Chris Childs came to the Raptors on February 22, 2001 at the trade deadline. He quickly showed his new team what a relentless defender he was and proved to be a vocal leader throughout the rest of the season. In the first round of the playoffs, Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens started Childs in Game Two and the move paid immediate dividends. With his experience and savvy, Childs helped the Raptors defeat his former team, the N.Y. Knicks, for the team's first ever playoff series win and he remained in the starting lineup for most of the Raptors successful playoff run.
Success did not come easily, or quickly, for Childs. Undrafted by the NBA, he spent five seasons in basketball's minor leagues, honing his skills and working on his game while waiting for the opportunity to prove he could play at basketball's highest level. When that opportunity came he grabbed it, establishing himself as a starting NBA point guard with the New Jersey Nets and then signing a lucrative, long-term contract in the summer of 1996 with the New York Knicks as a veteran free agent. A versatile guard who played college ball at Boise State, Childs gained a measure of attention with a Most Valuable Player trophy in the 1994 CBA Championship Series. That landed him a tryout with the New Jersey Nets the following season.
2001-02:
Averaged 4.1 ppg, 5.1 apg (second on team) and 22.8 minutes in 69 games ... Missed three games, 4/10- 4/14, with a right heel sprain ... Tied a season high with 14 points vs. Chicago on 4/3 ... Led bench with a season-high 14 points and dropped a team-high nine assists without a turnover in 32 minutes at Philadelphia on 3/31 ... Started four games (2/5- 2/13) that included a season-high 11 assists at Washington on 2/5 in first start of the season ... Averaged 4.3 points and 5.3 assists as a starter ... Scored 11 points in 22 minutes with four assists in 500th career game vs. Philadelphia on 2/4 ... Placed on injured list on 12/20 (right ankle/Achilles) and returned 1/2 at Portland, leading the team with nine assists in 27 minutes ... Led team in scoring in season-opener at Orlando with 13 points ... Led Raptors in assists 29 times ... Reached the 2,500 career-assists plateau Feb. 18 at Detroit ... Missed three games (Dec. 1, 2 and 19) due to a sprained right ankle.
2000-01:
Averaged 4.7 ppg and 4.6 apg (30th in the NBA) in 24.1 mpg in 77 games....In 26 games with the Raptors, averaged 4.5 ppg and 4.6 apg in 21.6 mpg....Led Raptors in assists five times....Recorded eight or more assists three times with Toronto....Tallied at least 10 points in six games....Made Raptors debut 2/24/01 in Washington, recording a team-high-tying eight assists in 28 minutes....Scored 12 points in first meeting against the Knicks on 3/4/01 in Toronto, his highest total as a Raptor....Led Knicks in assists 24 times in 51 games, including a season-high 11 assist performance vs. the L.A. Clippers on 12/4/00....Scored a season-high 17 points in Boston on 1/3/01 as a member of the Knicks....Averaged 9.1 ppg, a team-leading 6.5 apg and 3.2 rpg in 12 playoff appearances....Registered the best assist average of his post-season career....Paced the Raptors in assist in eight games....Tallied a career playoff-best 25 points vs. New York in Game Four on 5/2/01....Tied his career high for assists with 10 in Game Three on 5/11/01 vs. Philadelphia.
1999-2000:
Posted 13 points and 10 assists in a 109-94 win over Milwaukee on 3/2/00....Tallied 15 points (6-7 FG, 3-3 3 FG) and six assists in a 99-96 win over Orlando on 11/27/99.
1998-99:
Named to the 1998-99 NBA All-Interview Second Team...Ranked second on the Knicks in three-point percentage (.383), free-throw percentage (.821) and assists (4.0 apg)....Scored 13 points (5-7 FG, 3-4 3FG) and notched 3 assists against the Orlando Magic on 4/6/99....Recorded 14 points (5-9 FG, 4-4 FT), five assists and three rebounds in a 108-102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on 3/15/99....Totaled 15 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4-4 FT) and 6 rebounds in a 97-86 victory over the New Jersey Nets on 3/7/99....Posted 13 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, 2-3 FT) and team-highs of nine assists and eight rebounds in a 101-88 win over the Washington Wizards on 2/10/99.
