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Nazr Mohammed
Nazr Mohammed.jpg
Mohammed during his first tenure with the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Blue
General Manager
Personal information
Born (1977-09-05) September 5, 1977 (age 46)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality American
High school Kenwood Academy
(Chicago, Illinois)
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
College Kentucky (1995–1998)
NBA Draft 1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Pro career 1998–2015, 2016
Career history
1998–2001 Philadelphia 76ers
2001–2004 Atlanta Hawks
2004–2005 New York Knicks
2005–2006 San Antonio Spurs
2006–2007 Detroit Pistons
2007–2011 Charlotte Bobcats
2011–2012 Oklahoma City Thunder
2012–2015 Chicago Bulls
2016 Oklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 5,827 (5.8 ppg)
Rebounds 4,708 (4.7 rpg)
Blocks 639 (0.6 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com

Nazr Tahiru Mohammed (/ˈnɑːzi/ NAH-zee; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current general manager of the Oklahoma City Blue and a pro scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played college basketball for Kentucky.

Early life

The son of Alhaji Muhammad, an entrepreneur from Ghana, Mohammed was raised in Chicago and attended high school at Kenwood Academy, graduating in 1995. Mohammed entered the University of Kentucky in the fall of 1995 at a hefty 315 pounds, and saw little playing time during their NCAA Championship season. After slimming down for his sophomore year, Mohammed shared the starting center spot with Jamaal Magloire and was a key contributor in 1997, when the Wildcats were runners-up to Arizona. Mohammed once again shared the starting post position with Magloire in 1998, and once again they brought the NCAA Championship home to Kentucky, for the second time in three years.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (1998–2001)

After his junior year, Mohammed decided to enter the 1998 NBA draft. He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round, as the 29th pick overall. Utah traded his rights to the Philadelphia 76ers for a future first-round pick, which turned out to be Quincy Lewis in the 1999 NBA draft. He spent two and a half seasons in Philadelphia before being traded in February 2001 to the Atlanta Hawks along with an injured Theo Ratliff in exchange for Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo.

Atlanta Hawks (2001–2004)

On November 5, 2001, he scored a career-high 30 points against the Los Angeles Clippers. He played for the Hawks through the middle of the 2003–04 season, at which point he was traded to the New York Knicks for Michael Doleac.

New York Knicks (2004–2005)

Mohammed spent half of the 2004–05 season with the Knicks.

San Antonio Spurs (2005–2006)

He played for the San Antonio Spurs (who acquired him in a trade for Malik Rose), for the second half of the 2004-05 NBA season. In a combined 77 games for both teams, he averaged 9.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He won his first and only championship in 2005 with the Spurs as a member of their starting lineup.

During his second season in San Antonio, Mohammed shared the starting center position with Rasho Nesterović, averaging 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. On March 17, 2006, he tied his career-high of 30 points against the Phoenix Suns. He was a key contributor to the team's first round series victory over the Sacramento Kings, averaging 7.0 points per game and nailing his second career three-point basket late in Game 1. Mohammed, however, played sparingly in the team's second round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks. After the season, he turned down a four-year contract extension and did not return to the Spurs.

Detroit Pistons (2006–2007)

In July 2006, he signed with the Detroit Pistons and became their starting center. After beginning the season in the starting five, the arrival of Chris Webber on January 16, 2007 made him gradually fall out of the team's rotation, the culmination being his 5 minutes in two postseason contests. He averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 51 games (33 starts), with about 15 minutes of action per game.

Charlotte Bobcats (2007–2011)

Mohammed was traded from the Pistons to the Charlotte Bobcats on December 14, 2007, in exchange for Primož Brezec and Walter Herrmann.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2011–2012)

On February 24, 2011, Mohammed was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, while forward D. J. White and guard Morris Peterson were sent to the Charlotte Bobcats. He reached the 2012 NBA Finals with the Thunder, but the team lost to the Miami Heat 4 games to 1.

Chicago Bulls (2012–2015)

On July 27, 2012, Mohammed signed with his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. On May 10, 2013, he was involved in an altercation with LeBron James in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. James was called for a technical foul for tying up with Mohammed in transition; Mohammed retaliated by shoving James which required James to sue Mohammed.

On July 11, 2013, Mohammed re-signed with the Bulls. On September 22, 2014, he again re-signed with the Bulls.

On August 1, 2015, Mohammed played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game. On October 9, 2015, he retired from the NBA.

