Jamal Mashburn

Jamal Mashburn, a forward in the NBA for a decade, was born and raised in New York City, New York. At his high school in The Bronx, Mashburn excelled tremendously on the basketball team. He went on to play for the University of Kentucky from 1990 to 1993, where he was the fourth-leading scorer for the Wildcats. Mashburn led his team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament before entering the 1993 NBA Draft. As the fourth overall pick in the entire draft, Mashburn debuted professionally and honorably with the Dallas Mavericks. That same year, he became the SEC Player of the Year, SEC Athlete of the Year and a consensus first team All-American. He stayed with the Mavericks for five seasons before moving on to the Miami Heat and finally ending his professionally career with the Charlotte / New Orleans Hornets. As a Hornet, Mashburn made it to the NBA All-Star team. His decade long professional career lasted through the 2003 season, after which he honorably retired due to a bad knee. To date, Mashburn is only one of six players since 1970 to have averaged at least 20 points per game in his final NBA season. Fighting through an injury, he never gave up, which is a quality of his that carries on with him everywhere in life.