| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1969-12-20)December 20, 1969 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 2000(2000-01-12) (aged 30) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Southern Laboratory School (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) |
| College | Southern (1987–1991) |
| NBA draft | 1991: 2nd round, 45th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Playing career | 1991–2000 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 14, 13 |
| Career history | |
| 1991–1992 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 1992 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1993 | Banco Natwest Zaragoza |
| 1992–1997 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1997–2000 | Charlotte Hornets |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 5,153 (11.0 ppg) |
| Assists | 1,246 (2.7 apg) |
| Steals | 592 (1.3 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Bobby Ray Phills II (December 20, 1969 – January 12, 2000) was an American professionalbasketball player. He playedshooting guard andsmall forward for theNational Basketball Association'sCleveland Cavaliers andCharlotte Hornets.
A native ofBaton Rouge, Louisiana, Phills attended Baton Rouge'sSouthern University. He was a member ofAlpha Phi Alpha.[1] He was selected by theMilwaukee Bucks in the1991 NBA draft (45th overall).
After being cut in December 1991 without playing a game for the Bucks, Phills had a stint with theSioux Falls Skyforce of theContinental Basketball Association (CBA) and was named to the All-Rookie Team in 1992.[2] He was signed by the Cavaliers and rejoined the NBA late in the 1991–92 season. Over his nine-year career, he averaged 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He was known as a defensive stopper,[3] averaging 1.3 steals per game for his career, and ranks in the NBA's top 100 all-time with his career three pointer percentage of 39.0%.[4] In 2000, he was killed in an automobile accident.
Phills attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was a member of theAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He led theNCAA inthree-point field goals per game (4.39) his senior year.
Though he made a name for himself as a shooter during his college career, Phills became known as a tenacious wing defender in the NBA. At 6' 5" and 220 pounds,[5] he was said to more resemble anNFLlinebacker than a basketball player.[6] In 1996,Michael Jordan remarked that Phills was the toughest defender he had ever faced.[6]
On January 12, 2000, while a member of the Charlotte Hornets, Phills was killed in a car accident inCharlotte, North Carolina. Phills was traveling behind teammateDavid Wesley at over 100 mph (160 km/h) when hisPorsche spun and crossed into oncoming traffic. It hit another car, which in turn was struck in the rear by a minivan.[7] The drivers of the other two vehicles recovered, while Phills was pronounced dead at the scene.[7] A police report said Phills and Wesley were driving "in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner."[8] Wesley was later convicted of reckless driving after being cleared of a racing charge.[7]
Phills was survived by his parents, his wife Kendall, and three children; a daughter Brittany Dickson, a son Bobby Ray Phills III, known as Trey and a daughter Kerstie. Trey gained statewide recognition in North Carolina while playing forCharlotte Christian School. He played college basketball for theYale Bulldogs and now plays for theGreensboro Swarm of theNBA G League. After starting her college career at Wagner, Kerstie transferred and is currently a redshirt sophomore forFlorida Gulf Coast University.[9]
The Hornets retired Phills' #13 jersey on February 9, 2000, during halftime of a game against Phills' former team, the Cavaliers. It was the first number that the Hornets franchise had ever retired. The Hornets also wore a patch bearing his #13 on their jerseys for the remainder of the 1999–2000 season.[10] Phills' jersey hung from the rafters of the Charlotte Coliseum until the team relocated to New Orleans in 2002; it was then displayed in the New Orleans Arena until 2013. In 2004, the NBA added an expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2013, the New Orleans Hornets changed their name to theNew Orleans Pelicans. The following year, the Bobcats also re-branded, bringing the Hornets name back to Charlotte. Additionally, the original Charlotte Hornets' history from 1988 to 2002 was transferred to the renamed team. On November 1, 2014, the Charlotte Hornets retired Phills' jersey number a second time; it currently hangs from the rafters of theSpectrum Center.[11][12]
The Pelicans have since returned the number 13 to circulation; the2016–17 season sawCheick Diallo become the first Pelicans player to wear #13 after its reactivation.[13]
| 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 |
Source[14]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Cleveland | 10 | 0 | 6.5 | .429 | .000 | .636 | .8 | .4 | .3 | .1 | 3.1 |
| 1992–93 | Cleveland | 31 | 0 | 4.5 | .463 | .400 | .600 | .5 | .3 | .3 | .1 | 3.0 |
| 1993–94 | Cleveland | 72 | 53 | 21.3 | .471 | .083 | .720 | 2.9 | 1.8 | .9 | .2 | 8.3 |
| 1994–95 | Cleveland | 80 | 79 | 31.3 | .414 | .345 | .779 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.4 | .3 | 11.0 |
| 1995–96 | Cleveland | 72 | 69 | 35.1 | .467 | .441 | .775 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 1.4 | .4 | 14.6 |
| 1996–97 | Cleveland | 69 | 65 | 34.4 | .428 | .394 | .718 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 1.6 | .3 | 12.6 |
| 1997–98 | Charlotte | 62 | 61 | 30.4 | .446 | .386 | .757 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .3 | 10.4 |
| 1998–99 | Charlotte | 43 | 43 | 36.6 | .433 | .395 | .685 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 1.4 | .6 | 14.3 |
| 1999–00 | Charlotte | 28 | 9 | 29.5 | .454 | .330 | .723 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .3 | 13.6 |
| Career | 467 | 379 | 28.7 | .443 | .390 | .738 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 1.3 | .3 | 11.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Cleveland | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | .444 | .000 | .750 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .2 | .0 | 2.2 |
| 1993 | Cleveland | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | .333 | – | 1.000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 1994 | Cleveland | 3 | 2 | 22.7 | .375 | 1.000 | .500 | 4.7 | 2.3 | .7 | .0 | 6.7 |
| 1995 | Cleveland | 4 | 4 | 36.5 | .442 | .571 | .750 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 2.3 | .0 | 14.3 |
| 1996 | Cleveland | 3 | 3 | 32.0 | .371 | .200 | .250 | 4.7 | 2.0 | .7 | .3 | 9.7 |
| 1998 | Charlotte | 9 | 9 | 29.9 | .391 | .294 | .250 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 1.1 | .2 | 6.3 |
| Career | 26 | 18 | 23.1 | .399 | .333 | .600 | 2.7 | 1.8 | .9 | .1 | 6.8 | |
