Rasheed Wallace facts for kids

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Rasheed Wallace
Personal information
Wallace with the Pistons in 2008
Born	(1974-09-17) September 17, 1974 (age 50) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
High school	Simon Gratz (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1993–1995)
NBA Draft	1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Washington Bullets
Pro career	1995–2010, 2012–2013
Coaching career	2013–2014, 2019–present
Career history
As player:
1995–1996	Washington Bullets
1996–2004	Portland Trail Blazers
2004	Atlanta Hawks
2004–2009	Detroit Pistons
2009–2010	Boston Celtics
2012–2013	New York Knicks
As coach:
2013–2014	Detroit Pistons (assistant)
2019–2021	Jordan HS
2021–2022	Memphis (assistant)

Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2004) 4× NBA All-Star (2000, 2001, 2006, 2008) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1996) Consensus second-team All-American (1995) First-team All-ACC (1995) ACC All-Freshman team (1994) No. 30 honored by North Carolina Tar Heels Mr. Basketball USA (1993) USA Today High School Player of the Year (1993) 2× First-team Parade All-American (1992, 1993) McDonald's All-American (1993)

Career NBA statistics
Points	16,006 (14.4 ppg)
Rebounds	7,404 (6.7 rpg)
Blocks	1,460 (1.3 bpg)

Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was known for his strong defense and unique personality on the court. Wallace played for 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. In 1995, he was picked fourth in the 1995 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. After his first season, he was named to the All-Rookie second team.

Wallace later played for the Portland Trail Blazers, where he became an NBA All-Star twice. He then joined the Detroit Pistons and helped them win the NBA championship in 2004. He was also an All-Star two more times with the Pistons. After leaving Detroit, he played for the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks before retiring in 2013.

Wallace is known for holding the record for the most technical fouls in a single NBA season, with 41. He also has the most career ejections in the NBA.

Early Life and High School Basketball

Rasheed Wallace grew up in Germantown, Philadelphia, as the youngest of three sons. His mother worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare.

He started his basketball journey at Simon Gratz High School. In his senior year, he was named USA Today's High School Player of the Year. He was also a two-time Parade All-American. Even though he played only 19 minutes per game, Wallace averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds, and seven blocks. Besides basketball, he also played baseball and ran track.

College Career at North Carolina

Tar Heels coach Dean Smith recruited Wallace to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Coach Smith was a big influence on Wallace. This connection helped Wallace later when he played for coach Larry Brown in Detroit.

During his two years at North Carolina, Wallace was very successful. In his second year, he was named a second-team All-American. Wallace and future NBA player Jerry Stackhouse led the Tar Heels to the NCAA Final Four in 1995. After his sophomore season, he decided to enter the 1995 NBA draft.

Professional Basketball Journey

Starting with the Washington Bullets (1995–1996)

As a rookie, Wallace played 65 games for the Bullets. He started 51 of those games because Chris Webber was injured. Wallace was chosen for the All-Star Weekend rookie team. He averaged 10.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. He fractured his left thumb late in the season, which kept him out until the next year.

Time with the Portland Trail Blazers (1996–2004)

After his rookie season, Wallace was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. This trade was good for both teams. Wallace became a key player for Portland. He was known for his high field goal percentage.

Wallace signed a long-term contract to stay with the Trail Blazers. He also started his own foundation to help the community. However, his time in Portland was also known for his many technical fouls. He set an NBA record with 38 technical fouls in one season, and then broke his own record with 40 the next year. He was also suspended for seven games for arguing with a referee.

Wallace was named an NBA All-Star in 2000 and 2001. In 2001, he scored a career-high 42 points against the Denver Nuggets. He helped the Trail Blazers reach the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000. They lost to the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, who both went on to win the NBA Finals.

Short Stop with the Atlanta Hawks (2004)

In February 2004, Wallace was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. He played only one game for the Hawks. In that game, he scored 20 points, had six rebounds, five blocks, two assists, and a steal.

