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Eric Piatkowski

Eric Todd Piatkowski (born September 30, 1970, in Steubenville, Ohio) is an American National Basketball Association player with the Phoenix Suns. He is the son of former ABA player Walt Piatkowski.

High school years

Piatkowski attended Stevens High School and was a student and a standout in basketball. In basketball, as a senior, he led his team to the 1989 South Dakota Class AA State Championship, was an All-Satte selection, and was named the Mr. Basketball for the State of South Dakota.

Career history

After completing his eligibility at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Piatkowski was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th pick of the 1994 NBA Draft. The Pacers immediately dealt his draft rights, along with Jerome Richardson and Malik Sealy, to the Los Angeles Clippers for Mark Jackson and the draft rights to Greg Minor.

Piatkowski averaged 7.0 points per game in his rookie year of 1994-95 while shooting .374 from the three-point line.

He played his first nine seasons with the Clippers, then was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Houston Rockets before the 2003-04 season. Piatkowski became a Bull on September 8, 2004, when Houston sent him, Adrian Griffin and Mike Wilks to Chicago in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo. On July 13, 2006, Piatkowski officially signed with the Phoenix Suns, agreeing on a two-year, $2.4 million deal.

Career highlights

He played for the US in the World Basketball games in 1993.
Los Angeles Clippers alltime leader in games played for the franchise (616).
Clippers career leader in 3-point field goals made (738) and 3-point field goal attempts (1,835).
As of 2006, with a .399 percentage, he holds 26th place in NBA history and for career 3-point field goal percentage.
He set the Clippers individual season record for three-point percentage at .466, and is ranked third in the NBA. (2001-02)
On February 16, 2002, he set a career high of 36 points against the Dallas Mavericks.
In 1997-98, he established a career high 11.3 PPG average, .452 FG%, .724 FT%, 3.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, and three-pointers made and attempted.
In 1996-97 he made his NBA Playoffs debut, with an average of 5.3 PPG, in 12.7 mpg in three games.
Nicknamed "Pike" for his surname and three-point shooting accuracy.
His jersey at Nebraska (No. 52) was retired in 2006.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 81 || 11 || 14.9 || .441 || .374 || .783 || 1.6 || 1.0 || .5 || .2 || 7.0 |- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 65 || 1 || 12.1 || .405 || .333 || .817 || 1.6 || .7 || .4 || .2 || 4.6 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 65 || 0 || 11.5 || .450 || .425 || .821 || 1.6 || .8 || .5 || .2 || 6.0 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 67 || 35 || 26.0 || .452 || .409 || .824 || 3.5 || 1.3 || .8 || .2 || 11.3 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 49 || 38 || 25.3 || .432 || .394 || .863 || 2.9 || 1.1 || .9 || .1 || 10.5 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 75 || 23 || 22.8 || .415 || .383 || .850 || 3.0 || 1.1 || .6 || .2 || 8.7 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 81 || 40 || 26.5 || .433 || .404 || .873 || 3.0 || 1.2 || .6 || .2 || 10.6 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 71 || 64 || 24.2 || .439 || .466 || .894 || 2.6 || 1.6 || .6 || .2 || 8.8 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 62 || 26 || 21.9 || .471 || .398 || .828 || 2.5 || 1.1 || .5 || .2 || 9.7 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Houston | 49 || 0 || 14.3 || .377 || .352 || .875 || 1.5 || .5 || .3 || .1 || 4.1 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Chicago | 68 || 11 || 12.4 || .430 || .425 || .804 || 1.2 || .8 || .4 || .0 || 4.8 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Chicago | 29 || 1 || 7.9 || .393 || .273 || .400 || .8 || .4 || .2 || .0 || 2.0 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Phoenix | 11 || 0 || 6.6 || .360 || .389 || 1.000 || .8 || .4 || .0 || .1 || 2.5 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Phoenix | 16 || 0 || 7.1 || .364 || .423 || 1.000 || .8 || .6 || .0 || .1 || 2.4 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 789 || 250 || 18.5 || .434 || .399 || .839 || 2.2 || 1.0 || .5 || .1 || 7.5 |}

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Los Angeles | 3 || 0 || 12.7 || .364 || .400 || .857 || .7 || .0 || .3 || .0 || 5.3 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Houston | 1 || 0 || 4.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Chicago | 5 || 0 || 13.2 || .316 || .385 || .857 || 1.8 || .6 || .8 || .2 || 4.6 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Chicago | 6 || 0 || 4.7 || .500 || .400 || 1.000 || .8 || .2 || .0 || .2 || 1.7 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Phoenix | 1 || 0 || 3.0 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Phoenix | 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 17 || 0 || 8.3 || .368 || .391 || .875 || 1.0 || .2 || .3 || .1 || 3.0 |}