Kendall Gill facts for kids

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Kendall Gill
Personal information
Gill in 2010
Born	(1968-05-25) May 25, 1968 (age 57) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
High school	Rich Central (Olympia Fields, Illinois)
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	Illinois (1986–1990)
NBA Draft	1990 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Pro career	1990–2005
Career history
1990–1993	Charlotte Hornets
1993–1995	Seattle SuperSonics
1995–1996	Charlotte Hornets
1996–2001	New Jersey Nets
2001–2002	Miami Heat
2002–2003	Minnesota Timberwolves
2003–2004	Chicago Bulls
2004–2005	Milwaukee Bucks

Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1991) NBA steals leader (1999) Consensus second-team All-American (1990) First-team All-Big Ten (1990)

Career NBA statistics
Points	12,914 (13.4 ppg)
Rebounds	4,002 (4.1 rpg)
Steals	1,519 (1.6 spg)

Kendall Cedric Gill, born on May 25, 1968, is a former professional basketball player from the United States. After his playing career, he became a television basketball analyst. During his time in the NBA, he was known as "Cold World" because of his calm and focused attitude on the court.

Early Life and High School Success

Kendall Gill was born in Chicago, Illinois. He went to Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinois. In 1986, during his senior year, he helped his high school team reach second place in the Illinois state basketball tournament. Gill was the top scorer for his team in the tournament finals. He was also chosen for the six-player All-Tournament team.

College Basketball Career

After high school, Gill attended the University of Illinois. He played four years for the Fighting Illini basketball team. He was a starting player for his last three seasons.

The "Flyin' Illini" Team

As a junior, Gill was part of the famous "Flyin' Illini" team. This team made it to the 1989 Final Four. They lost a very close game to Michigan right at the end. Other future NBA players on this team included Nick Anderson and Marcus Liberty.

Senior Year Achievements

In his senior year, Gill was the leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference. He was also named a first-team All-American. He left Illinois as one of the top scorers in the school's history. His team made it to the NCAA tournament every year he played. He also won the NCAA Slam Dunk championship during his senior year's Final Four event. In 2004, Gill was honored by being elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team."

Kendall Gill's NBA Journey

Kendall Gill was picked fifth overall in the 1990 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He was named to the First Team All-Rookie for the 1990–91 season. During this season, he also took part in the NBA Slam-Dunk Competition.

Early Years with the Hornets

As a rookie, it was a bit tough for Gill to find his place with the Hornets. The team already had strong guards like Muggsy Bogues and Rex Chapman. However, after Larry Johnson joined the team in 1991 and Rex Chapman left, Gill had a fantastic year in the 1991–92 season. He averaged 20.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.

Playoffs and Trades

In 1993, the Hornets made it to the NBA postseason for the very first time. After that season, Gill was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. He played with stars like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp there. The SuperSonics were eliminated early in the playoffs in both 1994 and 1995.

Gill returned to Charlotte for the 1995–96 season. Later in that season, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets. An injury limited him to only 11 games for the rest of that season.

Time with the Nets

From 1996 to 2001, Gill played for the Nets. He scored a career-high 41 points in a game in January 1997. He helped the team reach the 1998 playoffs. In the 1998–99 season, he led the entire league in steals. On April 3, 1999, Gill made 11 steals in one game against the Miami Heat. This tied an NBA record for most steals in a single game. In that same game, he also had 15 points and 10 rebounds, which is a rare "triple-double" involving points, rebounds, and steals. His last season with the Nets was cut short by an injury.

Later NBA Teams

In his final four seasons in the NBA, Gill played for several different teams. He played for the Miami Heat in the 2001–02 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2002–03 season, and the Chicago Bulls in the 2003–04 season. He finished his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2004.

Over his 15 seasons in the NBA, Kendall Gill played in 966 games for seven different teams. He also played in 27 playoff games. He was part of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1991. Throughout his career, he scored 12,914 points, made 2,945 assists, and grabbed 4,002 rebounds.

Life After Basketball

Kendall Gill grew up in Matteson, Illinois. He is married to Wendy Gill, and they have two sons, Phoenix and Kota.

Boxing and Media Appearances

After his basketball career, Gill became a professional boxer. His first boxing match was on June 25, 2005, when he was 37 years old.