Return to Oklahoma City (2016)

In March 2016, Mohammed came out of retirement in order to return to the NBA. On March 5, he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, returning to the franchise for a second stint. Four days later, he made his season debut in a 120–108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

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

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998–99 Philadelphia 26 0 4.7 .357 .000 .571 1.4 .1 .2 .2 1.6
1999–00 Philadelphia 28 3 6.8 .389 .000 .545 1.8 .1 .1 .4 1.9
2000–01 Philadelphia 30 3 6.5 .466 .000 .500 1.8 .1 .2 .2 3.2
2000–01 Atlanta 28 19 25.6 .480 .000 .765 9.0 .6 .8 1.0 12.3
2001–02 Atlanta 82 73 26.4 .461 .000 .617 7.9 .4 .8 .7 9.7
2002–03 Atlanta 35 0 12.7 .421 .000 .634 3.7 .2 .5 .6 4.6
2003–04 Atlanta 53 1 17.7 .493 .000 .627 5.0 .4 .4 .5 6.5
2003–04 New York 27 23 24.9 .563 .000 .525 7.7 .6 1.2 .9 9.1
2004–05 New York 54 54 28.1 .509 .000 .708 8.1 .5 1.0 1.0 10.9
2004–05† San Antonio 23 5 18.0 .387 .000 .571 6.4 .3 .2 1.4 6.2
2005–06 San Antonio 80 30 17.4 .504 .000 .785 5.2 .5 .3 .6 6.2
2006–07 Detroit 51 33 15.2 .532 .000 .610 4.5 .2 .5 .8 5.6
2007–08 Detroit 21 0 10.9 .475 .000 .433 3.5 .3 .3 .4 3.3
2007–08 Charlotte 61 29 23.3 .520 .000 .617 6.9 1.1 .6 .9 9.3
2008–09 Charlotte 39 1 8.7 .406 .000 .550 2.0 .2 .1 .4 2.7
2009–10 Charlotte 58 29 17.0 .553 .000 .648 5.2 .5 .3 .7 7.9
2010–11 Charlotte 51 30 16.7 .502 .000 .591 4.9 .3 .3 .9 7.3
2010–11 Oklahoma City 24 7 17.9 .573 .000 .625 4.8 .3 .7 .4 6.9
2011–12 Oklahoma City 63 1 11.0 .467 .000 .565 2.7 .2 .3 .6 2.7
2012–13 Chicago 63 12 11.0 .367 .000 .723 3.1 .4 .3 .5 2.6
2013–14 Chicago 80 1 7.0 .429 .000 .533 2.2 .3 .2 .4 1.6
2014–15 Chicago 23 0 5.6 .433 .000 .333 1.7 .1 .2 .2 1.2
2015–16 Oklahoma City 5 0 3.8 .600 .000 1.000 .8 .0 .0 .0 1.6
Career 1005 354 15.8 .486 .000 .640 4.7 .4 .4 .6 5.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999 Philadelphia 3 0 1.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
2004 New York 4 4 24.3 .500 .000 .688 5.8 .3 1.5 .8 10.3
2005† San Antonio 23 23 23.0 .528 1.000 .638 6.7 .3 .6 1.0 7.1
2006 San Antonio 8 3 11.8 .733 1.000 .722 3.9 .1 .4 .8 4.5
2007 Detroit 2 0 3.0 .500 .000 1.000 1.5 .0 .0 .0 2.5
2010 Charlotte 4 0 12.0 .579 .000 .667 2.0 .5 .3 .5 6.0
2011 Oklahoma City 14 0 10.6 .412 .000 .400 2.3 .0 .3 .4 2.3
2012 Oklahoma City 8 0 10.4 .500 .000 .500 2.0 .1 .0 .4 2.3
2013 Chicago 12 0 9.5 .512 .000 .571 2.7 .3 .2 .6 3.8
2014 Chicago 2 0 2.5 .000 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0
2015 Chicago 3 0 4.7 .286 .000 .000 1.7 .0 .0 .3 1.3
2016 Oklahoma City 5 0 2.0 .500 .000 .000 0.6 .0 .0 .2 0.4
Career 88 30 13.1 .514 .667 .639 3.5 .2 .3 .6 4.2

Personal life

Mohammed is a practicing Muslim who fasts for Ramadan. He had lost nearly ten pounds during 2004–05 season because of his fasting.

Mohammed and his wife Mandi have two daughters and a son.

He created The Nazr Mohammed Foundation which is committed to being a charitable member of the global community by supporting a multitude of worthy causes through personal donations, fundraisers, camps, grants and scholarships and in August 2012, his foundation hosted the Kenwood Academy Capital Improvements Fundraiser.

Mohammed studied Business Management at Kentucky and graduated in May 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Arts and Sciences.

See also

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