Winning a Championship with the Detroit Pistons (2004–2009)

Wallace in a game against the Golden State Warriors

Soon after, Wallace was traded again, this time to the Detroit Pistons. This trade proved to be a great move for him and the Pistons.

In his first road game with the Pistons, Wallace had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He helped the Pistons win an unexpected NBA title in 2004. They beat the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers four games to one in the 2004 NBA Finals. After winning the championship, Wallace bought replica wrestling championship belts for his teammates as gifts.

After the championship, Wallace signed a five-year contract to stay with Detroit. He changed his jersey number from #30 to #36. In the 2004–05 NBA season, the Pistons had a difficult moment with the Indiana Pacers, which led to some player suspensions.

Wallace had many memorable moments in the playoffs. In the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, he helped the Pistons win Game 7 on the road. The Pistons then reached the 2005 NBA Finals but lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

All-Star Years and Later Seasons in Detroit

In the 2005–06 season, Wallace helped the Pistons achieve a great record of 64–18. They were the top team in the Eastern Conference. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals again but lost to the Miami Heat.

Wallace preparing to take a free-throw

On March 26, 2007, Wallace made an amazing 60-foot shot at the buzzer to force overtime against the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons went on to win that game.

Wallace was chosen for his fourth All-Star appearance in 2008. This was because Kevin Garnett was injured. In the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons played against Garnett and the Celtics. This was the sixth time in a row the Pistons made it to this stage. However, they lost to Boston. After this loss, Wallace left the Pistons.

Playing for the Boston Celtics (2009–2010)

Wallace signed a three-year contract with the Boston Celtics in 2009. He struggled during the regular season, with lower points and rebounds than usual. The Celtics made it to the NBA Finals in 2010 but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Wallace started Game 7 of the Finals and scored 11 points. He retired from the NBA in August 2010.

Return with the New York Knicks (2012–2013)

On October 3, 2012, Wallace came out of retirement and signed with the New York Knicks. He played 21 games before breaking his left foot in February 2013. He played one final game on April 15, 2013, before announcing his second retirement two days later.

Coaching Career

Detroit Pistons Assistant Coach

In July 2013, Wallace joined the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach. He worked for the team during the 2013–14 Detroit Pistons season. He was not rehired when a new coach took over.

High School Coaching

In March 2019, Wallace became the head coach for the boys' varsity basketball team at Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina.

Memphis Tigers Assistant Coach

In August 2021, Wallace agreed to become an assistant coach at Memphis. He joined his former coach Larry Brown on the staff. In January 2022, it was announced that Wallace would work remotely for the rest of the season.

Memorable On-Court Moments

Wallace arguing with a referee, 2008

Rasheed Wallace was known for his strong personality and passion on the court. This often led to him arguing with opponents and referees, which resulted in many technical fouls and ejections. He holds the NBA records for the most technical fouls in a single season and the most career ejections (29).

Wallace popularized the phrase "Ball don't lie." He would say this when an opposing player missed a free throw after a referee made a call that Wallace disagreed with. One famous moment happened in 2012. After he got a technical foul, the other team's player missed the free throw. Wallace then said "Ball don't lie," and got a second technical foul, which meant he was ejected from the game.

During the 2010 NBA Playoffs, Wallace, who is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team, often wore Flyers hats during press conferences. This caused a bit of a stir in Boston because the Flyers were playing against the Boston Bruins (Boston's hockey team) at the time.

Personal Life

Rasheed Wallace has three children with his former wife, Fatima Sanders. He is a follower of Islam. His nephew, Quadir Welton, is also a professional basketball player.

Wallace supports his hometown teams, the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) and the Phillies (MLB). However, he is a longtime fan of the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, not the Eagles.

Helping the Community

Wallace has been a big supporter and helper during the Flint water crisis. He personally delivered water to homes in Flint starting in 2016. He also wrote an article to raise awareness about the crisis and appeared on TV to talk about it. His efforts inspired other famous people to help in Flint.

