| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1971-03-28)March 28, 1971 (age 53) Brantley, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Brantley (Brantley, Alabama) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Auburn (1990–1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1994: 1st round, 23rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by thePhoenix Suns | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1994–2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11, 1, 7, 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Phoenix Suns | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2002 | Cleveland Cavaliers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Memphis Grizzlies | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Portland Trail Blazers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Atlanta Hawks | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Miami Heat | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Denver Nuggets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Points | 8,192 (11.2 ppg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 2,402 (3.3 rpg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Assists | 1,234 (1.7 apg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Wesley Lavon Person (born March 28, 1971) is an American former professionalbasketball player who played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). After his playing career, Person became a women's basketball assistant coach and then the head men's basketball coach atEnterprise-Ozark Community College.[1] He was fired from the latter position in 2010.[2]
Selected by thePhoenix Suns 23rd overall in the1994 NBA draft out ofAuburn University, Person played for seven teams throughout his career. He played three seasons for the Suns, five for theCleveland Cavaliers, 82 games over two seasons for theMemphis Grizzlies, 33 games for thePortland Trail Blazers, nine games for theAtlanta Hawks, sixteen games for theMiami Heat and 25 for theDenver Nuggets. Person retired with career averages of 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. According to Complex Sports, Person is the 13th greatest three-point shooter of all time. Person was also the only person to set a net on fire, as made popular by the arcade game NBA Jam.[3]
On June 29, 1994, thePhoenix Suns drafted Person with the 23rd overall pick in the1994 NBA draft. Person played his first three seasons in Phoenix, where he averaged 12.2 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, and 1.5 assists per game in 240 games. He also had a 45.8% field goal percentage and a 40.7% 3-point percentage. Furthermore, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in his rookie season.[4]
On October 1, 1997, Person was involved in a three-team trade in which he was traded withTony Dumas to theCleveland Cavaliers,Antonio McDyess was traded to the Suns, and three first-round draft picks were traded to theDenver Nuggets. where he would spend the majority of his career. In his first season with Cleveland, he led theNBA in three-pointers made. In five seasons with the franchise, he averaged 12.0 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, and 2.0 assists per game. He had a 46.1% field goal percentage and a 42.2 3-point percentage.[4]
On June 26, 2002, Person was traded to theMemphis Grizzlies forNick Anderson andMatt Barnes. He would average 11.0 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game in his first season with Memphis. During his second season with the franchise, he averaged 5.2 points per game, 1.1 rebounds per game, and 1.4 assists per game.[4]
On December 3, 2003, Person was traded, along with a 2004 1st round draft pick (Sergei Monia), to thePortland Trail Blazers forBonzi Wells. In 33 games for Portland, he would average 6.5 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game.[4]
On February 9, 2004, Person was traded withRasheed Wallace to theAtlanta Hawks forShareef Abdur-Rahim,Dan Dickau, andTheo Ratliff. His tenure with Atlanta was the shortest stint of his career, as he played only 9 games for the franchise. He averaged 4.4 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, and 0.6 assists per game while he was with the team.
On August 11, 2004, Person signed with theMiami Heat as a free agent. In Miami, he would have the lowest points per game average of his career: 3.9. Person also averaged 1.4 rebounds per game and 0.7 assists per game. On March 1, 2005, he was waived by the team.[4]
Two days after being waived, Person signed with theDenver Nuggets. His stint with the Nuggets would be his final NBA tenure. During his 25 games with Denver, he averaged 8.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, and 1.1 assists per game. During those 25 games, Person did not miss a single three pointer, and hit nothing but net 96.5% of those attempts.[4] Person retired at the end of the season.[5]
| 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 |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | Phoenix | 78 | 56 | 23.1 | .484 | .436 | .792 | 2.6 | 1.3 | .6 | .3 | 10.4 |
| 1995–96 | Phoenix | 82 | 47 | 31.8 | .445 | .374 | .771 | 3.9 | 1.7 | .7 | .3 | 12.7 |
| 1996–97 | Phoenix | 80 | 42 | 29.1 | .453 | .413 | .798 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .3 | 13.5 |
| 1997–98 | Cleveland | 82* | 82* | 39.0 | .460 | .430 | .776 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.6 | .6 | 14.7 |
| 1998–99 | Cleveland | 45 | 42 | 29.8 | .453 | .375 | .604 | 3.2 | 1.8 | .8 | .4 | 11.2 |
| 1999–00 | Cleveland | 79 | 38 | 26.0 | .428 | .424 | .792 | 3.4 | 1.8 | .5 | .2 | 9.2 |
| 2000–01 | Cleveland | 44 | 22 | 21.8 | .438 | .405 | .800 | 3.0 | 1.5 | .6 | .3 | 7.1 |
| 2001–02 | Cleveland | 78 | 78 | 35.8 | .495 | .444 | .798 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .5 | 15.1 |
| 2002–03 | Memphis | 66 | 44 | 29.4 | .456 | .433 | .814 | 2.9 | 1.7 | .6 | .3 | 11.0 |
| 2003–04 | Memphis | 16 | 0 | 17.8 | .308 | .256 | .750 | 1.1 | 1.4 | .3 | .1 | 5.2 |
| 2003–04 | Portland | 33 | 0 | 18.8 | .476 | .474 | .760 | 2.2 | 1.2 | .3 | .2 | 6.5 |
| 2003–04 | Atlanta | 9 | 0 | 14.7 | .333 | .421 | 1.000 | 2.8 | .6 | .3 | .1 | 4.4 |
| 2004–05 | Miami | 16 | 3 | 12.9 | .439 | .381 | 1.000 | 1.4 | .7 | .4 | .0 | 3.9 |
| 2004–05 | Denver | 25 | 0 | 18.4 | .485 | .485 | .556 | 2.4 | 1.1 | .5 | .2 | 8.1 |
| Career | 733 | 454 | 28.3 | .457 | .418 | .778 | 3.3 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 11.2 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Phoenix | 10 | 10 | 24.7 | .410 | .378 | .917 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .3 | .2 | 9.6 |
| 1996 | Phoenix | 4 | 4 | 45.8 | .393 | .310 | .800 | 5.8 | .8 | .8 | .3 | 14.3 |
| 1997 | Phoenix | 5 | 1 | 32.6 | .472 | .424 | .778 | 6.6 | 1.2 | .8 | .6 | 15.6 |
| 1998 | Cleveland | 4 | 4 | 34.0 | .379 | .368 | .750 | 2.3 | 2.5 | .8 | .0 | 8.0 |
| 2005 | Denver | 4 | 0 | 13.5 | .429 | .375 | .000 | .3 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 3.8 |
| Career | 27 | 19 | 29.0 | .417 | .373 | .821 | 3.2 | 1.1 | .5 | .2 | 10.3 | |
Born inBrantley, Alabama, Person is the younger brother of former NBA playerChuck Person,[1] and his sonWesley Jr. played college basketball atTroy University[6] and was selected by theMaine Red Claws in the2019 NBA G League Draft.[7] Wesley's nephew, Adrian Person, is a former nationally ranked JUCO basketball player who averaged a national best 31 points per game atSouthern Union State Community College in Wadley, Alabama in 1997.[8]
