Horace Grant

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Not to be confused with Horace Grant Underwood.

Horace Grant
Horace Grant (2014).jpg
Grant in September 2014
Chicago Bulls
PositionSpecial advisor
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1965-07-04) July 4, 1965 (age 56)
Augusta, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolHancock Central (Sparta, Georgia)
CollegeClemson (1983–1987)
NBA draft1987 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1987–2004
PositionPower forward
Number54
Career history
1987–1994Chicago Bulls
1994–1999Orlando Magic
1999–2000Seattle SuperSonics
2000–2001Los Angeles Lakers
2001–2002Orlando Magic
2003–2004Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points12,996 (11.2 ppg)
Rebound9,443 (8.1 rpg)
Assists2,575 (2.2 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Horace Junior Grant Sr. (born July 4, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for Michael Reinsdorf, the president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Bulls.[1][2] He attended and played college basketball at Clemson University before playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he became a four-time champion with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Horace is the twin brother of former NBA player Harvey Grant.

Early life and college[]

Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia. He and his twin brother, Harvey, grew up in Mitchell, Georgia and attended school in Sparta, Georgia.

After he graduated from high school, he attended Clemson University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha. With Clemson, he became the first player in ACC history to lead the league in scoring (21.0 average), rebounding (9.6) and field goal shooting (70.8 percent). In 1987, Grant helped lead Clemson to the NCAA Tournament and was named ACC Player of the Year, the first Clemson player to receive that honor.

NBA career[]

Chicago Bulls[]

The Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets at the Meadowlands Arena on March 28, 1991. Grant is in the center of the image, wearing number 54.

He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 10th overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft. The 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall power forward/center immediately teamed with fellow draft-day acquisition Scottie Pippen to form the Bulls' forward tandem of the future, although he initially backed up incumbent Charles Oakley, one of the league's premier rebounders and post defenders.

In 1988, Grant moved into the starting lineup when Oakley was traded to the New York Knicks for center Bill Cartwright. He immediately became the Bulls' main rebounder, and established himself as the Bulls' third scoring option after Michael Jordan and Pippen, forming one of the league's best trios. Grant was noted for his defensive play; he was selected four times for the NBA All-Defensive Team.[3] He helped Chicago win three consecutive NBA championships (1991, 1992, and 1993), securing the third with a last-second block on Kevin Johnson.

Grant, who was diagnosed with nearsightedness and wore eyeglasses, began wearing goggles fitted with prescription lenses on the court starting with the 1990-91 season.[4] The goggles soon became a trademark for Grant. Although he eventually received LASIK surgery to correct his sight, he continued to wear the goggles on the court after he had heard from parents that he had become an inspirational figure to children who wore eyeglasses.[5]

After Jordan's first retirement following the 1992–93 season, Grant became the number-two star behind Pippen, and helped the Bulls push the Knicks to seven games in the second-round playoff series before being eliminated. Grant played in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, posting four points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes. During the 1993–94 season he recorded career-best averages in scoring (15.1), rebounding (11.0), and assists (3.4).

Orlando Magic[]

Grant left the Bulls as a free agent and joined the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. On May 5, 1995, Grant made the final basket in Boston Garden history in Orlando's series-clinching victory over the Boston Celtics. Grant helped the Magic reach the 1995 NBA Finals, where they were swept in four games by the Houston Rockets. Grant spent the next several seasons with the Magic.


Seattle Supersonics[]

He was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics along with 2000 and 2001 second round picks for Dale Ellis, Don MacLean, Billy Owens, and rookie Corey Maggette just before start of the 1999–2000 season.

Los Angeles Lakers[]

After one year with the Sonics, he was involved in a three-way trade in which Glen Rice of the Los Angeles Lakers was sent to New York, Patrick Ewing of the Knicks was sent to Seattle, and Grant to the defending champion Lakers, reuniting him with Shaquille O'Neal and former Bulls coach Phil Jackson. He helped them win another championship in the 2000–01 season.

Return to the Magic[]

In the offseason, Grant decided to leave Los Angeles and sign back with the Orlando Magic. The Los Angeles Lakers would go on to win the 2002 NBA championship without Grant. Grant was ultimately cut by the Magic in December 2002 after then-coach Doc Rivers said Grant had tried to undermine the coach and was a "cancer" on the team.[6]

Return to the Lakers[]

Grant playing for the Lakers in 2003.

Grant chose to retire after getting cut by the Magic. However, he decided to return for another run with the Lakers for the 2003–04 season as a backup to Karl Malone. He then retired permanently following the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.

Personal life[]

Grant's identical twin brother, Harvey Grant, played 11 NBA seasons for the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, and Philadelphia 76ers.

Grant was best friends with former teammate Scottie Pippen for many years when they were both on the Bulls. He said they grew apart when he left Chicago for Orlando, but that they are still friends and keep in touch.

Though it has never been confirmed, Grant is rumored to be the main source for the material behind Sam Smith's controversial book The Jordan Rules, alongside former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach.