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
1995–96	Washington	65	51	27.5	.487	.329	.650	4.7	1.3	.6	.8	10.1
1996–97	Portland	62	56	30.5	.558	.273	.638	6.8	1.2	.8	1.0	15.1
1997–98	Portland	77	77	37.6	.533	.205	.662	6.2	2.5	1.0	1.1	14.6
1998–99	Portland	49	18	28.9	.508	.419	.732	4.9	1.2	1.0	1.1	12.8
1999–00	Portland	81	77	35.1	.519	.160	.704	7.0	1.8	1.1	1.3	16.4
2000–01	Portland	77	75	38.2	.501	.321	.766	7.8	2.8	1.2	1.8	19.2
2001–02	Portland	79	79	37.5	.469	.360	.734	8.2	1.9	1.3	1.3	19.3
2002–03	Portland	74	74	36.3	.471	.358	.735	7.4	2.1	.9	1.0	18.1
2003–04	Portland	45	44	37.2	.442	.341	.742	6.6	2.5	.8	1.6	17.0
	Atlanta	1	1	42.0	.333	.167	1.000	6.0	2.0	1.0	5.0	20.0
	Detroit†	22	21	30.6	.431	.319	.704	7.0	1.8	1.1	2.0	13.7
2004–05	Detroit	79	79	34.0	.440	.318	.697	8.2	1.8	.8	1.5	14.5
2005–06	Detroit	80	80	34.8	.430	.357	.743	6.8	2.3	1.0	1.6	15.1
2006–07	Detroit	75	72	32.3	.423	.351	.788	7.2	1.7	1.0	1.6	12.3
2007–08	Detroit	77	76	30.5	.432	.356	.767	6.6	1.8	1.2	1.7	12.7
2008–09	Detroit	66	63	32.2	.419	.354	.772	7.4	1.4	.9	1.3	12.0
2009–10	Boston	79	13	22.5	.409	.283	.768	4.1	1.0	1.0	.9	9.0
2012–13	New York	21	0	14.1	.387	.319	.700	4.0	.3	.6	.7	7.0
Career		1109	956	32.7	.467	.336	.721	6.7	1.8	1.0	1.3	14.4
All-Star		4	0	19.3	.250	.100	.750	3.8	.5	1.0	.8	4.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1997	Portland	4	4	37.0	.589	.400	.550	6.0	1.5	0.5	0.5	19.8
1998	Portland	4	4	39.3	.489	.800	.500	4.8	2.8	0.5	0.5	14.5
1999	Portland	13	13	36.0	.514	.111	.724	4.8	1.5	1.5	0.8	14.8
2000	Portland	16	16	37.8	.489	.615	.773	6.4	1.8	0.9	1.3	17.9
2001	Portland	3	3	42.7	.373	.364	.571	8.0	2.3	0.3	1.0	16.7
2002	Portland	3	3	41.7	.406	.412	.813	12.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	25.3
2003	Portland	7	7	37.1	.454	.400	.714	5.1	2.6	0.6	0.7	17.4
2004†	Detroit	23	23	34.9	.413	.243	.767	7.8	1.6	0.6	2.0	13.0
2005	Detroit	25	25	33.0	.439	.337	.741	6.9	1.3	1.0	1.8	13.6
2006	Detroit	18	18	34.9	.430	.405	.527	6.3	1.8	0.6	0.8	14.1
2007	Detroit	16	16	35.8	.437	.347	.842	7.7	1.8	1.2	1.8	14.3
2008	Detroit	17	17	34.4	.424	.320	.744	6.4	1.6	1.1	1.9	13.2
2009	Detroit	4	4	30.5	.367	.500	.000	6.3	0.8	0.5	0.3	6.5
2010	Boston	24	1	17.1	.416	.345	.828	3.0	0.4	0.4	0.6	6.1
Career		177	154	33.0	.444	.352	.717	6.2	1.5	0.8	1.3	13.5