kids encyclopedia robot

Speedy Claxton facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Speedy Claxton
SpeedyClaxton.jpg
Claxton in 1998 playing for Hofstra
Hofstra Pride
Head coach
Personal information
Born (1978-05-08) May 8, 1978 (age 45)
Hempstead, New York, U.S.
High school Christ the King
(Middle Village, Queens, New York City, New York)
Listed height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight 166 lb (75 kg)
Career information
College Hofstra (1996–2000)
NBA Draft 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career 2000–2009
Coaching career 2013–present
League Colonial Athletic Association
Career history
As player:
2000–2002 Philadelphia 76ers
2002–2003 San Antonio Spurs
2003–2005 Golden State Warriors
2005–2006 New Orleans Hornets
2006–2009 Atlanta Hawks
As coach:
2013–2021 Hofstra (assistant)
2021–present Hofstra
Career highlights and awards
As player:
  • NBA champion (2003)
  • 2× America East Player of the Year (1998, 2000)
  • Haggerty Award (2000)
  • America East tournament MVP (2000)
  • No. 10 retired by Hofstra Pride

As coach:

  • CAA regular season champion (2023)
  • CAA Coach of the Year (2023)
Career NBA statistics
Points 3,096 (9.3 ppg)
Assists 1,441 (4.3 apg)
Steals 503 (1.5 spg)

Craig Elliott "Speedy" Claxton (born May 8, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Hofstra University men's basketball team. Claxton won an NBA championship in 2003 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. In 2013, he was named as a special assistant to the head coach for the Hofstra University men's basketball program, before being hired as head coach in 2021.

College

Prior to his NBA career, Claxton played at Hofstra University under future Villanova University coach Jay Wright. At Hofstra, Claxton led the Flying Dutchmen to the America East Championship, where they defeated the University of Delaware in the championship game at Hofstra Arena. The team was defeated in the first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament by an Oklahoma State team led by Desmond Mason, Claxton's future NBA teammate with the New Orleans Hornets.

Claxton donated money to help build the 5,000-seat arena in which the Hofstra team plays, and his number 10 was retired by Hofstra on January 31, 2009. Claxton was inducted into the Hofstra Hall of Fame on January 29, 2011.

NBA career

Claxton was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 20th overall pick of the 2000 NBA draft. His rookie-scale contract was worth four years and $4.68 million; he opted out of the fourth year to become a free agent.

Claxton missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury suffered during the preseason. In 2002, Claxton was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Mark Bryant, Randy Holcomb, and John Salmons, where he played on the Spurs' 2003 championship team as the backup to starting point guard Tony Parker.

In 2003, Claxton was signed by the Golden State Warriors to a three-year contract worth $10 million.

On February 24, 2005, Claxton and Dale Davis were traded from the Warriors to the New Orleans Hornets for Baron Davis.

On July 12, 2006, Claxton signed a contract worth approximately $25 million over four years with the Atlanta Hawks. Claxton only played 44 games with the Hawks, as he was injured every year after he signed with the team. During the 2006–07 season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.4 assists per game.

On June 25, 2009, Claxton and Acie Law were traded to the Golden State Warriors for Jamal Crawford. Claxton never reported to the Warriors and was waived by Golden State on February 6, 2010, without appearing in a game for them.

Post-playing career

Claxton served as a college scout with the Golden State Warriors before joining the Hofstra University men's basketball staff in 2013. On April 7, 2021, he was hired as head coach at Hofstra.

For the 2022–23 season, Claxton led the Pride to the CAA regular season title and was named CAA Coach of the Year.

Personal life

Claxton's parents are from Antigua and Barbuda. His sister, Lisa, played for the St. John's Red Storm women's basketball team. His brother Michael (M. Buckets) played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. Claxton has two daughters, Aniya and London, with ex-wife Meeka. The couple announced their divorce in July 2014.

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
2001–02 Philadelphia 67 18 22.8 .400 .121 .838 2.4 3.0 1.4 .1 7.2
2002–03† San Antonio 30 0 15.7 .462 .000 .684 1.9 2.5 .7 .2 5.8
2003–04 Golden State 60 29 26.6 .427 .182 .813 2.6 4.5 1.6 .2 10.6
2004–05 Golden State 46 44 32.6 .431 .192 .761 3.3 6.2 1.9 .1 13.1
2004–05 New Orleans 16 3 22.8 .373 .111 .610 1.9 5.5 1.4 .1 6.8
2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City 71 3 28.4 .413 .270 .769 2.7 4.8 1.5 .1 12.3
2006–07 Atlanta 42 31 25.1 .327 .214 .550 1.9 4.4 1.7 .1 5.3
2008–09 Atlanta 2 0 7.5 .286 .000 .500 .0 1.5 .0 .0 2.5
Career 334 128 25.6 .409 .193 .762 2.5 4.3 1.5 .1 9.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 Philadelphia 5 0 9.8 .333 .000 .667 .2 2.8 1.0 .0 2.4
2003† San Antonio 24 0 13.6 .438 .000 .750 1.9 1.9 .7 .2 5.2
2009 Atlanta 1 0 3.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 30 0 12.6 .427 .000 .740 1.5 2.0 .7 .2 4.6

Head coaching record

College

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Hofstra Pride (Colonial Athletic Association) (2021–present)
2021–22 Hofstra 21–11 13–5 3rd
2022–23 Hofstra 25–10 16–2 T–1st NIT Second Round
2023–24 Hofstra 6–3 0–0
Hofstra: 52–24 (.684) 29–7 (.806)
Total: 52–24 (.684)

      National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion
      Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Speedy Claxton para niños

kids search engine
Speedy Claxton Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.