the Suns on December 26, 1996 to the Dallas Mavericks along with Sam Cassell, A. C. Green and a second-round draft pick for Jason Kidd, Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer.