SHAWN MARION

'Shawn Dwayne Marion' (born May 7, 1978 in Waukegan, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays small forward for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, although he spent much of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons at power forward. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and best all-around players in the league.

Contents

Career

Player profile

Statistics

Trivia

Notes

External links

Career

His high school basketball was played at Clarksville High School in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Marion attended Vincennes University, winning the Allen J. Bradford NJCAA Region 12 MVP award twice before attending UNLV. VU later retired his number 31 jersey. At UNLV Marion dominated Western Athletic Conference play and led the Runnin' Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in 1998.
Chosen by the Suns in the first round and ninth overall in the 1999 NBA Draft, he has spent all eight of his seasons in the NBA with the Suns.
Nicknamed 'The Matrix' (by TNT analyst Kenny Smith for his seemingly gravity-defying plays and his low arch/quick release), Marion was selected to the USA Olympic men's basketball team in 2004. In 2005, he was named a reserve on the Western Conference All-Star Team and selected to the 2004-05 All-NBA Third Team. That year he became the 2nd player in NBA history and first player since David Robinson in 1992 to average in the top five in rebounding and steals since the league started to track steals in 1973. Marion did it again in 2005-06. During the 2005 All-Star Weekend, Marion teamed up with WNBA Rookie of the Year Diana Taurasi of the Mercury, and Suns legend Dan Majerle in the Radioshack Shooting Stars to run away with the title. Marion was also selected as a Western Conference reserve on the 2006 All-Star team.
The 2005-06 NBA season was perhaps the best season of his career. He was the only player in the NBA ranked in the top 20 in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, field goal percentage and minutes. He finished the season leading the Suns in points per game (21.8), rebounds per game (11.8), blocks per game (1.7), and steals per game (2.0). Marion also ranked 3rd in efficiency. [1] He helped fill in the void left by star Amare Stoudemire, who did not play virtually the entire season due to injury. Marion also earned a spot in the NBA All-Star game for the third time.
On March 5, 2006, Marion was one of 23 players named to the USA Men's Senior National Team that finished third in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Marion was forced to withdraw from the team before the tournament began due to a knee injury, but he will still be among the players considered to represent the U.S. in the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Marion played for the senior United States National Basketball Team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and the 2004 Athens Olympics. He has earned 22 total international caps for the USA.

Player profile

The four-time All-Star and two-time member of the All-NBA Third Teams Marion is a versatile frontcourt player capable for playing both the small forward and power forward positions. As of 2007, he averages 18.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.9 steals per game, making him a threat on both offense and defense.^[1][2]
At 6 feet 7 inches and of slender body build, Marion is undersized for a power forward, but because of the Suns' uptempo run-and-gun style of basketball, he often fills out this role. His athleticism and jumping ability enables him to be a good rebounder (10.1 rpg) and shot blocker (1.3 bpg), as well as the beneficiary of many alley-oops from Steve Nash leading to high-percentage slam dunks (.476 field goal percentage).^[2] On offense, Marion has established himself as a multidimensional threat, being both a finisher who can score off passes, and also being a good long distance shooter (.343 from beyond the arc),^[1], creating mismatch problems for his defenders. Coaches also acknowledge him as a better defender than his bigger and more well-known teammate, Amare Stoudemire. This has been shown in the past when Marion was often the one asked by coach Mike D'Antoni to guard players of all positions from Tim Duncan, when the Suns play the Spurs, to Sam Cassell of the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2005-06 NBA Playoffs.
Marion led the NBA in total steals in the 2003-04 and 2006-07 regular seasons.^[5][6]
Marion is well known for his unorthodox style of shooting. Although his shot resembles a forward thrust rather than a flick of the wrist, its accuracy typically goes unquestioned by both fans and critics alike. Finally, Marion is also known as one of the most well-conditioned athletes in the NBA, in the last four years in the Top 7 of most-used players by play time.^[1]; also, on January 6, 2006, during a triple-overtime game against the New York Knicks, he played 60 of a possible 63 minutes.^[8]
Marion also has a contract with Nike. He is included in a group called The Second Coming along with nine other Nike all-stars. They are Kobe Bryant, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, Jermaine O'Neal, and Tony Parker.

Statistics

'Height:' 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
'Weight:' 228 lb (103.6 kg)
'Career Stats:' 18.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.30 bpg, 1.9 spg, .473 FG%, .346 3FG%, .833 FT%
'Achievements:' All-NBA Third Team (2004-2005, 2005-2006), 4-time NBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), All-Rookie Second Team (1999-2000)
'Drafted:' 1999, 1st round, 9th pick by Suns

Trivia

★ Marion was a teammate of the Minnesota Timberwolves' Trenton Hassell at Clarksville High School in Clarksville, Tennessee.

★ Marion is a huge fan of the Tennessee Titans.

★ Marion has a twin sister named Shawnett.

★ Marion's leg bears a tattoo that he intended to represent his nickname, "The Matrix", in Japanese. However, the Chinese symbols used in the tattoo can be loosely translated to say "demon bird moth balls" in English.http://www.hanzismatter.com/2005/11/shawn-marion-matrix.html]

★ Marion's consistency has garnered him great attention in the world of fantasy sports. His ability to contribute to many statistical categories makes him one of the most sought after fantasy players. For the last three years, Marion can be considered to be one of the best fantasy basketball players in the league.

★ Marion is a first cousin of former NFL safety Brock Marion.

Notes

1. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mariosh01.html
2. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/shawn_marion/
3. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/shawn_marion/
4. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mariosh01.html
5. Basketball-reference.com.2003-04 NBA Expanded Standings and Leaders.
6. Basketball-reference.com. 2006-07 NBA Expanded Standings and Leaders.
7. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mariosh01.html
8. http://www.nba.com/games/20060102/PHXNYK/boxscore.html

External links

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