NBA.com: Rod Strickland Bio

2000-01:
Averaged 4.6 points, 3.4 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 16.7 minutes in 21 games with the Blazers...In his first game with the Blazers March 6, he scored 8 points and dished out 5 assists in 16 minutes of action...Scored a Blazer season-high 11 points in his second game Mar. 8 against San Antonio on 5-7 shooting from the floor, 3 rebounds and 3 assists...In the Blazers Marcg 20 win at Dallas, he scored 10 points and dished out 7 assists along with three rebounds and 2 steals in 21 minutes...When he dished out eight assists against Minnesota April 1, he became only the seventh player in NBA history to have 7,000 assists...Ranks third among active players with 7,022 assists

1999-2000:
Posted 19 double-doubles and led the team in assists 54 times. Dished out a season-high 16 assists vs. Lakers on 3/16. Missed the last 13 games of the season with a strained right quad.

1998-99:
Notched a triple-double, with 15 points, a game-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds, against the Orlando Magic on 4/28. Notched his 6,000th career assist, posting 17 points, a game-high 12 assists and 7 rebounds, against the Milwaukee Bucks on 3/30.

1997-98:
Named to the 1997-98 All-NBA Second Team. Posted his 5th career triple-double, with 21 points, a game-high 13 assists and 11 rebounds, in an 88-85 win over the Orlando Magic on 4/5. Notched a triple-double, with 17 points and game-highs of 11 rebounds and 10 assists, in a 93-77 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on 3/10. Notched a triple-double, with 21 points and career-highs of 20 assists and 12 rebounds, in a 99-87 win over the Golden State Warriors on 2/10. Scored his 10,000th career point, posting 14 points and a game-high 16 assists, against the Houston Rockets on 12/27. Suffered a torn left quadricep muscle against the Chicago Bulls on 4/7 and missed the remainder of the regular season.

1996-97:
Strickland had a fine first season with the Bullets but played his best ball after Bernie Bickerstaff took over as head coach in midseason. He averaged 17.2 points and 8.8 assists for the year, but with Bickerstaff at the helm he averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 assists. He led the team and ranked fifth in the NBA in assists. He also led the team in steals at 1.74 per game to rank 18th in the NBA. He was third on the Bullets in scoring, and fourth in rebounding at 4.1 rpg. Strickland had 10+ assists in 32 games, including 10 of the final 16. He handed out a season-high 17 assists in a 105-92 victory over Boston on March 26 and had three games with 15 assists. He scored a season-high 34 points, just two shy of his career-high, in a 103-90 win over Indiana on April 16 that was critical in the Bullets' playoff drive. He shot 11-for-18 from the field and 12-for-14 from the line in that game and also handed out 13 assists. He barely missed a triple-double in a 115-110 double overtime loss to Seattle on Nov. 20 when he had 15 points, a season-high 11 rebounds and 9 assists. In the three-game playoff sweep at the hends of Chicago, Strickland led the Bullets with 19.7 points and 8.3 assists per game. He also averaged 6.0 rebounds, which tied for second on the team. He approached a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in Game 1, and scored 24 points in Game 3.

1995-96:
Strickland ranked among the NBA's top playmakers, finishing fourth in the league at 9.6 assists per game after handing out 640 assists in 67 games. He missed nine games due to injury and six due to a suspension. He led the Blazers in steals at 1.45 per game and ranked second on the team in scoring at 18.7 ppg, with a team-high 33 double-doubles. He scored in double figures in 63 of his 67 games, with a season-high 32 points against Houston on Dec. 10. He had 33 games with 10 or more assists, including a career-high tying 20 at Houston on March 30. He also was among the best rebounding point guards in the NBA, averaging 4.4 rpg, and his average of 37.7 minutes per game ranked 18th in the NBA. Strickland started all five playoff games against Utah, averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 40.4 minutes per game. He had 27 points and 12 assists in Game 1, and got 27 points again in Game 4. After his fourth season with Portland, Strickland was traded along with Harvey Grant to the Washington Bullets for Rasheed Wallace and Mitchell Butler.

1994-95:
Strickland was sensational for the Portland Trail Blazers in 1994-95. Despite missing 18 games with injuries, his scoring average of 18.9 points per game was a career best, and his assists rate of 8.8 per game was the fourth highest in the NBA. Although Strickland didn t receive much individual recognition amid the host of other talented point guards in the league (including Anfernee Hardaway, Gary Payton, Dana Barros, John Stockton, Kenny Anderson, and Tim Hardaway), his numbers were comparable to all of theirs. Strickland was named NBA Player of the Week for the period ending February 26 after averaging 29.3 points, 11.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in three games. That week he had back-to-back games in which he scored 35 and 30 points, respectively. He also posted his second career triple-double on February 15 at Phoenix with 26 points, 18 assists, and 11 rebounds. For the year, he led the team in double-doubles and scored 30 or more points six times. Injuries, including a fractured right wrist, cost Strickland 18 games, but he was certainly at full strength for the playoffs. The seventh-seeded Trail Blazers met the Phoenix Suns in the first round and were swept in three games. Strickland was Portland s only effective performer in the series, contributing 23.3 points and 12.3 assists per contest.

