Posted: Dec. 9, 2011
The Phoenix Suns today re-signed forward Grant Hill, the club has announced.
“Grant Hill represents everything we want the Phoenix Suns to stand for, both on and off the court,” said President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “Grant had other attractive offers, so we are delighted that he has chosen to remain a Sun.”
The 6-8, 225-pound forward is coming off a 2010-11 campaign in which he recorded one of the greatest statistical seasons for a player 38 years or older in NBA history, averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 80 games (80 starts). Hill became only the seventh player in NBA history to average 13 or more points at the age of 38 or older, joining the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Reggie Miller. Hill’s 13.2-point scoring average was his highest since joining the Suns and the highest by a player his age since Miller in 2004-05.
A 17-year NBA veteran and seven-time All-Star, Hill originally signed with the Suns on July 11, 2007, and has averaged 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in four seasons in Phoenix. Since joining the Suns, Hill has proven remarkably durable. He has appeared in 313 of 328 possible games (.954), his most in a four-year span in his career and a higher percentage of games than while with Detroit in his first six NBA seasons (435 of 460, .946).
Hill is a three-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award (2004-05, 2007-08, 2009-10), the only player in league history to earn the honor multiple times. He is a two-time winner of the Suns’ Dan Majerle Hustle Award (2007-08, 2010-11), the only player who has earned the franchise honor multiple times.
Originally the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Pistons, Hill emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars and shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd. He became the first rookie ever to lead an NBA All-Star fan balloting in 1994-95 with 1,289,585 votes. Hill has been named to an All-NBA Team five times, including First Team once (1996-97) and All-NBA Second Team four times (1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00).
A member of the 1996 United States Olympic Team where he helped “Dream Team III” capture the gold medal in Atlanta, Hill played his first six NBA seasons with the Pistons (1994-00) and the following seven with the Orlando Magic (2000-07) after being dealt by Detroit on Aug. 3, 2000.
The former Duke alum helped the Blue Devils win back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1991 and 1992 and is the only child of Janet and Calvin Hill. Hill is married to R&B singer Tamia, a four-time Grammy-nominated recording artist, and the couple has two daughters, Myla Grace and Lael Rose.
Phoenix, It's Time To Rise! Flexible ticket plans to fit your budget now available at suns.com/tickets or call 602-379-SUNS. Tickets for the Suns preseason home game on December 22 against Denver are on sale now through all Suns ticket outlets, including online at Suns.com, by phone at 1-800-4-NBA-TIX, at the US Airways Center ticket office and at all Ticketmaster locations.