NBA.com: Mario Elie Bio

A study in perseverance, Mario Elie toiled for seven seasons in minor leagues on three continents before landing in the NBA and becoming a key contributor to three championship teams, two in Houston and one in San Antonio.

1999-2000:
Netted 19 points (5-5 3-FG) in a 113-111 OT win in Houston on 2/20 ... Totaled 25 points (10-12 FG) in a 121-98 victory in Boston on 11/24.

1998-99:
Hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left, totaling a team-high 21 points (4-4 3FG) and 6 rebounds, in an 86-83 win over the Houston Rockets on 4/18 ... Recorded 23 points (9-11 FG, 4-5 FT) and 3 rebounds in a 121-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings on 3/16 ... Scored his 5,000th career point in his first start for the Spurs, posting 16 points (6-10 FG, 4-4 FT) and 5 rebounds, in an 85-64 win over the Detroit Pistons on 2/21 ... Notched his 500th career steal, totaling 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, against the L.A. Lakers on 2/19.

1997-98:
Registered a game-high 23 points (7-10 FG), 6 assists and 5 rebounds in a 94-88 win over the Denver Nuggets on 4/14 ... Recorded 17 points (3-5 3FG), a season-high 11 assists and 5 rebounds in a 115-104 win over the New Jersey Nets on 3/12 ... Scored a season-high 20 points in a 124-110 victory over the L.A. Clippers on 11/5.

1996-97:
On a team loaded with stars, Elie continued to play an important role, averaging career-highs of 11.7 points and 4.0 assists per game. He appeared in 78 games, all but one as a starter, and ranked fourth on the team in scoring and third in assists. He also was fourth on the team with 1.18 steals per game. ... Elie scored in double figures 46 times, getting 20+ on six occasions including a season-high 26 points in an 81-78 victory at Cleveland on Jan. 8. He grabbed a season-high nine rebounds in a 106-95 loss to Charlotte on Feb. 27 and dished out a season-high 13 assists in a 113-73 rout of Seattle on April 13. ... Elie also enhanced his reputation as a defensive stopper when he held Michael Jordan scoreless (0-for-9 from the field) in the second half of the Rockets' 102-86 win over the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 19. ... Starting all 16 of Houston's playoff games, Elie ranked fourth on the club in scoring at 11.5 ppg and second in assists at 3.8 apg.

1995-96:
Elie played in 45 games, making 16 starts, in a season that was interrupted by injury. He suffered a fracture of the radius on his right arm in a game at Denver on Jan. 17 and sat out 35 games from Jan. 18 through March 3. ... After scoring in double figures in 12 of his last 13 games prior to the injury, Elie managed to reach double figures only three times in nine games after he returned to action. Prior to the injury he was averaging 12.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting .517 from the field. ... Nevertheless, his 11.1 average was the highest of his career and he totalled 28 games in double figures, including two 20-point games: agaisnt New Jersey on Dec. 28 and against Utah on Jan. 15. He also averaged 3.4 rebounds and a career-high 3.1 assists per game and shot .504 from the field and .852 from the free throw line. ... In eight playoff appearances, the 6-5 swingman averaged 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. A veteran free agent at the end of the season, he elected to resign with the Rockets.

1994-95:
Elie's improvement continued in 1994-95, culminating in some excellent play for the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals and his second championship ring. During the regular season Elie was a reserve swingman who averaged 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. He shot .499 from the field, including .398 from three-point range and .842 from the line. ... Among his best outings was a season-high 25-point performance against the Denver Nuggets on April 9. He sank 5 three-pointers against the Miami Heat on December 26 and flirted with a triple-double against the Charlotte Hornets on February 16 with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. ... Elie saved many of his best performances for the postseason. The defending NBA-champion Rockets entered the playoffs seeded sixth and were noticeably thin at the forward position due to the trading away of Otis Thorpe and an injury to Carl Herrera. But the Rockets upset expectations by defeating the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns, and the San Antonio Spurs to win the Western Conference and enter the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic. Elie's role increased as the team kept winning. In Game 7 of the conference semifinals at Phoenix he hit a crucial three-pointer in the waning seconds to give Houston the series victory. Then, during the Finals, Elie became the team's starting small forward, with Robert Horry moving to power forward. Elie responded with an outstanding championship series, logging 40.3 minutes per game and averaging 16.3 points on 24-of-37 shooting from the field (.649). He was 9-of-10 from the foul line and an instrumental 8-of-14 (.571) from three-point territory. In Games 3 and 4 he hit a combined 7 of 10 three-pointers.

