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Nick Van Exel

Image:Van Exel.jpg
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Nationality	United States
Born	November 27, 1971 Kenosha, Wisconsin
College	University of Cincinnati
Draft	37th overall, 1993 Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career	1993–2006
Former teams	Los Angeles Lakers 1993–1998 Denver Nuggets 1998 – 2001 Dallas Mavericks 2001 – 2003 Golden State Warriors 2003 – 2004 Portland Trail Blazers 2004 – 2005 San Antonio Spurs 2005 – 2006

Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is an American former professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during games.

Contents 1 College career 2 NBA career 3 Player profile 4 Player highlights 5 Trivia 6 External links

Van Exel began his collegiate career at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, averaging 18.8 ppg and 6.1 apg overall. After two seasons there he transferred to the University of Cincinnati where he would play for coach Bob Huggins. Under Huggins, he worked his way into the system slowly at first, then started the final 20 games of his junior year, leading Cincinnati to an 18-2 mark and an NCAA Final Four appearance. Van Exel then paced the Bearcats in scoring (18.3 ppg), assists (4.5 apg) and steals (1.8) as a senior, leading the Bearcats into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He earned Third Team All-America honors (AP, Basketball Times and Basketball Weekley) and was a finalist for the Wooden Award as a senior. He became Cincinnati's all-time leader in three-point field goals made (147), attempted (411) and percentage (.358) in only two seasons with the Bearcats (records since surpassed).

At 6'1" and 190 pounds, Van Exel has enjoyed a 14 year career in which he has played for the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round as the 37th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft out of the University of Cincinnati.

Along with Eddie Jones the two guards were the centerpiece of the Lakers "rebuilding" process after the glory years of the "Showtime" era came to a close in the early '90s. Led by Van Exel's flashy play, the two guards led the team back to the playoffs in 1995 after missing the postseason for the first time in years in 1994. During his career with the Lakers Van Exel averaged 14.9 points per game as well as 7.3 assists per game, finishing in the top ten in the NBA in that category twice. By 1998, with the arrivals of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal the future looked bright for the Lakers, but Van Exel's days in purple and gold were numbered due to tensions with O'Neal and the emergence of Bryant and Derek Fisher in the backcourt.

Van Exel played five seasons for the Lakers as the starting point guard until June 24, 1998, when he was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Tony Battie and the draft rights to Tyronn Lue.

In Denver, playing on a Nuggets team which was one of the worst in the league, Van Exel enjoyed his best years statistically speaking. Over four seasons he put up averages of 17.9 ppg and 8.3 apg, averaging a career high 21.4 ppg through 27 games of the 2001-02 season. Then on February 21, 2002, he was traded by the Nuggets along with Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks for Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway, and a 2002 first-round pick.

In Dallas his averages went down, but he was now on a much better team destined for the playoffs. Van Exel filled his role amply, hitting big three pointers and penetrating to set up teammates or score himself. With the Mavericks Van Exel averaged 15.5 ppg during the regular season, but when it came playoff time he took his game to a higher level. In the 2003 playoffs he averaged nearly 20 ppg.

Van Exel was traded on August 18, 2003 to the Golden State Warriors along with Evan Eschmeyer, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones, and Antoine Rigaudeau in exchange for Antawn Jamison, Chris Mills, Danny Fortson, and Jiri Welsch. During the 2003 season with the Warriors he played in a career low 39 games, averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.3 apg.

After the season, on July 20, 2004, he was traded by Golden State to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Dale Davis and Dan Dickau. With the Blazers he played in only 53 games, averaging 11 ppg.

After being waived by Portland on August 3, 2005, he was signed by the San Antonio Spurs on August 29 to provide veteran leadership and a spark off the bench. After signing, Van Exel stated that it would be his last in an NBA uniform. The Spurs used him sparingly during the season 2005-06 as he played in only 65 games. He averaged career lows in almost every category, including points (5.5 ppg) and minutes (15 mpg). In the playoffs, San Antonio was knocked out a seven game series at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. Two days later, on 24 May, 2006, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon reported on their show Pardon the Interruption than Van Exel would soon announce his retirement.

Nick Van Exel is known as one of the better clutch shooters of his era, consistently elevating his game in the playoffs and hitting game winning shots.

• Van Exel was the last Laker to score in the fabled Boston Garden when he nailed a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers the win.
• He hit a pair of clutch three-pointers for the Lakers in game 5 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. The first one sent the game into overtime, while the second one decided the game[1].
• Van Exel currently ranks 6th all-time in NBA career three-point field goals made with 1,528.
• Has finished in the top 15 in assists in 8 of 13 seasons.
• Coming into the 2005-06 season Van Exel was first all-time among Los Angeles Lakers in three point field goals made with 750. Midway through the season he was surpassed by Kobe Bryant.
• Popularized the move of 'punching the air' after making a clutch shot during a game.

During the Western Conference Series vs. the San Antonio Spurs, Van Exel coming off the bench averaged 18.9 points per game, but to no avail as the Mavericks lost the series in six games to the eventual NBA champions.

Other facts

• Named an NBA All-Star in 1998
• Ranks 6th in NBA history in 3-pointers (1,473)
• The Lakers #2 all-time in 3-point field goals made (with 750) *1994 All-Rookie Second Team

• During his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Van Exel was referred to by the nickname "Nick the Quick."
• His free throw technique is somewhat unorthodox in that he stands about a foot behind the line. He developed this style after his tenure with the Lakers because he felt he shot better when he was not on the line. He has shot 79.6 percent from the line in his career.
• His nicknames include "Nick the Quick", "Van Smack" (via Jim Rome) and Nick "Van Excellent". In high school his nickname was "Pearl"
• Nick's house was featured on MTV Cribs in its first season.
• While with the Lakers, during the 1996 season he shoved a referee over the scorer's table. Magic Johnson, who had rejoined the team during the season, publicly denounced Van Exel's outburst. Johnson went on to chest bump a referee only a few games later. Both were suspended.
• Has a scar on his right eyebrow from a traffic accident when he was a teenager.
• Wore number 31 while playing in college for Cincinnati, number 9 for the Los Angeles Lakers, number 37 for the Golden State Warriors, number 19 for the Portland Trail Blazers, and number 31 for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs.
• Suffered a broken collar bone while playing for the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers.
• In the hit song Crazy in Love by Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Van Exel is mentioned by Jay-Z: "Soprano the roc handle like Van Exel".

• Nick Van Exel NBA Profile
• HoopsHype's Scouting Report