Isaiah Rider

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox basketball biography Isaiah Rider Jr., nicknamed J.R. (born March 12, 1971), is an American former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Rider was born in Oakland, California, and was raised in nearby Alameda. He starred in both baseball and basketball at Encinal High School before going on to a college career with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and a professional career in the NBA.

Early life and college career

The Template:Convert Rider was a prep star at Encinal High School in Alameda, California<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (just outside Oakland) and was one of the top rated players in the state. Rider attended two junior colleges, Allen County Community College in Iola, Kansas,<ref name="French">Template:Cite web</ref> where he averaged just over 30 points per game; and Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California (33 points per game),<ref name="EBE">Template:Cite news</ref> before finding a home at UNLV.<ref name="EBE" />

During the 1991–1992 season, Rider led the Runnin' Rebels to a 26–2 record (18–0 in conference) and a number 7 ranking in the final Associated Press regular season poll while averaging over 21 points per game,<ref name="SR">Template:Cite web</ref> but wasn't seen on national television because UNLV was serving an NCAA-imposed punishment that stemmed from previous infractions.<ref name="ESPN">Template:Cite news</ref> (In a "plea bargain" of sorts, UNLV was allowed to defend its NCAA title the previous year – they lost to Duke in the Final Four. In exchange, the Rebels were barred from postseason play and national television for the 1991–92 season.)<ref name="LAT">Template:Cite news</ref> He finally got the nation's eyes to watch him in his senior year, where he averaged 29.1 points per game (2nd in the country behind University of Texas-Pan American's Greg Guy),<ref name="EBE" /> was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and garnered 2nd-Team All-American honors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> UNLV finished 21-8 (13–5 in Big West Conference), lost the regular season conference title to New Mexico State and failed to make the NCAA's 64-team Tournament field.<ref name="Rebels92">Template:Cite web</ref> The Rebels did earn a spot in the National Invitation Tournament,<ref name="Rebels92" /> but Rider was suspended for the NIT due to academic issues surrounding allegations that he had someone cheating for him on some of his college classwork.<ref>Rider Suspended in Paper Chase : College basketball: UNLV punishes nation's No. 2 scorer after tutor acknowledges writing part of his English paper.</ref> Without their star player on the court, the Runnin' Rebels were knocked out of the NIT in the 1st round 90–73 to Southern California.<ref name="Rebels92" />

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (1993–1996)

Rider was chosen with the 5th overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.<ref name="yahoosports-hard-fall">Template:Cite news</ref> Rider started his NBA career strong, finishing the 1993–94 season as a member of the NBA's All-Rookie First Team. He won the 1994 NBA Slam Dunk Contest (he brashly predicted that he would win on draft day<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF3Dtxg3JH0 | JR Rider Draft Day Interview</ref>) with a dunk that he called "The East Bay Funk Dunk."<ref name="yahoosports-hard-fall"/>

Rider also became famous for a miraculous shot made in a game on December 22, 1994, against the Sacramento Kings. Losing control of the ball with it nearly going out of bounds, Rider reached out and threw the ball blindly over his shoulder to keep it in play, and the ball went through the hoop as a three-point basket, a play that one announcer exclaimed as the "Play of the decade."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

While Rider averaged 19 points per game in his three years with the Timberwolves, his play slipped after his rookie season. He also began a pattern of off-court misbehavior.<ref name="EBE" /> He was found to be insubordinate towards Timberwolves management,<ref name="Upi">Template:Cite news</ref> and was involved in an incident in which he kicked the female manager of a sports bar for which he ultimately was convicted of fifth-degree assault.<ref name=rideronastorm>Las Vegas Rj:Sports: Rider On A Storm</ref> By 1996, Minnesota finally lost patience with Rider and dealt him to Portland in return for Bill Curley, James Robinson and a conditional first round draft pick in 1997 or 1998. Just before the trade Rider was arrested for marijuana possession.<ref name="Des">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of his arrest he also had an illegal cell phone; it had been altered to charge calls to someone else's bill.<ref name=mndaily>Template:Cite web</ref> He was later convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession, and pleaded no contest to possessing the illegal cell phone.<ref name=rideronastorm/> Three weeks later, he was arrested for gambling in public back in Oakland.<ref name=mndaily/>

Portland Trail Blazers (1996–1999)

In the 1997–98 season, Rider led the Blazers in scoring (19.7 points per game, 15th in the NBA) and in three-pointers made (135, 8th) and attempted (420).<ref name="Br">Template:Cite web</ref> Rider tallied a season-high 38 points (15-25 FG), along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, against the Toronto Raptors on February 1, 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1998–99 season, Rider averaged 13.9 points per game and led the team in scoring 13 times.<ref name="Br" />

Atlanta Hawks (1999–2000)

Following the 1998–99 season, Rider was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a trade that sent Steve Smith to the Blazers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Hawks had finished fourth in the Eastern Conference in the lockout-shortened season,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and thought Rider was the final piece in the puzzle. So they sent Smith to the Blazers for Rider and Jim Jackson, another talent who had not quite reached his potential.Template:Citation needed The trade didn't sit well with Hawks fans, since Smith had been one of the most popular players on the team.Template:Citation needed Coach Lenny Wilkens didn't want the trade either, but tried to fit Rider into the system.<ref name=LVSun>Addy, Steve. J. R. MIA. Las Vegas Sun, 2000-08-04.</ref>

