NBA.com: Dan Majerle Bio

An NBA All-Star with the Phoenix Suns who evolved from a player who thrived on drives to the basket to one of the league's premier three-point shooters. Majerle become one of the league's most popular players by plying his skills in a variety of ways. Early on he was known as "Thunder Dan" for his tough inside play and rousing dunks. Then he developed into a long-distance shooting threat who led the league in three-pointers made and attempted. His versatility is a tribute to his all-around athletic skills, and his competitive fire was crucial to the success of the Phoenix Suns in the early 1990s.

1999-2000:
Grabbed 12 boards in an 81-78 win over Phoenix on 3/28 ... Activated from the injured list on 2/20, after missing four weeks with a stress fracture of the fibula in his left leg ... Logged 33 points and burried a career-high 9 three-pointers (9-10 3FG) in a 116-106 win in Minnesota on 1/11 ... Posted 20 points and 6 rebounds in a 90-89 loss to New Jersey on 1/8.

1998-99:
Hit his 1,100th career three-pointer, registering 14 points (4-5 3FG) and 5 rebounds, in a 93-80 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on 4/21 ... His 68 three-pointers ranked second on the team ... Averaged 7.0 ppg in 48 games as a starter ... Posted 22 points, hitting 5-of-7 three-pointers, and 4 rebounds in a 94-87 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on 4/19.

1997-98:
Played in 72 games and was the team's third-leading three-point shooter, but his scoring average dipped to 7.2 ppg ... Placed on the injured list on 4/17 due to a strained left groin ... Scored a season-high 22 points, adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds, in a 109-97 victory over the Houston Rockets on 3/29 ... Hit his 1,000th career three-pointer in a 91-72 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 2/26 ... On the injured list from 11/11 to 11/22 due to a stiff lower back.

1996-97:
Majerle averaged 10.6 points for the second year in a row, but that was the only similarity between the two seasons. After playing all 82 games in 1995-96 and missing just two games in five years, Majerle was sidelined for 46 games in 1996-97, spending nearly three months on the injured list due to back surgery ... Majerle started the first 25 games of the season for Miami and was averaging 13.1 points when he went on the injured list with a lower back strain on Dec. 21. After missing five games he was reactivated but played in only one game before going back on the injured list on Jan. 8. He underwent micro discectomy surgery on his back on Jan. 30 and was reactivated on April 1. He missed 45 games because of the back injury and also sat out one game with a stomach virus ... In 10 last-season games, Majerle came off the bench to average 6.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20.9 minutes. Overall in 36 games, which included 26 starts, Majerle averaged 10.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.50 steals in 35.1 minutes. His 68 three-pointers were his fewest since 1990-91 but still ranked fifth on the team, and he was second on the club in steals ... Majerle posted season-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds in a 98-82 win at the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 27 ... He played in all 17 of Miami's postseason games, making two starts at forward in place of P.J. Brown, who was suspended for two games. He averaged 8.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.23 steals in 29.2 minutes, ranking second on the team in steals and third in three-point field goals (25).

1995-96:
Majerle's scoring average dipped to 10.6 points per game, the lowest since 1988-89, his rookie season, but he led the Cavs with 146 three-pointers made. He also contributed 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.99 steals in 28.9 minutes per game ... It took Majerle some time to adjust to the trade from Phoenix. In his first 31 games, he averaged 8.0 ppg on .364 from the field and .277 from three-point range. But in his last 51 games he averaged 12.3 ppg on .424 shooting and .387 from behind the arc. And in his final nine games of the regular season he averaged 13.8 ppg on .483 shooting and .459 from three-point range ... He appeared in all 82 games for the Cavs and made 15 starts, including a 12-game stretch in March in which he averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 25 points, including seven treys, at Orlando on April 10. Majerle's 146 three-pointers made were the second-most in Cavs history and his 414 attempts set a franchise record ... Majerle ranked second on the Cavs in playoff scoring at 16.7 points in 30.3 minutes per game, hitting a team-high 10-for-23 from three-point range. He netted 23 points, including four threes, in the series opener, and scored 11 and 16 in the subsequent two games ... Following the season, free agent Majerle signed with the Heat.

1994-95:
Majerle had an up-and-down season in 1994-95. Early in the campaign, with Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson slowed by injuries, Majerle was the key to the Phoenix Suns' attack. In the first half of the season he averaged 17.4 points and was voted to be a starter on the All-Star Team, although ironically he was being used off the bench for Phoenix. He therefore became the first reserve to be voted an All-Star starter since fan balloting began in 1975 ... In the second half of the season his shooting was erratic, and he averaged 13.3 points. He finished with an average of 15.6 points per game, third on the team, to go with 4.6 rebounds and a career-best 4.1 assists per contest. He led the team in playing time, averaging 37.7 minutes, and often drew assignments on the opposition's best off guard or small forward. He tied for second in the league in three-pointers made at 199. Despite the shortened three-point arc adopted for the season, Majerle's accuracy rate of .363 was lower than his career mark of .368 ... The Suns won the Pacific Division with a 59-23 record, defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, and then lost to the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. Majerle averaged 8.2 points and shot .370 from the field in the postseason. He was 5-of-25 from three-point distance against Houston.

1993-94:
Hit 192 three-pointers on 503 three-point attempts and finished with a .382 three-point percentage. His 16.5 points per game for the year ranked fourth on the Suns behind Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, and Cedric Ceballos. ... Majerle demonstrated his shooting prowess on November 9 against the Clippers at Los Angeles, when he hit 8 of 12 three-point attempts for a season-high 35 points. He nailed at least 5 treys on 10 other occasions, including one game with 7 and three with 6. After the season, which concluded with Phoenix losing to the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals, Majerle participated on Dream Team II, the U.S. squad that won a gold medal at the 1994 World Championship of Basketball in Ontario, Canada.