1993-94:
On August 2, when the Houston Rockets traded a 1995 second-round draft choice to the Portland Trail Blazers for Elie, the journeyman swingman probably had no idea that he would be wearing a shiny gold NBA Championship ring at the end of the year. However, bolstered by Elie's contributions off the bench, Houston advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1986 and defeated the New York Knicks in seven games. Elie was not simply along for the ride. In 23 postseason contests he averaged 5.8 points in 16.6 minutes per game. ... During the regular season Elie missed 14 games because of a broken bone in his right hand. He was placed on the injured list on April 1, underwent surgery on April 2, and was not activated until just before the start of the playoffs. ... In 67 regular-season games, Elie averaged 9.3 points, 3.1 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 24.0 minutes. He shot .446 from the floor and ranked 14th in the NBA with an .860 free-throw percentage.

1992-93:
After the 1991-92 season the Warriors had let Elie go to free agency, and he signed on with the Portland Trail Blazers for 1992-93. The three-year veteran appeared in all 82 games for the Trail Blazers, chiefly as a reserve behind starters Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler. ... He averaged 8.6 points for the season, shooting .458 from the field and .855 from the free-throw line. Portland Coach Rick Adelman gave Elie the green light from three-point range, and Elie responded by hitting 45-of-129 for a .349 percentage. He had his best month in March, averaging 10.8 points in 26.0 minutes per game while shooting .512 from the field and .865 from the line.

1991-92:
Elie won a spot on the Warriors' roster in training camp and played 79 games in his first full NBA season. After Mitch Richmond departed for Sacramento, Elie started 32 times for Coach Don Nelson. He finished the season with an average of 7.8 points per game while shooting .521 from the field and a team-high .852 from the free-throw line. ... He scored in double figures 31 times during the year, with his most effective outing being a 27-point, 7-rebound night against the Orlando Magic on February 3. ... The Warriors advanced to the postseason but were upset by the Seattle SuperSonics in a four-game first-round playoff series. Elie turned in a strong postseason effort, starting twice and averaging 12.5 points on .639 shooting over the four games.

1990-91:
The Los Angeles Lakers invited Elie to training camp in 1990, only to cut him two weeks later. He returned to the CBA to play for the Patroons, logging 41 games and averaging 24.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists-good enough for selection to the CBA All-League First Team. He helped an Albany team coached by George Karl to a 50-6 record, the best mark in CBA history. ... It was during that 1990-91 season that Elie finally made his NBA debut. After 23 games in the CBA, he briefly left the Patroons in December to sign a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. During that 10-day stretch Elie appeared in three games for the Sixers and totaled 6 points in 20 minutes. He returned to Albany when Philadelphia needed his roster spot after shipping Mike Gminski to the Charlotte Hornets for Armon Gilliam and Dave Hoppen. ... After another 18 games with the Patroons, Elie signed a 10-day contract with the Golden State Warriors, who had just lost Sarunas Marciulionis to injury. Warriors Coach Don Nelson had been the Milwaukee Bucks' coach in 1985 when the Bucks drafted Elie and then cut him. Now, six years later, Nelson liked Elie's game so much that Golden State signed him for the rest of the season on March 5. ... Finally, at age 27, Elie played out his rookie season with the Warriors. He made solid contributions as the first guard off the bench, appearing in 30 games and averaging 7.2 points in 20.8 minutes per game. He even stepped up his play in the postseason, scoring 9.3 points per game in nine games as Golden State advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

PRE-NBA:
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Elie in the seventh round (160th overall pick) of the 1985 NBA Draft, but he had to wait more than five years before playing in his first NBA game. He had starred for American International University, averaging 17.7 points and shooting .555 from the field during a four-year career. The Bucks cut him in training camp, however, prompting Elie's international search for a professional basketball career. ... Fortunately, Elie happened to speak Spanish, Portuguese, and French. From 1985 to 1989 he played professionally in Portugal, Argentina, and Ireland. Besides his overseas exploits, he put in a stint with the Miami Tropics of the United States Basketball League in summer 1987. ... Elie returned to the United States in 1989, signing with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association. He played 56 games for the Patroons in 1989-90, averaging 18.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting .561 from the floor. He hiked his output to 23.5 points per game in 12 playoff appearances, including a high of 38 points against the La Crosse Catbirds on April 7. ... The following summer Elie played for the Youngstown Pride of the World Basketball League, averaging 23.1 points in 43 games while shooting .552 from the field and .857 from the free-throw line.

COLLEGE:
A native New Yorker who played one year with NBA star Chris Mullin in high school on a team that went 25-0, Elie played college ball at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He became the school's all-time leading scorer, and as a senior in 1984-85 he averaged 20.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting .549 from the field.

HIGH SCHOOL:
As a Power Memorial High School sophomore, Mario Elie teamed with Chris Mullin to lead the junior varsity to a 25-0 record. Mullin later transferred to Xaverian, but the two would one day be teammates again.