Rider played well enough on the court, pacing the Hawks in scoring.<ref name="Peachtree">Template:Cite web</ref> However, his off-court incidents exploded in Atlanta. After reports that he had smoked marijuana in an Orlando hotel room,<ref name="hotel">Template:Cite news</ref> the league demanded that he attend drug counseling. He refused and was fined a total of $200,000 until he agreed to attend. He was suspended numerous times by the Hawks as well, and fined a total of $200,000 by the team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Even after Wilkens benched him in March with the Hawks long out of contention, Rider still continued to be tardy for games and practices, prompting the Hawks to threaten a three-game suspension for another incident.<ref name="Atl">Template:Cite news</ref> He showed up late for a March game in Detroit, and rather than serve a three-game suspension, he demanded his outright release. The Hawks complied.<ref name=LVSun/>

Los Angeles Lakers (2000–2001)

Rider played in 67 games with the Lakers during the 2000–01 season, leading their bench in scoring with a 7.6 average. He was suspended for five games in March 2001 for failing to comply with the NBA's anti-drug policy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Though left off the playoff roster in favor of Tyronn Lue,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rider was awarded a championship ring by the franchise.<ref name="yahoosports-hard-fall"/> After the season, Rider stated that he wanted to return to the Lakers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Denver Nuggets (2001)

Prior to the 2001–02 season, the Denver Nuggets signed Rider to help resuscitate their moribund offense, but Rider's stint in Denver was limited to just 10 games before he was waived on November 20, 2001.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rider refused to term it "retirement" at the time, however, insisting that he could still play if given the chance.Template:Citation needed

In 563 NBA games, (424 starts), Rider averaged 16.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 31:42 of floor time per game. Rider totaled 9,405 points in his 9-year NBA career.<ref name="Br" />

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Template:NBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 79 || 60 || 30.6 || .468 || .360 || .811 || 4.0 || 2.6 || .7 || .4 || 16.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 75 || 67 || 35.3 || .447 || .351 || .817 || 3.3 || 3.3 || .9 || .3 || 20.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Minnesota | 75 || 68 || 34.6 || .464 || .371 || .838 || 4.1 || 2.8 || .6 || .3 || 19.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 76 || 68 || 33.7 || .464 || .385 || .812 || 4.0 || 2.6 || .6 || .3 || 16.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 74 || 66 || 37.6 || .423 || .321 || .828 || 4.7 || 3.1 || .7 || .3 || 19.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Portland | 47 || 41 || 29.5 || .412 || .378 || .755 || 4.2 || 2.2 || .5 || .2 || 13.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta | 60 || 47 || 34.7 || .419 || .311 || .785 || 4.3 || 3.7 || .7 || .1 || 19.3 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"|Template:Nbay† | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Lakers | 67 || 6 || 18.0 || .426 || .370 || .855 || 2.3 || 1.7 || .4 || .1 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Denver | 10 || 1 || 17.3 || .457 || .400 || .765 || 3.3 || 1.2 || .3 || .2 || 9.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 563 || 424 || 31.7 || .443 || .352 || .812 || 3.8 || 2.7 || .7 || .2 || 16.7 Template:S-end

Playoffs

Template:NBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1997 | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 4 || 4 || 40.3 || .372 || .375 || .882 || 2.0 || 4.3 || .8 || .0 || 13.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998 | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 4 || 4 || 41.5 || .418 || .091 || .769 || 5.0 || 4.3 || 1.3 || .0 || 19.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999 | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 13 || 13 || 32.8 || .429 || .423 || .887 || 3.8 || 2.4 || .8 || .0 || 16.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 21 || 21 || 35.9 || .418 || .340 || .860 || 3.7 || 3.1 || .9 || .0 || 16.4 Template:S-end

Off the court

During his NBA career and in subsequent years, Rider was dogged by a variety of personal problems,<ref name="EBE" /> including accusations of drug use and assault. In 2007, he was sentenced to seven months in jail after pleading guilty to cocaine possession, evading the police,<ref name=marin>Template:Cite news</ref> and battery,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though he only served about half of that time. "It was the ultimate low point of my life [...] There were no visitors. No one down for me. No letters. I had fake friends. They left me for dead", Rider told Yahoo! Sports.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of his sentencing, Rider's mother was in a coma, which weighed heavily on his mind.<ref name=marin/>

In 2012, Rider announced he was planning to release a documentary about his life, called My Testimony: Raw and Uncut.<ref name=recordstraight>Template:Cite web</ref> Rider has also established a charitable organization for children called the Sky Rider Foundation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "I just want to help kids. With today's economy some parents cannot afford to send their kids to the extracurricular activities. It's very costly, there's registration fees, equipment, uniforms and shoe costs. If a kid has dreams to be somebody, I want to help", he said in an interview.<ref name=recordstraight/>

Rap career

On a 1994 album titled B-Ball's Best Kept Secret which featured songs performed by NBA players ranging from Gary Payton and Jason Kidd to Brian Shaw and Chris Mills, Rider (credited as J.R. on the album) provided the track "Funk in the Trunk".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• J.R. Rider's Official NBA Player File