He also made appearances on TV shows. In 1994, he was on the Nickelodeon show My Brother and Me. In 2004, his house was shown on MTV Cribs. He also appeared on Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes in 2008.

Sports Analyst Role

Gill has worked as a basketball analyst for Comcast SportsNet Chicago, covering Chicago Bulls games. In 2017, Gill joined the BIG3 basketball league, playing for the team Power.

Honors and Achievements

High School Honors

1986 – IHSA State Tournament All-Tournament Team
1992 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame

College Honors

1989 – NCAA All-Regional Team
1990 – 1st Team All-Big Ten
1990 – Consensus 2nd Team All American
2004 – Elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team"
2008 – Honored as one of the 33 honored jerseys at the State Farm Center
2018 – Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame

NBA Honors

1991 – NBA Slam Dunk Contest competitor
1991 – NBA All-Rookie First Team
1999 – NBA annual steals leader
2018 – Charlotte Hornets 30th Anniversary Team

Kendall Gill's Career Statistics

Here are some of Kendall Gill's basketball statistics from his time in the NBA and college.

NBA Regular Season Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1990–91	Charlotte	82	36	23.7	.450	.143	.835	3.2	3.7	1.3	.5	11.0
1991–92	Charlotte	79	79	36.8	.467	.240	.745	5.1	4.2	1.9	.6	20.5
1992–93	Charlotte	69	67	35.2	.449	.274	.772	4.9	3.9	1.4	.5	16.9
1993–94	Seattle	79	77	30.8	.443	.317	.782	3.4	3.5	1.9	.4	14.1
1994–95	Seattle	73	58	29.1	.457	.368	.742	4.0	2.6	1.6	.4	13.7
1995–96	Charlotte	36	36	35.1	.481	.315	.761	5.3	6.3	1.2	.6	12.9
1995–96	New Jersey	11	10	38.0	.441	.360	.831	3.9	3.2	2.0	.2	17.5
1996–97	New Jersey	82	81	39.0	.443	.336	.797	6.1	4.0	1.9	.6	21.8
1997–98	New Jersey	81	81	33.7	.429	.257	.688	4.8	2.5	1.9	.8	13.4
1998–99	New Jersey	50*	47	32.1	.398	.118	.683	4.9	2.5	2.7*	.5	11.8
1999–2000	New Jersey	76	75	31.0	.414	.256	.710	3.7	2.8	1.8	.5	13.1
2000–01	New Jersey	31	26	28.8	.331	.286	.722	4.2	2.8	1.5	.2	9.1
2001–02	Miami	65	49	21.7	.384	.136	.677	2.8	1.5	.7	.1	5.7
2002–03	Minnesota	82	34	25.2	.422	.322	.764	3.0	1.9	1.0	.2	8.7
2003–04	Chicago	56	35	25.2	.392	.237	.735	3.4	1.6	1.2	.3	9.6
2004–05	Milwaukee	14	0	20.3	.400	.333	.900	2.6	1.9	1.0	.3	6.1
Career		966	791	30.5	.434	.300	.754	4.1	3.0	1.6	.4	13.4

NBA Playoff Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1993	Charlotte	9	9	39.2	.401	.167	.714	5.1	2.9	2.3	.7	17.3
1994	Seattle	5	5	30.6	.433	.222	.619	4.8	2.0	1.2	.2	13.4
1995	Seattle	4	0	18.0	.360	.250	.625	1.0	2.5	1.0	.3	6.3
1998	New Jersey	3	3	33.3	.450	—	.875	4.3	1.0	1.3	.3	14.3
2003	Minnesota	6	0	19.7	.370	.500	.643	2.2	1.2	.7	.2	5.2
Career		27	17	29.5	.408	.259	.686	3.7	2.1	1.4	.4	11.9

College Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1986–87	Illinois	31	0	11.1	.482	.000	.642	1.4	.9	1.3	.3	3.7
1987–88	Illinois	33	23	28.7	.471	.304	.753	2.2	4.2	2.0	.1	10.4
1988–89	Illinois	24	18	28.4	.542	.458	.793	2.9	3.8	2.1	.3	15.4
1989–90	Illinois	29	29	34.5	.500	.348	.777	4.9	3.3	2.2	.6	20.0
Career		117	70	25.4	.501	.374	.755	2.8	3.0	1.9	.3	12.0