Speedy Claxton

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Speedy Claxton
Claxton in 1998 playing for Hofstra
Hofstra Pride
PositionHead coach
LeagueColonial Athletic Association
Personal information
Born (1978-05-08) May 8, 1978 (age 45)
Hempstead, New York, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight166 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolChrist the King
(Middle Village, Queens, New York City, New York)
CollegeHofstra (1996–2000)
NBA draft2000: 1st round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career2000–2009
PositionPoint guard
Number12, 10, 5
Coaching career2013–present
Career history
As player:
20002002Philadelphia 76ers
2002–2003San Antonio Spurs
20032005Golden State Warriors
20052006New Orleans Hornets[a]
20062009Atlanta Hawks
As coach:
2013–2021Hofstra (assistant)
2021–presentHofstra
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points3,096 (9.3 ppg)
Assists1,441 (4.3 apg)
Steals503 (1.5 spg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Craig Elliott "Speedy" Claxton (born May 8, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Hofstra University men's basketball team. Claxton won an NBA championship in 2003 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. In 2013, he was named as a special assistant to the head coach for the Hofstra University men's basketball program, before being hired as head coach in 2021.

College[edit]

Prior to his NBA career, Claxton played at Hofstra University under future Villanova University coach Jay Wright. At Hofstra, Claxton led the Flying Dutchmen to the America East Championship, where they defeated the University of Delaware in the championship game at Hofstra Arena. The team was defeated in the first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament by an Oklahoma State team led by Desmond Mason, Claxton's future NBA teammate with the New Orleans Hornets.

Claxton donated money to help build the 5,000-seat arena in which the Hofstra team plays, and his number 10 was retired by Hofstra on January 31, 2009. Claxton was inducted into the Hofstra Hall of Fame on January 29, 2011.

NBA career[edit]

Claxton was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 20th overall pick of the 2000 NBA draft.[1] His rookie-scale contract was worth four years and $4.68 million; he opted out of the fourth year to become a free agent.

Claxton missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury suffered during the preseason. In 2002, Claxton was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Mark Bryant, Randy Holcomb, and John Salmons, where he played on the Spurs' 2003 championship team as the backup to starting point guard Tony Parker.

In 2003, Claxton was signed by the Golden State Warriors to a three-year contract worth $10 million.

On February 24, 2005, Claxton and Dale Davis were traded from the Warriors to the New Orleans Hornets for Baron Davis.

On July 12, 2006, Claxton signed a contract worth approximately $25 million over four years with the Atlanta Hawks. Claxton only played 44 games with the Hawks, as he was injured every year after he signed with the team. During the 2006–07 season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.4 assists per game.

On June 25, 2009, Claxton and Acie Law were traded to the Golden State Warriors for Jamal Crawford.[2] Claxton never reported to the Warriors and was waived by Golden State on February 6, 2010, without appearing in a game for them.

Post-playing career[edit]

Claxton served as a college scout with the Golden State Warriors[3] before joining the Hofstra University men's basketball staff in 2013.[4] On April 7, 2021, he was hired as head coach at Hofstra.[5]

For the 2022–23 season, Claxton led the Pride to the CAA regular season title and was named CAA Coach of the Year.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Claxton's parents are from Antigua and Barbuda. His sister, Lisa, played for the St. John's Red Storm women's basketball team.[1] His brother Michael (M. Buckets) played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. Claxton has two daughters, Aniya and London, with ex-wife Meeka. The couple announced their divorce in July 2014.[7]

NBA career statistics[edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001–02 Philadelphia 67 18 22.8 .400 .121 .838 2.4 3.0 1.4 .1 7.2
2002–03 San Antonio 30 0 15.7 .462 .000 .684 1.9 2.5 .7 .2 5.8
2003–04 Golden State 60 29 26.6 .427 .182 .813 2.6 4.5 1.6 .2 10.6
2004–05 Golden State 46 44 32.6 .431 .192 .761 3.3 6.2 1.9 .1 13.1
2004–05 New Orleans 16 3 22.8 .373 .111 .610 1.9 5.5 1.4 .1 6.8
2005–06 New Orleans/Oklahoma City 71 3 28.4 .413 .270 .769 2.7 4.8 1.5 .1 12.3
2006–07 Atlanta 42 31 25.1 .327 .214 .550 1.9 4.4 1.7 .1 5.3
2008–09 Atlanta 2 0 7.5 .286 .000 .500 .0 1.5 .0 .0 2.5
Career 334 128 25.6 .409 .193 .762 2.5 4.3 1.5 .1 9.3

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002 Philadelphia 5 0 9.8 .333 .000 .667 .2 2.8 1.0 .0 2.4
2003 San Antonio 24 0 13.6 .438 .000 .750 1.9 1.9 .7 .2 5.2
2009 Atlanta 1 0 3.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 30 0 12.6 .427 .000 .740 1.5 2.0 .7 .2 4.6

Head coaching record[edit]

College[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Hofstra Pride (Colonial Athletic Association) (2021–present)
2021–22 Hofstra 21–11 13–5 3rd
2022–23 Hofstra 25–10 16–2 T–1st NIT Second Round
2023–24 Hofstra 20–12 12–6 T–3rd
Hofstra: 66–33 (.667) 41–13 (.759)
Total: 66–33 (.667)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ During the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, the team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets during their temporary relocation to Oklahoma City due to Hurricane Katrina.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b NBA.com Bio Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Warriors Acquire Acie Law and Speedy Claxton From Atlanta Hawks". NBA.com. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  3. ^ Warriors might be focusing in on Monroe
  4. ^ Mihalich Announces Staff; Claxton Returns To Program
  5. ^ "MBB: Past. Present. Future. Claxton To Lead The Hofstra Men's Basketball Program". Hofstra University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  6. ^ "Estrada, Williams Collect Back-to-Back Major CAA Awards" (Press release). Colonial Athletic Association. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  7. ^ ""My Next Chapter" By: @MeekaClaxton | Think Pynk". Archived from the original on 2014-07-19.

External links[edit]