Pervis Ellison
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Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967 in Savannah, Georgia) is a former college and professional NBA basketball player.
Ellison was nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his play with the University of Louisville. At 6'9" (206 cm) and 210 lb (95 kg), he started all four years as the center under coach Denny Crum. In his freshman year he led Louisville to its second national championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player — the first time a freshman had ever been awarded that honor (Carmelo Anthony is the only other player to date to have achieved the honor, winning it as a forward with the Syracuse Orange in 2003).
Ellison was made the first overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. An injury kept him on the sidelines for 48 of 82 games of his rookie year, after which he was traded to the Washington Bullets. (A Sacramento teammate, Danny Ainge, had nicknamed him "Out of Service Pervis.") Although he was assigned as a backup in 1990-1991, the following year he became a starter and earned Most Improved Player honors after averaging twenty points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.68 blocks per game.
Assorted injuries plagued his career, including two knee problems that kept him benched for 29 games in 1992-1993 and 30 games in 1993-1994. As a free agent, Ellison signed with the Boston Celtics in 1994 but didn't play until midway through the season because he was still rehabilitating from knee problems. A broken toe suffered while moving furniture kept him out of most games between 1996 and 1998. After participating in 69 out of a possible 246 games over the final three seasons with the Celtics, he joined the Seattle SuperSonics in 2000 but retired after playing nine games.
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| Preceded by Ed Pinckney |
NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (men's) 1986 |
Succeeded by Keith Smart |
| Preceded by Danny Manning |
NBA first overall draft pick 1989 NBA Draft |
Succeeded by Derrick Coleman |
Categories: 1967 births | African American basketball players | American basketball players | Boston Celtics players | Living people | Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players | People from Savannah, Georgia | Sacramento Kings players | Seattle SuperSonics players | Washington Bullets players | McDonald's High School All-Americans