Three of Grant's nephews are also basketball players. Jerai Grant played college basketball for Clemson University[7] and currently plays overseas;[8] Jerian Grant played for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team and currently plays for the Washington Wizards; and Jerami Grant played for the Syracuse University Orange men's basketball team and currently plays for the Detroit Pistons.

Horace has three sons (Deon, Horace Jr, and Elijah) and five daughters (Coriel, Gianna, Maia, Naomi, and Eva).

NBA career statistics[]

Legend
  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 an NBA championship

Regular season[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1987–88 Chicago 81 6 22.6 .501 .000 .626 5.5 1.1 .6 .7 7.7
1988–89 Chicago 79 79 35.6 .519 .000 .704 8.6 2.1 1.1 .8 12.0
1989–90 Chicago 80 80 34.4 .523 – .699 7.9 2.8 1.2 1.1 13.4
1990–91† Chicago 78 76 33.9 .547 .167 .711 8.4 2.3 1.2 .9 12.8
1991–92† Chicago 81 81 35.3 .578 .000 .741 10.0 2.7 1.2 1.6 14.2
1992–93† Chicago 77 77 35.6 .508 .200 .619 9.5 2.6 1.2 1.2 13.2
1993–94 Chicago 70 69 36.7 .524 .000 .596 11.0 3.4 1.1 1.2 15.1
1994–95 Orlando 74 74 36.4 .567 .000 .692 9.7 2.3 1.0 1.2 12.8
1995–96 Orlando 63 62 36.3 .513 .167 .734 9.2 2.7 1.0 1.2 13.4
1996–97 Orlando 67 67 37.3 .515 .167 .715 9.0 2.4 1.5 1.0 12.6
1997–98 Orlando 76 76 36.9 .459 .000 .678 8.1 2.3 1.1 1.0 12.1
1998–99 Orlando 50 50 33.2 .434 .000 .671 7.0 1.8 .9 1.2 8.9
1999–00 Seattle 76 76 35.4 .444 .000 .721 7.8 2.5 .7 .8 8.1
2000–01† L.A. Lakers 77 77 31.0 .462 .000 .775 7.1 1.6 .7 .8 8.5
2001–02 Orlando 76 76 29.1 .513 – .721 6.3 1.4 .8 .6 8.0
2002–03 Orlando 5 1 17.0 .520 – 1.6 1.4 .6 .0 5.2
2003–04 L. A. Lakers 55 10 20.1 .411 .000 .722 4.2 1.3 .4 .4 4.1
Career 1165 1037 33.2 .509 .063 .692 8.1 2.2 1.0 1.0 11.2
All-Star 1 0 17.0 .250 – 8.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 4.0

Playoffs[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988 Chicago 10 0 29.9 .568 .000 .600 7.0 1.6 1.4 .2 10.1
1989 Chicago 17 17 36.8 .518 – .800 9.8 2.1 .6 .9 10.8
1990 Chicago 16 16 38.5 .509 .000 .623 9.9 2.5 1.1 1.1 12.2
1991† Chicago 17 17 39.2 .583 – .733 8.1 2.2 .9 .4 13.3
1992† Chicago 22 22 38.9 .541 .000 .671 8.8 3.0 1.1 1.8 11.3
1993† Chicago 19 19 34.3 .546 – .685 8.2 2.3 1.2 1.2 10.7
1994 Chicago 10 10 39.3 .542 1.000 .738 7.4 2.6 1.0 1.8 16.2
1995 Orlando 21 21 41.4 .540 .000 .763 10.4 1.9 1.0 1.1 13.7
1996 Orlando 9 9 37.1 .649 – .867 10.4 1.4 .8 .7 15.0
1999 Orlando 4 4 32.0 .367 – .625 7.0 1.3 .5 .5 6.8
2000 Seattle 5 5 37.0 .407 – .500 6.2 2.0 1.6 1.0 4.8
2001† L.A. Lakers 16 16 26.4 .385 – .733 6.0 1.2 .9 .8 6.0
2002 Orlando 4 4 31.8 .364 – 1.000 7.8 2.3 .8 .3 4.5
Career 170 160 36.3 .530 .125 .714 8.6 2.1 1.0 1.0 11.2

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Horace Grant named Special Advisor to President & COO". NBA.com. April 6, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  2. ^ "Chicago Bulls Staff Directory". NBA.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  3. ^ NBA Postseason Awards: All-Defensive Teams Archived July 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, nba.com. accessed April 24, 2007.
  4. ^ Smith, Sam (May 17, 1991). "Doctor: Grant Needs Those Goggles". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Horace Grant wore goggles after eye surgery to make kids with glasses feel better". SBNation.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Rivers says 'cancer' had to be cut from the team", espn.go.com, December 11, 2002, accessed March 8, 2009.
  7. ^ "Senior forward Jerai Grant emerging as pleasant inside surprise", www.orangeandwhite.com, January 11, 2011.
  8. ^ "National Basketball League - Sydney Kings: Sydney Kings' Jerai Grant arrives in town". Archived from the original on September 4, 2012.

External links[]

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