Mateen Cleaves facts for kids
_(cropped).jpg)
Cleaves with the Seattle SuperSonics in 2006
|
||||||||||||||
| Phoenix Suns | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant coach | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | September 3, 1977 Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
|||||||||||||
| High school | Flint Northern (Flint, Michigan) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Michigan State (1996–2000) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Detroit Pistons | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2000–2009 | |||||||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Detroit Pistons | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Sacramento Kings | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Huntsville Flight | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Huntsville Flight | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Seattle SuperSonics | |||||||||||||
| 2006 | Fayetteville Patriots | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | UNICS Kazan | |||||||||||||
| 2007 | Bakersfield Jam | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Panionios | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Bakersfield Jam | |||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||
| 2025–present | Phoenix Suns (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Medals
|
||||||||||||||
Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Cleaves played for six seasons in the NBA. He was an All-American college player. He played for Michigan State. He led the Spartans to a national championship in 2000. Mateen Cleaves has also worked as a studio analyst for Fox Sports.
Contents
College Basketball Career
Mateen Cleaves was a very sought-after high school athlete. He decided to attend Michigan State University. This school is a big rival of the University of Michigan. Cleaves was one of four players from Flint, Michigan, on the team. They were nicknamed "The Flintstones."
Cleaves was a team captain for Michigan State three times. He led the Spartans to win the national championship in 2000. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
He was the only Michigan State player to be named an All-American three times. Cleaves was also named Big Ten Player of the Year twice. He led Michigan State and the Big Ten conference in career assists with 816. He is also Michigan State's all-time leader in steals with 193. In his last home game, Cleaves made 20 assists. This broke the Big Ten record for assists in a single game and for a career.
On February 3, 2007, Michigan State honored Cleaves. They retired his number, making him the eighth player to receive this honor.
Professional Basketball Career
In 2000, the Detroit Pistons picked Mateen Cleaves. He was the 14th player chosen in the 2000 NBA draft. During the 2000–01 season, he played in 78 games. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 assists per game.
Before the 2001–02 season, Cleaves was traded to the Sacramento Kings. He played for them for two seasons. After that, he signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent. However, he was released before the 2003–04 season. He then played four games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Later, he signed with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was released during the 2004–05 season. But he re-signed with them the next season. In total, Cleaves played 167 NBA games. He started in 10 of those games. His career averages were 3.6 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound per game. His last NBA game was on February 14, 2006.
After his time in the NBA, Cleaves played in the D-League. He played for the Fayetteville Patriots and the Bakersfield Jam. He also played basketball overseas. He played for Unics Kazan in Russia and Panionios BC in Greece. In 2008, he played for the Denver Nuggets in their pre-season games. But he was released before the regular season started.
NBA 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 Stats
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Detroit | 78 | 8 | 16.3 | .400 | .294 | .708 | 1.7 | 2.7 | .6 | .0 | 5.4 |
| 2001–02 | Sacramento | 32 | 0 | 4.8 | .441 | .250 | .889 | .3 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 2.2 |
| 2002–03 | Sacramento | 12 | 0 | 4.6 | .261 | 1.000 | .750 | .7 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 1.3 |
| 2003–04 | Cleveland | 4 | 2 | 23.0 | .304 | .000 | .500 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .5 | 3.8 |
| 2004–05 | Seattle | 14 | 0 | 4.6 | .357 | .000 | .750 | .4 | .5 | .1 | .0 | .9 |
| 2005–06 | Seattle | 27 | 0 | 8.5 | .352 | .250 | .792 | .5 | 1.6 | .1 | .1 | 2.7 |
| Career | 167 | 10 | 11.2 | .389 | .267 | .728 | 1.0 | 1.9 | .4 | .0 | 3.6 | |
Life After Playing Basketball
On March 14, 2010, Mateen Cleaves joined Fox Sports Detroit. He worked as a studio analyst for the Detroit Pistons. Cleaves also started a record label called All Varsity Entertainment. This label features artists like Jon Connor.
In 2019, Cleaves joined United Wholesale Mortgage. He worked with his former teammate Mat Ishbia as a leadership development coach. In 2021, he was promoted to lead the leadership development team. He is well-known in the company for his "Mateen's Motivational Tuesday" posts.
On July 10, 2025, the Phoenix Suns hired Cleaves. He joined their coaching staff under head coach Jordan Ott.
More to Explore
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 20 or more assists in a game
See also
In Spanish: Mateen Cleaves para niños
