The first and only NBA player from Venezuela, Carl Herrera is a hard-working power forward who contributed to the Houston Rockets' 1994 championship run and also was a member of the 1995 title-winning team. More recently he was a valuable forward for the San Antonio Spurs before moving on to Vancouver and Denver. His rights were renounced by the Nuggets on August 5, 1999. Herrera began his U.S. basketball career by playing two seasons in junior college before enrolling at the University of Houston for one year, 1989-90. The Southwest Conference's Newcomer of the Year and a First Team All-SWC selection in his only season with the Cougars, he averaged 16.7 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting .565 from the field. The Miami Heat selected Herrera in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft, then traded his rights along with the rights to Dave Jamerson to the Houston Rockets for the rights to Alec Kessler. Herrera didn't join the Rockets immediately, instead spending one season in Spain before entering the NBA in 1991-92. Since then he has developed into a steady backup forward who specializes in defense. In his second season at Houston, 1992-93, he averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game. In 1993-94 he was the third power player on the team behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Otis Thorpe as the Rockets won the Midwest Division and the NBA championship. In the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks he reached double figures in points twice. The next season he was poised to become the Rockets' starting power forward after Otis Thorpe was traded, but injuries kept him out of action. He missed the entire postseason as Houston marched to its second NBA crown. Signed by the San Antonio Spurs as an unrestricted free agent on Sept. 29, 1995, Herrera saw little action in his first season with the Spurs. He appeared in only 41 games and averaged just 1.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.9 minutes, all career lows. He was on the injured list twice and also logged 25 DNP-CDs. He proved his worth in his second season with the Spurs, however, appearing in 75 games and making 58 starts after injuries depleted the ranks of San Antonio's frontcourt. He averaged a career-high 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes for the Spurs. His playing time dropped off dramatically in 1997-98, as he appeared in 58 games for San Antonio and averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. Following the season he was traded to Vancouver along with the rights to Felipe Lopez for Antonio Daniels. He played just four games for the Grizzlies before being waived on Feb. 29, 1999, then was signed by Denver on March 3 and played in 24 games for the Nuggets over the remainder of the season. His rights were renounced by the Nuggets on Aug. 5, 1999.

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Waived by the Grizzlies on 2/28 and signed as a free agent by the Denver Nuggets on 3/3

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Totaled 10 points and 4 rebounds in a 105-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on 2/24 Scored 12 points against the Phoenix Suns on 2/22 Recorded 8 points (4-6 FG) and 3 rebounds, in 9 minutes, in a 109-67 win over the Sacramento Kings on 1/10 On the injured list from 11/26 to 12/12 due to a partial tear of the teres minor muscle in his left shoulder

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Herrera proved to be a valuable pickup in his second season with the Spurs as injuries depleted San Antonio's frontcourt. He played in 75 games and made 58 starts, averaging a career-high 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, just one-tenth of a rebound off his career-high, in 24.5 minutes. He more than quadrupled his 1.9 ppg of the previous season, and his 62 steals and 53 blocks also represented career-highs. In his 58 starts, Herrera averaged 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.02 steals in 28.8 minutes. He scored in double figures 27 times and tallied 20 points or more five times, getting a career-high 24 points in a 98-93 win over Milwaukee on Feb. 21. He grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds in the season finale, a 103-99 loss to Houston on April 20, one of six double figure rebounding games. He posted career-highs of four blocks in a 108-94 defeat to Golden State on Feb. 14 and six assists in a 113-106 loss at Phoenix on March 20. He also sank the game-winning shot in a 93-91 victory at Denver on Jan. 3.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Herrera's first season after signing with the San Antonio Spurs as a free agent was pretty much of a washout. He appeared in just 41 games and averaged 1.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.9 minutes, all career lows. He was on the injured list twice, missing the first five games of the season because of a strained left hamstring and sitting out six games in March due to gastroenteritis. He also missed two games in December because of family matters and collected 25 DNP-CDs. Herrera did start six games and averaged 2.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game as a starter. He scored a season-high six points four times and grabbed a season-high five rebounds four times. He appeared briefly in seven of San Antonio's 10 playoff games, getting two points and four rebounds in a total on 28 minutes.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
A shoulder injury kept Herrera from participating in the Houston Rockets' second NBA Championship. After missing much of February and parts of March with a strained hamstring, he left the lineup for good on April 19. Herrera managed to play 61 games on the season and averaged 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting .523 from the field. He was set to inherit the starting power forward spot when Houston traded Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers on February 14, but Herrera had been placed on the injured list on February 1, leaving Pete Chilcutt and Chucky Brown to fill in at forward. Herrera rejoined the squad on March 12 but was unable to stay healthy enough to participate in the postseason. Herrera started nine consecutive games in December and January when Thorpe was out with a shoulder injury. His two best scoring performances came against the Los Angeles Lakers, whom he hit for 22 points on December 2 and again on March 28.