1997-98:
Scored 13 points in an 83-80 victory over the Miami Heat on 4/8/98....Posted 16 points and a team-high 6 assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 2/4/98....Scored 15 points, on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, and added three assists in a 99-92 victory over the Detroit Pistons on 1/24/98....Hit the game-winning layup with 6.3 seconds remaining, finishing with six points, in an 89-88 overtime win over the New Jersey Nets on 1/7/98....Recorded 14 points, six assists and three steals in a 107-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on 12/11/97....Totaled 16 points (7-11 FG), six assists and five rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks on 12/4/97....Posted 12 points, a game-high 11 assists and five rebounds in a 93-90 win over the Denver Nuggets on 11/11/97....Registered 17 points (7-9 FG), 4 assists and 3 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings on 11/9/97.
1996-97:
Childs' career with the Knicks got off to a rocky start when he collided with backup point guard Charlie Ward in a preseason practice on Oct. 8 and suffered a fractured right fibula. He sat out all the preseason games and the first nine games of the regular season before being activated on Nov. 19. He later missed three games due to back spasms and five because of a bruised left wrist....Childs played in 65 games, all but four of them as a starter, and averaged 9.3 points, 6.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.20 steals in 31.9 minutes. He led the team in assists, was second in steals and third in three-pointers made (70) and attempted (181). He posted the only triple-double by a Knick in 1996-97 on Jan. 24 when he had 13 points, 12 assists and a season-high 10 rebounds in a 113-104 overtime loss at Charlotte. It was the second triple-double of his career....He scored a season-high 24 points, including a clutch three-pointer with 31.9 seconds to play that put New York ahead to stay, in a 99-94 victory over the Utah Jazz on Dec. 17. He handed out a season-high 13 assists in a 127-121 double overtime victory at the Lakers on Feb. 23....Childs started all 10 of New York's playoff games and averaged 10.4 points, a team-high 5.9 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.00 steals. He had 22 points and 9 assists in Game 6 of the Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
1995-96:
Childs' ability to play the point enabled the Nets to trade Kenny Anderson to Charlotte on 1/19/96 after they were unable to reach agreement with Anderson on a contract extension....Played 78 games for the Nets, making 54 starts....Averaged 12.8 points, 7.0 assists (12th in the NBA), 3.1 rebounds and 1.42 steals in 30.9 minutes per game....Led the Nets in assists and steals as well as in three-point field goals made and attempted as he shot .367 (95-for-259) from behind the arc....Had a memorable stretch of games just prior to the All-Star break and immediately after the trading of Anderson....Scored a career-high 30 points against Minnesota on 1/20/96 after getting a career-high 11 rebounds at Washington the night before, the day Anderson was dealt....Handed out a career-high 17 assists against the Lakers on 2/7/96....Scored in double figures 48 times, had 17 double-doubles on the season and posted his first career triple-double against the Chicago Bulls on 3/16/96, getting 18 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds....Moved across the Hudson River after signing with the New York Knicks.
1994-95:
After five seasons in the Continental Basketball Association, finally entered the NBA as a 27-year-old rookie in 1994-95....Signed in the offseason by the New Jersey Nets, who used him regularly to plug holes in a backcourt riddled with injuries....Debuted on 12/27/94 with six points and six assists in 15 minutes vs. New York....Saw action in 53 games for New Jersey, drawing 11 starts and logging 19.3 mpg, eighth highest on the team....Played both backcourt positions as Nets guards Kevin Edwards, Kenny Anderson, Sleepy Floyd, and Sean Higgins all missed time during the year....Averaged 5.8 ppg and 4.1 apg, while shooting .380 from the field.
PRE-NBA:
Played with five different CBA teams in his first three seasons in the league, improving his scoring average in each of those three seasons: 7.5 ppg in 1989-90, 9.0 ppg in 1990-91 and 12.4 ppg in 1991-92....In 1992-93, moved on to Quad City and averaged 11.9 ppg, 5.8 apg and 1.36 spg in 50 games....Made a name for himself the next season when he led the Thunder to its first-ever league title....In a CBA Championship Series that included a total of six overtimes in five games, averaged 19.8 ppg and 11.8 apg to win the series MVP Award....During the regular season, averaged of 17.9 ppg and 7.6 apg per game, both ranking in the league's top 20....Completed the season ranked 11th on the CBA's all-time assists list.
COLLEGE:
Played four seasons at Boise State University, averaging 13.6 ppg and 3.3 apg, while shooting .443 from the field....Went 163-for-386 (.422) from three-point range....Named to the All-Big Sky First Team three times....Only player in school history to start every game in career (118)....Scored in double-figures every season, including a career-high 15.4 ppg as a sophmore in 1986-87.
