 Cook with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1980-12-04)December 4, 1980 (age 44) Lincoln, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 234 lb (106 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lincoln (Lincoln, Illinois) |
| College | Illinois (1999–2003) |
| NBA draft | 2003: 1st round, 24th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Playing career | 2003–2015 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Career history | |
| 2003–2007 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2007–2009 | Orlando Magic |
| 2009–2010 | Houston Rockets |
| 2010–2012 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2012 | Washington Wizards |
| 2013 | Piratas de Quebradillas |
| 2014 | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut |
| 2015 | Atlético Aguada |
| 2015 | Chiba Jets |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,312 (5.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,115 (2.6 rpg) |
| Assists | 252 (0.6 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Medals | |
Brian Joshua Cook (born December 4, 1980) is an American former professionalbasketball player. He was drafted out of theUniversity of Illinois with the 24th overall pick in the2003 NBA draft by theLos Angeles Lakers.
In 2004, Cook was named to theUniversity of Illinois All-Century Team.[1]
Cook played high school basketball atLincoln Community High School in central Illinois where he led the Railsplitters to the quarterfinals of the 1999Illinois High School Association class AA state boys basketball tournament. Cook scored 38 points in 2IHSA tournament finals games, averaging 19.0 points per game.[2] He was named to the 1998State Farm Holiday Classic all-tournament team and was a1999 McDonald's All-American. He was also named the 1999Illinois Mr. Basketball after averaging 21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.8 assists per game as a senior.[3] Cook was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016.[4]
Cook played 132 games in four years for the University of Illinois, most of them under coachBill Self, and led the Illini inrebounding in each season. Cook was a versatile scorer from both inside and outside the paint, utilizing his height to score in the post and hitting three-point shots when left open. This helped him to earn co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors during his freshman year at Illinois.
Cook helped lead the Illini to a number one seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, and the Illini cruised to the Elite 8, where they were upset in a hard-fought and controversial game by Cook's future teammateLuke Walton and theArizona Wildcats.
As a senior in the 2002–03 season, Cook led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 20.0 points per game, and received theChicago Tribune Silver Basketball as theMost Outstanding Player of theBig Ten Conference. That same season, Cook was named second team All-American byThe Sporting News, and third team All-American by theAssociated Press, theNational Association of Basketball Coaches, andThe Basketball Times, as well as Big Ten Player of the Year and first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. Additionally, he would lead the Illini to theBig Ten men's basketball tournament championship and be namedMost Outstanding Player. Cook left Illinois as the school's third all-time leading scorer with 1,748 total points, at an average of 13.2 points per game, behindDeon Thomas andKiwane Garris.[3][5]
Cook was selected with the 24th overall pick in the2003 NBA draft by theLos Angeles Lakers. He played sparingly in his rookie campaign as a backup to superstar centerShaquille O'Neal, and was mostly an interior player, notching only five three-point attempts out of 141 total field goal attempts. As his professional career evolved, however, Cook once again became a player who could play beyond the perimeter, after O'Neal moved on to theMiami Heat andRudy Tomjanovich took over forPhil Jackson as Lakers' head coach. He was mainly used as athree-point specialist; 199 of 422 (or 47.2%) of Cook's field goal attempts were from behind the three-point arc. When Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers in 2005–06, Cook started to take less three-pointers again, which resulted in Cook improving his overall field-goal percentage from .417 in 2004–05 to .520 in 2005–06. It also resulted in an improvement in his three-point field-goal percentage, from .392 in 2004–05 to .441 in 2005–06. His improved play kept Cook on the court more as his minutes played per game rose from 15.1 in 2004–05 to 19.4 in 2005–06.
On November 20, 2007, Cook was traded, along withMaurice Evans, to theOrlando Magic in exchange forTrevor Ariza.[6]
On February 19, 2009, Cook was traded to theHouston Rockets in a three-team trade also involving the Magic and theMemphis Grizzlies.[7] On February 20, 2010, he was waived by the Rockets.[8]
On July 9, 2010, Cook signed with theLos Angeles Clippers.[9]
On March 15, 2012, Cook was traded, along with a 2015 second-round pick, to theWashington Wizards in exchange forNick Young.[10]
Cook's final NBA game ever was during his time with the Wizards, as he played his final game on April 26, 2012, in a 104–70 win over theMiami Heat. He recorded 4 points and 1 rebound in his final game. On September 17, 2012, he re-signed with the Wizards. However, he was later waived by the Wizards on October 28, 2012.[11]
In March 2013, Cook signed withPiratas de Quebradillas for the 2013BSN season.[12][13]
On September 30, 2013, Cook signed with theUtah Jazz.[14] However, he was later waived by the Jazz on October 26, 2013.[15]
On September 25, 2014, Cook signed with theDetroit Pistons.[16] However, he was later waived by the Pistons on October 20, 2014.[17] On December 28, 2014, he signed withAl-Riyadi of theLebanese Basketball League.[18] He left Al-Riyadi in mid-January after appearing in just three games. On February 10, 2015, he signed with Aguada of theLiga Uruguaya de Basketball, inMontevideo, Uruguay.[19] He also managed just three games for Aguada.
