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Felton Spencer

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Felton Spencer
Personal information
Born(1968-01-05)January 5, 1968
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedMarch 12, 2023(2023-03-12) (aged 55)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
High schoolEastern (Middletown, Kentucky)
CollegeLouisville (1986–1990)
NBA draft1990: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career1990–2002
PositionCenter
Number50, 16
Career history
1990–1993Minnesota Timberwolves
1993–1996Utah Jazz
1996Orlando Magic
1996–1999Golden State Warriors
1999–2000San Antonio Spurs
2000–2002New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points3,354 (5.2 ppg)
Rebounds3,436 (5.4 rpg)
Blocks534 (0.8 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Felton LaFrance Spencer (January 5, 1968 – March 12, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1990 to 2002.

High school and college

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Spencer was an all-state basketball player at Eastern High School in Middletown, Kentucky (now part of Louisville); as both a junior and a senior, he led the team to the KHSAA state tournament in Lexington. In the first year, Eastern was upset by lightly regarded Metcalfe County in the first round, 60–58. A year later as a senior, Eastern was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Hazard High School.

Spencer attended the University of Louisville, where he played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. He became the all-time field goal percentage leader at 62.8%. He took over the center position as a senior in 1989–90 after Pervis Ellison left to join the NBA. That season Spencer paced the Cardinals in scoring (14.9 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), blocked shots (69), and field goal percentage (68.1%).

NBA career

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The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Spencer in the first round, with the sixth overall pick, in the 1990 NBA draft. As a rookie, Spencer split time at center with 7-foot-3-inch (2.21 m) veteran Randy Breuer, but still managed respectable numbers, averaging 7.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and shooting 51.2% from the floor. He finished the season with 272 offensive rebounds, the seventh-most in the NBA that year.[1] Additionally, he blocked 121 shots, establishing a single-season record for the young franchise that would stand until Kevin Garnett's rookie season in 1995–96. For his efforts, Spencer was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team that year. However, with the arrival of Luc Longley the following season, Spencer's playing time declined over the following two years. After the 1992–93 season, Minnesota traded Spencer to the Utah Jazz for power forward/center Mike Brown.

In Utah, Spencer became the successor to Mark Eaton, and he provided the Jazz with solid scoring, rebounding and defense at the pivot position. In 1993–94, as a complement to John Stockton and Karl Malone, he averaged 8.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 50.5% from the floor. Spencer and the Jazz seemed to be on their way to greatness in 1994–95, but 34 games into the season he ruptured his left Achilles tendon and was lost for the year. Utah went on to win 60 regular-season games but failed to reach the NBA Finals by losing in the first round. He missed the first 11 games of the 1995–96 season while recovering from his Achilles injury, but went on to play in the remaining 71, starting 70 and averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game. He shot a career-high 52.0% from the field, tying Adam Keefe for the second-best mark on the team.

On August 10, 1996, Spencer was obtained by the Orlando Magic for guard Brooks Thompson, forward Kenny Gattison and a first-round draft pick, after the Magic had lost Shaquille O'Neal to the Lakers as a free agent. But he played just one game for Orlando before he was traded to Golden State in the deal that brought Rony Seikaly to the Magic. He went on to play 71 games for the Warriors and do a solid job in the middle, ranking second on the team in rebounding and third in blocked shots. His role was diminished in 1997–98 by the arrival of second-year man Erick Dampier as the starter, as well as the drafting of rookie Adonal Foyle, and he saw relatively limited action as a reserve in 68 games. He played even less in 1998–99, averaging just 6.1 minutes in his 26 appearances off the bench.

Spencer retired after the 2001–02 season, last playing with the Knicks.

Coaching

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In 2011, Spencer became an assistant basketball coach at Spalding University.[2]

Spencer was later an assistant basketball coach at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.[3]

Death

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Spencer died at the University of Louisville Hospital on March 12, 2023, at the age of 55.[4]

Career statistics

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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
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

NBA

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Source[1]

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990–91 Minnesota 81 46 25.9 .512 .000 .722 7.9 .3 .6 1.5 7.1
1991–92 Minnesota 61 54 24.3 .426 – .691 7.1 .9 .4 1.3 6.6
1992–93 Minnesota 71 48 18.3 .465 – .654 4.6 .2 .3 .9 4.1
1993–94 Utah 79 79 28.0 .505 – .607 8.3 .5 .5 .8 8.6
1994–95 Utah 34 34 26.6 .488 – .793 7.6 .5 .4 .9 9.3
1995–96 Utah 71 70 17.8 .520 – .689 4.3 .2 .3 .8 5.6
1996–97 Orlando 1 0 19.0 1.000 – – 6.0 1.0 .0 .0 4.0
1996–97 Golden State 72 64 21.4 .486 – .584 5.7 .3 .5 .7 5.1
1997–98 Golden State 68 0 12.0 .457 – .557 3.3 .3 .3 .5 2.4
1998–99 Golden State 26 0 6.1 .455 – .462 1.8 .0 .2 .4 1.6
1999–2000 San Antonio 26 0 5.7 .455 – .667 1.5 .1 .2 .3 1.9
2000–01 New York 18 0 6.3 .600 – .600 1.9 .1 .1 .1 2.2
2001–02 New York 32 8 7.8 .231 – .515 1.6 .1 .2 .3 .9
Career 640 404 19.4 .484 .000 .658 5.4 .3 .4 .8 5.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994 Utah 16 16 30.8 .448 – .660 8.4 .4 .2 1.3 7.9
1996 Utah 18 18 15.3 .434 .000 .556 3.0 .1 .3 1.2 2.8
2001 New York 2 0 2.0 – – – .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 36 34 21.4 .443 .000 .644 5.3 .3 .2 1.2 4.9

References

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  1. ^ a b "Felton Spencer". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Spalding University Basketball Adds Hometown Hero Felton Spencer to Staff Archived 2013-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Bellarmine begins basketball season with Morning Madness
  4. ^ Rutherford, Mike (March 12, 2023). "Louisville hoops legend Felton Spencer has died". Card Chronicle. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
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