Paul Millsap

Paul Millsap (born February 10, 1985) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. As a 6'8", 250 pound forward from Louisiana Tech University, Millsap was selected by the Jazz in the second round (47th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft. His game was initially compared to that of Udonis Haslem.^[1] He was an early entrant to the draft as a junior. He is the only player in NCAA basketball history to lead the nation in rebounding for three consecutive years.

NBA career

In late 2006, some sports journalists were referring to Millsap as a potential Rookie of the Year^[2] candidate, an award not traditionally given to players taken so late in the draft. Though the award would ultimately go to Brandon Roy, Millsap had a strong first season, leading all rookies with six double-doubles. He finished the 2006–07 season with averages of around 7 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, nearly one steal and one block; he had season highs of 20 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 38 minutes. He played in all 82 of Utah's games. Early in the 2007–08 season, Millsap achieved a new career high of 24 points during a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He later extended his career high to 28 points against the Orlando Magic in late December 2007. His next career high came in December 2008 against the Boston Celtics when he scored 32 points. Millsap had played in 194 straight games since being drafted by the Jazz in 2006; he missed his first game of his professional career on December 26, 2008 against the Dallas Mavericks due to a sprained posterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee suffered against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 23, 2008.^[3]

Millsap was Jazz all-star forward Carlos Boozer's replacement during much of the 2008–2009 season (Boozer suffered a quadriceps injury and later a severe knee injury that led to surgery). His numbers soared, as he averaged 15.5 points per game on 56% shooting, and 9.5 rebounds.

Following the 2008–2009 season, the Jazz tendered a qualifying offer to Millsap, thus making him a restricted free agent.^[4] A few weeks later, he signed an offer sheet from the Portland Trail Blazers that would have given him $32 million over four years, including $6.2 million in the 2009–2010 season, with a $5.6 million signing bonus, with $10.3 million to be paid within seven days of the contract's approval by the NBA.^[5] The Jazz had the right to match the offer, and did so seven days later.^{[6] [7]}

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Millsap was awarded a full-time starting position at power forward after long-time starter Boozer left Utah to join the Chicago Bulls during free agency of summer 2010. He started alongside newly acquired center Al Jefferson, who came to Utah via trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. On November 9, 2010, he scored a career-high 46 points against the Miami Heat in a 116-114^[8] overtime victory after coming back from a 22-point deficit. Millsap scored 11 points in 28 seconds at the end of regulation, including three three-pointers, one more than he had made in his entire career before then. He also hit a buzzer-beater to force overtime. It marked the first home loss for the newly assembled Heat trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

Awards and honors

• NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 2007

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball season rebounding leaders

References

External links

• Paul Millsap at NBA.com
• Paul Millsap at Basketball-Reference.com
• Deseret Morning News - "Millsap seeking out ball — and success"
• DraftExpress.com - "The Long and Short of Paul Millsap"
• Millsap making a case in Utah
• Official Site