NBA.com: Matt Maloney Bio

The Ivy League Player of the Year at Penn in 1994-95, Matt Maloney went undrafted and spent one year in the CBA before starting every game for the Houston Rockets in 1996-97. As the point guard on a team that included Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler, Maloney played an integral part in steering the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals as he ranked among the league leaders in three-point shooting, all of which earned him NBA All-Rookie Second Team recognition. He started each of the 78 games he played in his second season and led the Rockets in three-point field goals, but he played in only 15 games in his third pro season, missing 18 games due to injury and losing his starting berth to rookie Cuttino Mobley. He joined the Chicago Bulls early in the 1999-2000 season and played in 51 games, leading the team in three-point field goals. Maloney led Penn in scoring at 14.6 ppg in his senior year and was second on the team in steals and assists. He is the school's career leader in steals and also holds all of Penn's three-point records. Passed over in the NBA Draft, he signed with the CBA's Grand Rapids Mackers and made the 1996 CBA All-Rookie Second Team. He started all 56 games for the Mackers, averaging 12.1 ppg and 5.5 apg and shooting .405 from three-point range. Signed by the Rockets on October 1, 1996, Maloney stepped in for the injured Brent Price and started all 82 games for Houston. His steadiness at the point and ability to distribute the ball, as well as a solid .404 mark from three-point range, helped the Rockets win 57 games in the regular season and reach the Western Conference Finals. In his second season, Maloney started each of the 78 games he played but his production dropped off a bit in nearly every category. In 1998-99 he played in only 15 games, including seven starts, and tailed off drastically to 1.4 points and 1.4 assists per game. He was signed by the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 7. He went on to play in 51 games for the Bulls, including 12 starts, and he led the team with 62 three-point field goals.

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON
Netted 19 points (5-6 3-FG) in a 100-93 win over New Jersey on 4/11 Logged 17 points and 6 assists in a 95-84 loss to Philadelphia on 3/4 Posted 14 points in a 93-90 win over Houston on 1/15 Notched 16 points and 4 assists in a 96-79 win in Chicago over Boston on 1/8 Signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls on 1/7

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Placed on the injured list on 4/29 due to a left thigh contusion On the injured list from 3/22 to 4/8 due to a sore right elbow

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Registered 19 points, hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers, and 3 assists in a 103-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on 3/21 Posted a team-high 19 points, hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers, and 3 assists in a 96-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on 3/17 Recorded 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in a 115-104 victory over the New Jersey Nets on 3/12 Totaled 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 118-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on 2/26 Matched his career-high with 24 points, adding 6 assists and 3 rebounds, in a 112-103 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 2/12 Registered 16 points (4-8 3FG) and 7 assists in a 110-97 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 2/3 Posted 19 points, on 7-of-7 field-goal shooting, and 3 steals against the Charlotte Hornets on 1/22 Scored 16 points (7-11 FG) in a 112-87 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on 1/24 Scored 18 points against the New Jersey Nets on 1/21 Recorded 17 points (7-12 FG, 3-5 3FG), 3 rebounds and 3 assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 1/16 Totaled 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a 118-91 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 12/16 Scored 12 points, hitting 4-of-4 three-pointers, in a 108-78 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on 12/9 Registered 23 points and 4 assists in a 95-84 victory over the New York Knicks on 11/18

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
For a player whose biggest honors were Ivy League Player of the Year and CBA All-Rookie Second Team, Maloney had an amazing rookie season with the Rockets, especially considering he was thrust into a lineup that featured three of the "50 Greatest Players of All Time," Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler. Many a rookie would have faded under that spotlight, but not Maloney. After Brent Price got hurt in preseason, Maloney stepped in and went on to start all 82 games at point guard for Houston, aveaging 9.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.00 steals per game and shooting .404 from three-point range, 14th best in the NBA. He led the Rockets with 154 three-pointers and 381 attempts, both franchise records for a rookie, and ranked fourth on the team in assists, fifth in steals and sixth in scoring. He posted career highs of 24 points in a 112-102 overtime win over Dallas on April 18, 12 assists in a 120-105 triumph over Denver on March 29 and six rebounds in an 81-78 victory at Cleveland on Jan. 8. He was voted to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team at season's end. Maloney started all 16 of Houston's playoff games and averaged 11.3 ppg, hitting a team-high 43 three-pointers while shooting .398 from behind the arc. He scored a playoff career-high 26 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the field and hitting six treys, in a 125-120 victory over Minnesota in Game 3 of the First Round, and also notched 26 points in a 110-106 overtime victory over Seattle in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, a game in which he shot 8-for-13 from three-point range.