 Claxton in 1998 playing for Hofstra | |
| Hofstra Pride | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Coastal Athletic Association |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1978-05-08)May 8, 1978 (age 46) Hempstead, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 166 lb (75 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Christ the King (Queens, New York) |
| College | Hofstra (1996–2000) |
| NBA draft | 2000: 1st round, 20th overall pick |
| Selected by thePhiladelphia 76ers | |
| Playing career | 2000–2009 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 12, 10, 5 |
| Coaching career | 2013–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2000–2002 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2002–2003 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2003–2005 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2005–2006 | New Orleans Hornets[a] |
| 2006–2009 | Atlanta Hawks |
| As coach: | |
| 2013–2021 | Hofstra (assistant) |
| 2021–present | Hofstra |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach:
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 3,096 (9.3 ppg) |
| Assists | 1,441 (4.3 apg) |
| Steals | 503 (1.5 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Craig Elliott "Speedy" Claxton (born May 8, 1978) is an American former professionalbasketball player and the current head coach of theHofstra University men's basketball team. Claxton won an NBA championship in 2003 as a member of theSan Antonio Spurs. In 2013, he was named as a special assistant to the head coach for theHofstra University men's basketball program, before being hired as head coach in 2021.
Prior to his NBA career, Claxton played atHofstra University under futureVillanova University coachJay Wright. At Hofstra, Claxton led the Flying Dutchmen to the America East Championship, where they defeated theUniversity of Delaware in the championship game at Hofstra Arena. The team was defeated in the first round of the 2000NCAA tournament by anOklahoma State team led byDesmond Mason, Claxton's future NBA teammate with the New Orleans Hornets.
Claxton donated money to help build the 5,000-seat arena in which the Hofstra team plays, and his number 10 was retired by Hofstra on January 31, 2009. Claxton was inducted into the Hofstra Hall of Fame on January 29, 2011.
Claxton was selected by thePhiladelphia 76ers with the 20th overall pick of the2000 NBA draft.[1] His rookie-scale contract was worth four years and $4.68 million; he opted out of the fourth year to become a free agent.
Claxton missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury suffered during the preseason. In 2002, Claxton was traded to theSan Antonio Spurs forMark Bryant,Randy Holcomb, andJohn Salmons, where he played on the Spurs' 2003 championship team as the backup to starting point guardTony Parker.
In 2003, Claxton was signed by theGolden State Warriors to a three-year contract worth $10 million.
On February 24, 2005, Claxton andDale Davis were traded from the Warriors to the New Orleans Hornets forBaron Davis.
On July 12, 2006, Claxton signed a contract worth approximately $25 million over four years with theAtlanta Hawks. Claxton only played 44 games with the Hawks, as he was injured every year after he signed with the team. During the 2006–07 season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.4 assists per game.
On June 25, 2009, Claxton andAcie Law were traded to the Golden State Warriors forJamal Crawford.[2] Claxton never reported to the Warriors and was waived by Golden State on February 6, 2010, without appearing in a game for them.
Claxton served as a college scout with theGolden State Warriors[3] before joining theHofstra University men's basketball staff in 2013.[4] On April 7, 2021, he was hired as head coach at Hofstra.[5]
For the 2022–23 season, Claxton led the Pride to the CAA regular season title and was namedCAA Coach of the Year.[6]
Claxton's parents are fromAntigua and Barbuda. His sister, Lisa, played for the St. John's Red Storm women's basketball team.[1] His brother Michael (M. Buckets) playedcollege basketball for theVillanova Wildcats. Claxton has two daughters, Aniya and London, with ex-wife Meeka. The couple announced their divorce in July 2014.[7]
| 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 anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Philadelphia | 67 | 18 | 22.8 | .400 | .121 | .838 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 1.4 | .1 | 7.2 |
| 2002–03† | San Antonio | 30 | 0 | 15.7 | .462 | .000 | .684 | 1.9 | 2.5 | .7 | .2 | 5.8 |
| 2003–04 | Golden State | 60 | 29 | 26.6 | .427 | .182 | .813 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 1.6 | .2 | 10.6 |
| 2004–05 | Golden State | 46 | 44 | 32.6 | .431 | .192 | .761 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 1.9 | .1 | 13.1 |
| 2004–05 | New Orleans | 16 | 3 | 22.8 | .373 | .111 | .610 | 1.9 | 5.5 | 1.4 | .1 | 6.8 |
| 2005–06 | New Orleans/Oklahoma City | 71 | 3 | 28.4 | .413 | .270 | .769 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 1.5 | .1 | 12.3 |
| 2006–07 | Atlanta | 42 | 31 | 25.1 | .327 | .214 | .550 | 1.9 | 4.4 | 1.7 | .1 | 5.3 |
| 2008–09 | Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 7.5 | .286 | .000 | .500 | .0 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | 2.5 |
| Career | 334 | 128 | 25.6 | .409 | .193 | .762 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 1.5 | .1 | 9.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Philadelphia | 5 | 0 | 9.8 | .333 | .000 | .667 | .2 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .0 | 2.4 |
| 2003† | San Antonio | 24 | 0 | 13.6 | .438 | .000 | .750 | 1.9 | 1.9 | .7 | .2 | 5.2 |
| 2009 | Atlanta | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 30 | 0 | 12.6 | .427 | .000 | .740 | 1.5 | 2.0 | .7 | .2 | 4.6 | |
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hofstra Pride(Coastal Athletic Association)(2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Hofstra | 21–11 | 13–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 2022–23 | Hofstra | 25–10 | 16–2 | T–1st | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2023–24 | Hofstra | 20–13 | 12–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2024–25 | Hofstra | 15-18 | 6-12 | 11th | |||||
| Hofstra: | 81–52 (.609) | 47–25 (.653) | |||||||
| Total: | 81–52 (.609) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||