1992-93:
Majerle's prowess was equally devastating on the offensive and defensive ends in 1992-93. He ranked second on the Suns in scoring (16.9 ppg) and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, he enjoyed his second consecutive trip to the NBA All-Star Game, in which he scored 18 points in 26 minutes ... The former Central Michigan standout also continued to bomb from long range, finishing the season tied for the league lead in three-point field goals (167) with Reggie Miller. He hit at least 1 three-pointer in 64 games and set a Suns record with 8 treys in a game on January 30, 2 shy of the NBA mark. Majerle also ranked third on the Suns in steals (1.68 per game) and assists (3.8 apg) and fourth in rebounds (4.7 rpg) ... Majerle was the Suns' iron man, playing and starting in all 82 regular-season games. He played the entire 48 minutes three times, including twice in five days. Majerle hit 2 three-pointers in the final 10.8 seconds against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 6, including the game-winner at the buzzer ... Phoenix rode Charles Barkley's broad shoulders all the way to the NBA Finals in 1993. However, Majerle was also a key contributor. He hit 8 three-pointers to set both an NBA and a Suns playoff record in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics. The Suns then carried the league's best record into the championship series against the Chicago Bulls but lost in six games ... Majerle contributed 15.4 points per game in the postseason, hitting 54 three-pointers in 24 games. Six of those 54 came in Game 3 of the championship series against the Bulls, tying an NBA Finals record.

1991-92:
Although he began the 1991-92 campaign as a starter in the season's first 12 games, Majerle returned to his more familiar role as the team's sixth man for 67 of his 82 appearances. Consistently strong on the defensive end, Majerle added a new dimension to his game when he became a devastating three-point shooter. His 30 three-pointers in 1990-91 had been a career high, but he shattered that mark in 1991-92 by hitting 87 of 228 attempts for a .382 percentage. He led the team in three-pointers made and ranked second to Jeff Hornacek (.439) in three-point percentage ... For the season, Majerle averaged a career-best 17.3 points, adding 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest. His all-around contributions were recognized by Western Conference coaches when they selected him to his first NBA All-Star Game. "Thunder Dan" exploded for 37 points against the Charlotte Hornets on November 29. The following night against the Utah Jazz he played a season-best 51 minutes ... Although Majerle's postseason figures improved from the previous year's totals, the Suns' playoff fortunes were disappointing. He averaged 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, but Phoenix lost in five games to Portland in the Western Conference Semifinals. That series included a Game 4 Suns loss at home in which Phoenix scored 151 points; however, the Trail Blazers scored 153. In the offseason, Majerle underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

1990-91:
Majerle blossomed in his role as sixth man, doing it all for the Suns as a catalyst off the bench. He averaged 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.38 steals. On a well-balanced team, he ranked second in offensive rebounds (168) and fifth in scoring ... At season's end, Majerle was runner-up by one vote to the Indiana Pacers' Detlef Schrempf for the league's Sixth Man Award. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Majerle played in 77 games, missing five contests in April because of a benign cyst in his spine. He underwent successful surgery in the offseason to remove the cyst ... Phoenix compiled a 55-27 mark in the regular season before losing to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Majerle's postseason performance mirrored that of the Suns, as he dipped to 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game in the playoffs.

1989-90:
If success is regarded as that which occurs when preparation meets opportunity, then Majerle's second NBA season can be seen as quite a blueprint. Eddie Johnson missed 18 games with a separated shoulder, and Majerle capitalized on the opportunity to increase his playing time, contributing heavily to the Suns' second consecutive Western Conference title run ... On a potent and well-balanced offensive team that ranked second in the league in scoring (114.9 ppg) and had six players finish in double figures, Majerle improved in every statistical category. Playing 30.7 minutes per game, Majerle augmented his scoring (11.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) figures, ranking fifth and fourth on the team, respectively. He had finished sixth and seventh in those same categories in 1988-89. He shot .424 from the floor and .762 from the free-throw line ... Majerle missed eight games after separating his right shoulder in a March 19 game against the San Antonio Spurs. However, he bounced back for the playoffs, averaging 12.6 points on .487 shooting from the field in 16 postseason games. Phoenix lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, four games to two, in the Western Conference Finals.

1988-89:
A three-time All-Mid-American Conference selection at Central Michigan University who had also played in the 1988 Olympics, Dan Majerle entered his rookie season in the NBA with a great deal of promise ... The Phoenix Suns selected the little-known midwestern star with the 14th overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft. Majerle made a smooth transition to the pro ranks, averaging 8.6 points and 3.9 rebounds as a rookie. He cracked the Suns' regular rotation in his first year, primarily spelling Eddie Johnson and Jeff Hornacek and playing 25.1 minutes per contest ... After missing 28 regular-season games because of a bout with mononucleosis, Majerle stepped up his play considerably during the postseason. He recorded 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as the Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals, which they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in four games.

COLLEGE:
Majerle played college ball at Central Michigan, where he averaged more than 20 points in three of his four seasons and was an All-Mid-American Conference selection in each of those years. As a senior, he averaged 23.7 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting .522 from the field. Finished his college career at CMU ranked second all-time in scoring (2,055), steals (171), and field-goal percentage (.536). He made a name for himself by earning a spot on the 1988 U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a bronze medal in Seoul, South Korea.