Elden Jerome Campbell (born July 23, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Campbell played college basketball at Clemson University. During his four years at Clemson, he averaged 15.3 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game and 2.7 blocks. His college team was involved in one of the most notable plays in college basketball history - a one-point loss in the 1990 NCAA Tournament to a Connecticut team following a miraculous full-court catch-and-shoot play by Tate George with one second on the clock. That same year, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Campbell with the 27th pick in the 1990 NBA Draft (five picks after George was chosen with the 22nd selection).
On March 10, 1999 Campbell was traded by the Lakers along with Eddie Jones to the Charlotte Hornets for Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong. His longest tenures were with the Lakers and the Hornets (in Charlotte and New Orleans); he would also play with the Seattle SuperSonics and briefly for the New Jersey Nets, spending most of the final two seasons of his career as a member of the Detroit Pistons, being on roster in the 2004 NBA Championship team. During his tenure with the Pistons, perhaps his most important contribution was playing excellent defense on star center Shaquille O'Neal in the two playoff series in which the Pistons engaged O'Neal's teams (the Lakers in the 2004 finals, the Miami Heat in the 2005 NBA Eastern Conference Finals); because of his enormous bulk and strength, he presented a unique challenge to O'Neal in the low post and was one of the few NBA players who could pose a serious physical challenge to O'Neal on defense.
His 15-year career comprised 1,044 games, of which he started 671, and 106 playoff games, of which he started 53. In 15 seasons, Campbell averaged 10.3 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks. He is especially known for his shot-blocking ability; his 1,602 career blocks currently ranks 22nd in NBA history.
Trivia
- Campbell is an avid video gamer.
External links
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Last updated on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 04:57:30 PDT (GMT -0700)
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