NBA.com: LaPhonso Ellis Bio

2000-2001:
Played in all 82 games last season for the first time since his rookie season ... Averaged 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 blocks in 23.8 minutes per game ... Shot .464 from the field (298-642) and .790 from the free throw line (.169-214) ... Finished third in the voting for the NBA Sixth Man Award ... His 1,948 minutes played was his highest total since the 97-98 season ... Had 37 games in which he recorded double-figures in scoring, including a stretch where he accomplished the feat in a season-high six consecutive games (Jan. 25-Feb. 3) ... Recorded a season-high 24 points in a win vs. Orlando on Jan. 25.

1999-2000:
Logged 16 points and 8 boards in a 116-111 win over Denver on 3/28 ... Netted 16 points in an 83-70 win over New York on 3/3 ... Tallied 17 points and 7 rebounds in a 97-90 loss to Portland on 2/4 ... Posted 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 101-79 loss in Miami on 1/21 ... Notched 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 107-101 loss to Milwaukee on 1/17 ... Scored 17 points in a 108-90 win over Cleveland on 12/23

1998-1999:
Placed on the injured list on 3/14 due to a sports hernia and is expected to miss the rest of the season ... Registered 15 points and 10 rebounds, for his first double-double with the Hawks, against the Orlando Magic on 3/1 ... Recorded 21 points (7-10 FG) and a team-high 7 rebounds in a 111-106 victory over the New Jersey Nets on 2/6 ... Made his Hawks debut, totaling 14 points and 7 rebounds, in a 100-83 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on 2/5

1997-1998:
Recorded 22 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in a 109-101 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on 4/17 ... Registered team-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds and added 3 assists against the Phoenix Suns on 4/15 ... Scored 22 points and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds against the Houston Rockets on 4/14 ... Matched his season-high with 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a 128-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings on 4/9 ... Posted 18 points and team-highs of 10 rebounds and 5 assists against the Dallas Mavericks on 3/25 ... Totaled 17 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and 4 assists against the Toronto Raptors on 3/19 ... Recorded team-highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds and added 4 assists in a 90-89 victory over the Washington Wizards on 3/17 ... Registered 15 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots in a 98-93 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 3/12 ... Posted team-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds against the L.A. Clippers on 3/8 ... Totaled a game-high 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals against the Philadelphia 76ers on 2/27 ... Recorded team-highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets on 2/23 ... Registered 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists against the Golden State Warriors on 2/20 ... Posted a team-high 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists against the New York Knicks on 2/17 ... Totaled 19 points (7-10 FG), 7 rebounds and 4 assists in a 112-99 victory over the Boston Celtics on 2/10 ... Recorded team-highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds and added 4 assists against the Sacramento Kings on 2/4 ... Registered 13 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and 5 assists in a 110-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on 1/31 ... Posted team-highs with 21 points and 8 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds against the Vancouver Grizzlies on 1/20 ... Totaled a season-high 26 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists against the Houston Rockets on 1/2 ... Recorded a game-high 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in a 100-92 victory over the L.A. Clippers on 12/7 ... On the injured list from 10/30 to 11/12 while recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon. Prior to the 1998-99 season, LaPhonso Ellis signed with the Atlanta Hawks as a free agent.

1996-1997:
Ellis underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Nov. 8, but after less than a month on the injured list he was activated on Dec. 5 and had his most productive scoring season in the NBA, averaging a team-high 21.9 points over 55 games ... His average would have ranked ninth among NBA scoring leaders if he had played enough to qualify ... He led the Nuggets in scoring 26 times and tallied 30 or more points eight times, including a career-high 39 points in a 121-105 win over San Antonio on March 15 ... He sank a career-high seven three-pointers in that game, one of four games in which he had at least five treys ... Just when he was going well, Ellis, who also averaged 7.0 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per game, saw his season come to end when he suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon in a game against Phoenix on April 4 ... He underwent surgery two days later and was expected to be sidelined six to nine months.

1995-1996:
After missing 107 of the previous 113 games due to his injured left knee, Ellis returned to action against Miami on Jan. 6 and appeared in 45 games for the Nuggets, starting the final 28 ... He posted seven double-doubles and led the Nuggets in scoring twice and rebounding eight times ... He scored a season-high 22 points against Portland on Jan. 13 and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds against Vancouver on April 19.

1994-1995:
Ellis looked poised to become one of the league's premier power forwards with the Denver Nuggets in 1994-95 following his strong showing in the 1994 playoffs ... But on September 11 he suffered a stress fracture of the patella in his right knee and consequently missed the first 76 games of the season ... On November 22 Ellis underwent surgery to repair the fracture and later recovered fully ... In the six games he played, he averaged 4.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in only 9.7 minutes per outing ... He was kept out of the playoffs because of tendinitis in his right leg, a problem unrelated to the knee injury.

1993-1994:
Some players follow a strong rookie campaign with a sophomore slump ... And then there are players like Ellis ... An NBA All-Rookie First Team selection in 1993, he registered an even better second season, emerging as one of the league's top young stars ... In 79 appearances, all as a starter, Ellis averaged 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds ... He ranked third on the Nuggets in field-goal percentage (.502) and second in both scoring and rebounding ... In addition to his regular-season accomplishments, Ellis proved to be a key factor in Denver's inspirational playoff run ... In the first round of the postseason the Nuggets upset the heavily favored Seattle SuperSonics, who had led the NBA with 63 wins during the regular season ... Besides making several clutch buckets in the series against the Sonics, Ellis led the Nuggets in scoring throughout the playoffs, averaging 14.8 points on a balanced team ... He also pulled down 8.1 rebounds per contest, second only to teammate Dikembe Mutombo.

1992-1993:
Selected in the first round (fifth pick overall) of the 1992 NBA Draft, Ellis made an immediate impact in Denver as the first Nuggets rookie to play and start all 82 games ... He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, joining Dikembe Mutombo, David Thompson, and Spencer Haywood as the only Nuggets ever to receive that recognition ... A defensive force in the paint and a powerful rebounder, he blocked 111 shots on the year and finished 22nd in the NBA in rebounding with an average of 9.1 boards per contest ... He also chipped in 14.7 points per game on .504 field-goal shooting ... Ellis's season highs included a 27-point night against the Los Angeles Clippers on November 28, 17 rebounds on two occasions, and 6 blocks against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 2 ... He played a career-high 51 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 7, totaled 4 steals twice, and dished out 6 assists on Nov. 15 against the Bucks.

COLLEGE:
Notre Dame has produced fine defensive players over the years, but Ellis finished his college career ranked No. 1 in Fighting Irish history with 200 career blocks. He also left as the school's third all-time leading rebounder (1,075 rpg) and eighth all-time scorer (1,505 ppg), and he is one of only four players in Notre Dame history to register 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Ellis graduated from Notre Dame in four years with a degree in accounting, despite having to sit out parts of both his sophomore and junior seasons because of academic difficulties. He finished third in the nation in rebounding as a sophomore, grabbing 12.6 boards per game. A career .577 shooter in college, Ellis shot a blistering .631 (ninth in the NCAA) as a senior. He pulled down 11.7 rebounds per game that year to finish seventh in the nation in that category.