On June 15, 2015, Cook signed withChiba Jets of the JapaneseNational Basketball League.[20]
Cook is the son ofNorman and Joyce Cook, and has two younger sisters, Kristina and Natasha. His father was an All-American with theUniversity of Kansas and played briefly for theBoston Celtics. His uncle, Joe Cook, played basketball forDuke University from 1988 to 1990.[3]
On July 4, 2009, Cook married long-time girlfriend, Victoria Velasquez.[21]
Cook has played in theBIG3 basketball league as a member of theKiller 3's team.
| Season | Games | Points | PPG | Field Goals | Attempts | Avg | Free Throws | Attempts | Avg | Rebounds | Avg | Assists | APG | Blocks | BPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 32 | 287 | 9.6 | 112 | 213 | .526 | 51 | 83 | .614 | 143 | 4.5 | 24 | 0.8 | 28 | 0.9 |
| 2000–01 | 35 | 391 | 11.2 | 147 | 269 | .546 | 69 | 86 | .802 | 212 | 6.1 | 43 | 1.2 | 45 | 1.3 |
| 2001–02 | 35 | 471 | 13.5 | 174 | 342 | .509 | 96 | 110 | .873* | 233 | 6.7 | 44 | 1.3 | 50 | 1.4 |
| 2002–03 | 30 | 599 | 20.0 | 202 | 422 | .479 | 168 | 205 | .820 | 227 | 7.6 | 60 | 2.0 | 13 | 0.4 |
| Totals | 132 | 1748 | 13.2 | 635 | 1246 | .510 | 384 | 484 | .793 | 815 | 6.2 | 171 | 1.3 | 136 | 1.0 |
* All-time leader in University of Illinois history[24][25]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | L.A. Lakers | 35 | 2 | 12.6 | .475 | .000 | .750 | 2.9 | .6 | .5 | .5 | 4.4 |
| 2004–05 | L.A. Lakers | 72 | 0 | 15.1 | .417 | .392 | .757 | 3.0 | .5 | .3 | .4 | 6.4 |
| 2005–06 | L.A. Lakers | 81 | 46 | 19.0 | .511 | .429 | .832 | 3.4 | .9 | .5 | .4 | 7.9 |
| 2006–07 | L.A. Lakers | 65 | 24 | 15.7 | .453 | .400 | .723 | 3.3 | 1.0 | .4 | .4 | 6.9 |
| 2007–08 | L.A. Lakers | 6 | 2 | 11.7 | .190 | .200 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .5 | .3 | .0 | 2.3 |
| Orlando | 45 | 0 | 12.4 | .394 | .390 | .882 | 2.2 | .5 | .2 | .3 | 5.0 | |
| 2008–09 | Orlando | 21 | 0 | 7.0 | .383 | .440 | .833 | 1.3 | .2 | .1 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Houston | 9 | 0 | 2.8 | .313 | .400 | .000 | .6 | .1 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 | |
| 2009–10 | Houston | 15 | 0 | 2.9 | .304 | .222 | .714 | .6 | .1 | .0 | .1 | 1.4 |
| 2010–11 | L.A. Clippers | 40 | 0 | 11.2 | .424 | .430 | .625 | 2.4 | .4 | .3 | .3 | 4.8 |
| 2011–12 | L.A. Clippers | 16 | 0 | 7.6 | .224 | .185 | 1.000 | 1.4 | .1 | .1 | .3 | 1.9 |
| Washington | 16 | 0 | 9.7 | .408 | .217 | .833 | 2.5 | .5 | .3 | .1 | 3.1 | |
| Career | 421 | 74 | 13.4 | .439 | .382 | .783 | 2.6 | .6 | .3 | .3 | 5.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | L.A. Lakers | 13 | 0 | 3.5 | .333 | .000 | 1.000 | .9 | .1 | .1 | .0 | .9 |
| 2006 | L.A. Lakers | 7 | 0 | 11.1 | .391 | .364 | 1.000 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .1 | .0 | 6.3 |
| 2007 | L.A. Lakers | 5 | 0 | 10.2 | .333 | .429 | 1.000 | 1.2 | .0 | .0 | .2 | 3.6 |
| 2009 | Houston | 6 | 0 | 5.3 | .267 | .222 | .000 | 2.0 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 1.7 |
| Career | 31 | 0 | 6.7 | .351 | .333 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .4 | .1 | .1 | 2.7 | |