1993-94:
After Portland Coach Rick Adelman made the decision to start Strickland full-time on December 19, Strickland responded by averaging 19.1 points and 9.6 assists in the next 58 games. He scored 20 or more points 20 times during that span, while earning accolades as one of the best point guards in the league. The days when Terry Porter ran the show in Portland seemed to be over. For the season, Strickland ranked sixth in the NBA in assists (9.0 apg) and third on the team in scoring (17.2 ppg). Among his many season highlights, he set a franchise record with 20 assists in a game against the Phoenix Suns on April 5. Portland finished the year at 47-35, qualifying for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Blazers faced the Houston Rockets in the first round and lost in four games, despite a phenomenal effort from Strickland, who averaged 23.5 points and 9.8 assists in the series.

1992-93:
The Portland Trail Blazers found a nugget when they signed Strickland as a free agent on July 3, eight days before his 27th birthday. There was a ruckus when Strickland was asked to split time with Mark Jackson three years earlier with the New York Knicks, but incumbent Blazers point guard Terry Porter welcomed Strickland s arrival in Portland. Strickland dished out 559 assists this season, his best total to date and the seventh-highest mark in Blazers history. He started 35 games, and in those games the Blazers went 24-11. He turned Portland s lone triple-double of the season with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in only 27 minutes on November 22 against the Detroit Pistons. He improved his field-goal percentage from .455 the previous season to .485 this year and lifted his free-throw percentage from .687 to .717. In four playoff encounters against the San Antonio Spurs, Strickland averaged 13.5 points and team highs of 9.3 assists and 39.0 minutes.

1991-92:
Haggling over his contract with Spurs management, Strickland didn t play in the first 24 games of the season. He finally signed on December 23, then started 54 of 57 games and averaged 13.8 points, 8.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.07 steals in 36.0 minutes per contest. He scored in double figures 48 times and scored 20 or more points on eight occasions. He notched a then career-high 28 points against the Indiana Pacers on February 6 and dished for a career-high 19 assists versus the Timberwolves at Minnesota on March 3. Strickland started two playoff games against the Phoenix Suns before missing the third with a broken bone in his left hand. The Suns swept the series, three games to none.

1990-91:
Strickland lived up to his billing as an exciting performer when he was healthy. He missed 24 games because of a sore ankle and a broken bone in his right hand. In the 58 games he played, Strickland averaged 13.8 points and 8.0 assists, shooting .482 from the field and .763 from the free-throw line. He paced the Spurs in assists 46 times and in steals 30 times. His season high of 27 points came against the Houston Rockets on November 10. Strickland finished the year tied with Terry Porter, his eventual teammate, for 12th in the NBA in assists. And in a four-game series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1991 NBA Playoffs, he posted exceptional numbers: 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 2.25 steals in 42.0 minutes per game.

1989-90:
The Knicks realized that keeping both Strickland and Mark Jackson wouldn t work. Rookie head coach Stu Jackson and the Knicks front office agreed that one player had to go. On February 21 they dealt Strickland to the San Antonio Spurs for veteran Maurice Cheeks, who immediately said he would be comfortable playing a reserve role in New York. Meanwhile, Strickland flourished in San Antonio, as the Spurs went 18-6 with him in the starting lineup. He led the club in assists 26 times and averaged 12.3 points and 11.2 assists in 10 playoff games.

1988-89:
Rod Strickland grew up in the South Bronx playing basketball against the likes of Tiny Archibald, Pearl Washington, Mark Jackson, and Kenny Smith. His favorite player was Julius Erving. As a junior he led Truman High School to the state championship and was ranked as one of the top 10 high school recruits in the nation. Strickland appeared in 87 college games at DePaul University, averaging 16.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. However, there was an immediate conflict when the New York Knicks drafted Strickland in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft Mark Jackson, the 1988 NBA Rookie of the Year, was the incumbent Knicks point guard. New York operated under the belief that it could never have enough talent, but the Knicks didn t take into account that Strickland and Jackson had talked years earlier on the New York City playgrounds about leading their own NBA clubs. Jackson and Strickland shared time this season, but it was a difficult arrangement for both players. Strickland played in 81 games and averaged 8.9 points and 3.9 assists in 16.8 minutes per game. In his 10 starts he averaged 13.9 points, 7.4 assists, and 33.5 minutes. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

COLLEGE:
A native of the Bronx, Strickland starred at DePaul. In three years he averaged 16.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists while shooting .534 from the field. As a junior, he was a First Team All-American after averaging 20.0 points and 7.8 assists.