1993-1994 REGULAR SEASON
Herrera continued to contribute nicely off the bench for the Houston Rockets in 1993-94, averaging 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in only 17.2 minutes per game. He appeared in 75 contests, all in relief, spelling starting forwards Otis Thorpe and Robert Horry. A native of Venezuela, Herrera was dubbed by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics" in the United States. Herrera, who scored in double figures 10 times during the regular season, made valuable contributions for the Rockets throughout their championship run. Despite suffering a separated shoulder in the conference finals versus the Utah Jazz, he returned to form for the NBA Finals with New York. In seven games against the Knicks, Herrera averaged 7.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting .579 from the floor.

1992-1993 REGULAR SEASON
Herrera had a busy summer in 1992. First, he played center for the Venezuelan national team at the Basketball Tournament of the Americas, an event designed to determine qualifying teams for the Olympics. Herrera led Venezuela to a silver medal in the tournament and an Olympic berth by averaging 20.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in seven games. He then represented his country at the Olympics in Barcelona. Venezuela posted a 2-5 record in the tournament, with Herrera contributing 16.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He switched gears and languages in the fall, returning to Houston to play his second season with the Rockets. This time he remained injury-free throughout the season, appearing in 81 games as a valuable frontcourt reserve. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich liked Herrera's hustle at both ends of the floor and played him 22.2 minutes per game at both forward positions. Herrera responded with 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, his .541 field-goal percentage ranking second on the team behind Otis Thorpe's .558. One of Herrera's finer performances came on February 18 against the Boston Celtics. The game was televised live to Venezuela by Venevision, a Venezuelan network that stopped in Houston en route to the 1993 NBA All-Star Game. Herrera responded with 18 points (14 in the fourth quarter) on 8-of-13 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.

1991-1992 REGULAR SEASON
After graduating from high school in Venezuela, 6-foot-9 Carl Herrera came to the United States to pursue a basketball career. He spent two seasons at Jacksonville Community College in Texas before transferring to the University of Houston for his junior year. While at Jacksonville, Herrera was considered to be one of the top two junior college players in the nation-the other being Odessa (Texas) College's Larry Johnson. Herrera averaged 25.5 points and 13.2 rebounds as a sophomore at Jacksonville. As a junior at Houston in 1989-90, he was an All-Southwest Conference selection, averaging 16.7 points and 9.2 rebounds. Herrera decided to pass up his senior season with the Cougars in order to enter the 1990 NBA Draft. The Miami Heat selected him in the second round as the 30th overall pick, then promptly traded his rights, along with the draft rights to Dave Jamerson, to the Houston Rockets for the draft rights to Alec Kessler. The Rockets had a crowded roster in 1990-91, so Herrera chose to play overseas. He spent the entire season with Real Madrid of the Spanish League, averaging 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 25 games. After the season in Spain, Herrera played for the Rockets' summer league team in 1991, then suited up for Venezuela at the 1991 Pan-American Games in Cuba. When the Rockets finally signed Herrera to an NBA contract in September, he became the first native Venezuelan to play in the NBA. Herrera missed 35 games in his rookie season because of injury or illness, but when healthy he averaged 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. With a .516 field-goal percentage, Herrera became only the fifth rookie in franchise history to shoot .500 or better-joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson, E. C. Coleman, and Allen Leavell.

• He and his wife Monica have four children
• A big fan of salsa music, his favorite artist is Oscar De Leon, a fellow Venezuelan and close friend
• Was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the country in 1993 by Hispanic Business magazine