Earl Boykins

Earl Boykins

Boykins with the Milwaukee Bucks, in 2011
Personal information
Born (1976-06-02) June 2, 1976
Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Listed weight 135 lb (61 kg)
Career information
High school Cleveland Central Catholic
(Cleveland, Ohio)
College Eastern Michigan (1994–1998)
NBA draft 1998 / Undrafted
Playing career 1998–2012
Position Point guard
Number 7, 5, 11, 12, 6
Career history
1998–1999 Rockford Lightning (CBA)
1999 New Jersey Nets
1999 Cleveland Cavaliers
1999 Orlando Magic
2000 Cleveland Cavaliers
2000–2002 Los Angeles Clippers
2002–2003 Golden State Warriors
2003–2007 Denver Nuggets
2007–2008 Milwaukee Bucks
2008 Charlotte Bobcats
2008–2009 Virtus Bologna (Italy)
2009–2010 Washington Wizards
2010–2011 Milwaukee Bucks
2012 Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men’s Basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
1997 Trapani Team competition

Earl Boykins (born June 2, 1976)[1] is an American former basketball player who played for twelve teams in fourteen professional seasons. Standing at 5 feet, 5 inches in height, he is the second shortest player in NBA history behind Muggsy Bogues, who was 5 feet, 3 inches tall.[1] Despite his size, he is reportedly able to bench press 315 pounds.[1] He is currently the head coach for the Douglas County High School varsity basketball team.[2]

College

A 1994 graduate of Cleveland Central Catholic High School, Boykins played college basketball at Eastern Michigan University from 1994 to 1998. Eastern Michigan won the MAC Tournament in 1996 and 1998. He earned All-Mid-American Conference first-team honors in his junior and senior year. Also, during his senior season, Boykins was second in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in scoring, with an average of 26.8 points per game. He holds the career record for total assists (624) at Eastern Michigan University.[1] In his last game he scored 18 points in a losing effort to Michigan State. On February 27, 2011, Boykins' No. 11 jersey was retired and raised to the rafters in a ceremony at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center.[3]

Pro career

NBA

Boykins was never drafted by an NBA team, but he was signed to short-term contracts by various NBA teams. The organization he spent the most time with was the Denver Nuggets, as he played for them from the 2003–04 season to about midway through the 2006–07 season. On November 11, 2004, Boykins scored 32 points in a 117–109 Nuggets' home win over the Detroit Pistons, making him the shortest player in NBA history to score 30 or more points during a game.[4]

Italy

Following the 2007–08 NBA season, Boykins was an unrestricted free agent. Instead of signing with an NBA team, he decided to play basketball in Europe, as he signed a one-year, $3.5 million net income contract with Virtus Bologna of the Italian A League.[5] The one-year deal made Boykins the highest-paid basketball player in the Italian League and included income from Bologna's sponsorship and marketing arms, which is not an option for NBA players because of salary-cap restrictions.[6]

On December 26, 2008, it was announced by Virtus general manager Claudio Sabatini that Boykins was cut from the club due to behavioral issues after Boykins flew home to the United States in order to see his sick son.[7][8] However, a few days later it was announced that Boykins was staying with the club.[9][10] On April 26, 2009, his team won the EuroChallenge Cup by defeating Cholet Basket. In June 2009 he was released by Virtus.

Return to NBA

Boykins signed with the Washington Wizards in November 2009, making his return to the National Basketball Association. Boykins was a much needed addition to the Wizards, after guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the remainder of the current season after a misdemeanor gun possession charge stemming from a locker room incident. In the December 2, 2009, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Boykins sank two free throws to clinch the Wizards' victory.

On August 19, 2010, the Bucks signed him to a one-year deal.[11] Boykins signed a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets on March 26, 2012.[12]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998–99 New Jersey 5 0 10.2 .476 .200 .000 .8 1.2 .2 .0 4.2
1998–99 Cleveland 17 0 10.0 .345 .154 .667 .8 1.6 .3 .0 2.6
1999–00 Orlando 1 0 8.0 .750 .000 .000 1.0 3.0 .0 .0 6.0
1999–00 Cleveland 25 0 10.1 .473 .400 .783 1.0 1.8 .5 .0 5.3
2000–01 L.A. Clippers 10 0 14.9 .397 .125 .824 1.1 3.2 .5 .0 6.5
2001–02 L.A. Clippers 68 2 11.2 .400 .310 .770 .8 2.1 .3 .0 4.1
2002–03 Golden State 68 0 19.4 .429 .377 .865 1.3 3.3 .6 .1 8.8
2003–04 Denver 82 3 22.5 .419 .322 .877 1.7 3.6 .6 .0 10.2
2004–05 Denver 82 5 26.4 .413 .337 .921 1.7 4.5 1.0 .1 12.4
2005–06 Denver 60 0 25.7 .410 .346 .874 1.4 3.8 .8 .1 12.6
2006–07 Denver 31 4 28.3 .413 .373 .908 2.0 4.3 .8 .1 15.2
2006–07 Milwaukee 35 19 33.0 .427 .419 .886 2.2 4.5 .9 .0 14.0
2007–08 Charlotte 36 0 16.0 .355 .318 .831 .9 2.7 .4 .0 5.1
2009–10 Washington 67 1 16.7 .427 .317 .865 1.1 2.6 .4 .0 6.6
2010–11 Milwaukee 57 0 15.1 .443 .380 .841 1.0 2.5 .7 .1 7.2
2011–12 Houston 8 0 13.9 .333 .222 .867 1.4 2.1 .1 .0 4.9
Career 652 34 19.9 .417 .348 .876 1.3 3.2 .6 .1 8.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004 Denver 5 0 24.2 .444 .357 .857 2.4 3.8 1.0 .2 13.4
2005 Denver 5 1 30.4 .397 .000 .895 1.0 3.8 .8 .2 14.2
2006 Denver 5 0 28.0 .322 .211 .795 1.4 4.0 .8 .0 11.0
Career 15 1 27.5 .389 .225 .837 1.6 3.9 .9 .1 12.9

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Bio". Nba.com. 1976-06-02. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  2. ↑ http://www.maxpreps.com/blogs/maxwire-national-blog/le9Ub7g4yEWnOcsl3qX_iQ/former-nba-point-guard-earl-boykins-taking-over-colorado-high-school-basketball-program.htm
  3. ↑ "Earl Boykins' No. 11 Jersey To Be Retired Sunday, Feb. 27". Emueagles.com. 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  4. ↑ "Boykins adds career-high 32 in win". Sports.espn.go.com. 2004-11-11. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  5. ↑ "Cats' Boykins latest NBA player to bolt for Europe, signs $3.5 million net pay deal". Sports.espn.go.com. 2008-08-06. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  6. ↑ "ESPN.com Boykins' deal includes part of the team's marketing and sponsorships". Sports.espn.go.com. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  7. ↑ Matteo Manna. "Boykins cut from Virtus for behavior". Tripladoppia.com. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  8. ↑ Tjarks, Jonathan (2012-03-12). "Boykins cut by Virtus Bologna". Realgm.com. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  9. ↑ "Agent: Boykins to stay in Italy". Sports.espn.go.com. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  10. ↑ Talkbasket.net Boykins to stay with Virtus. Archived January 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Bucks sign point guard Boykins to one-year deal". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. August 19, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ Rockets sign Earl Boykins to 10-day contract
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