Tree Rollins
1994–1995 Orlando Magic | | ||||||||||||||
As coach: | |||||||||||||||
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1993–1999 | Orlando Magic (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
1999–2000 | Washington Wizards (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
2000–2002 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
2002–2003 | Greenville Groove | ||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | Washington Mystics (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
2007–2008 | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||
2013–2015 | Chicago Sky (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
Points | 6,249 (5.4 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
Rebounds | 6,750 (5.8 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
Blocks | 2,542 (2.2 bpg) | ||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins (born June 16, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Orlando Magic.
Career
The 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m), 275 pounds (125 kg)
In 1983, as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, playing in Game 3 of the first round, he got into a fight with Danny Ainge of the Boston Celtics. In retaliation for allegedly being called a "sissy", Rollins elbowed Ainge in the face. Ainge subsequently tackled Rollins to the ground and the two began to wrestle. Rollins then bit Ainge's middle finger so badly that it required a couple of stitches. After the fight, Ainge was ejected and Rollins was not. However, the Celtics went on to win the series 2–1.[4][5][6] The incident inspired opposing fans to occasionally hold up signs referring to the incident with sayings like "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em" during some of his subsequent games.
In the late 1980s, still with the Hawks, Rollins was asked how he felt about the team playing an exhibition game in the Soviet Union. Rollins replied that he had already been to the Soviet Union, "and I don't need to go back."[7]
Rollins was a
Rollins joined the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 2006 as an assistant coach. On June 1, 2007, he was named interim head coach following Richie Adubato's resignation early in the season.[3] Rollins led the Mystics to a 17–14 record.[3] On July 19, 2008, following lopsided losses to the New York Liberty and Detroit Shock, which put the Mystics at 8–14 on the season and 2.5 games out of playoff position, he was relieved of his duties. The Mystics' aggregate record under Rollins over the two seasons was 25–28, second best in Mystics history. He was replaced on an interim basis by one of his assistants, Jessie Kenlaw.[10] In 2013, Rollins became an assistant coach with the WNBA's Chicago Sky.[11]
One small distinction for Rollins was that he was the last player to wear canvas
Achievements
- First athlete in any sport at Clemson to have jersey number retired
- Only Clemson basketball player to average double-double in four straight seasons
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 1982–83 season[13]
- NBA All-Defensive First Team, 1983–84 season[13]
NBA career statistics
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 |
* | Led the league |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977–78 | Atlanta | 80 | — | 22.4 | .487 | — | .703 | 6.9 | 1.0 | .7 | 2.7 | 7.6 |
1978–79 | Atlanta | 81 | — | 23.5 | .535 | — | .631 | 7.3 | .6 | .6 | 3.1 | 8.4 |
1979–80 | Atlanta | 82 | — | 25.9 | .558 | — | .714 | 9.4 | .9 | .7 | 3.0 | 8.9 |
1980–81 | Atlanta | 40 | — | 26.1 | .552 | .000 | .807 | 7.2 | .9 | .7 | 2.9 | 7.0 |
1981–82 | Atlanta | 79 | 39 | 25.5 | .584 | — | .612 | 7.7 | .7 | .4 | 2.8 | 6.1 |
1982–83 | Atlanta | 80 | 80 | 30.9 | .510 | .000 | .726 | 9.3 | .9 | .6 | 4.3* | 7.8 |
1983–84 | Atlanta | 77 | 76 | 30.5 | .518 | — | .621 | 7.7 | .8 | .5 | 3.6 | 8.6 |
1984–85 | Atlanta | 70 | 60 | 25.0 | .549 | — | .720 | 6.3 | .7 | .5 | 2.4 | 6.3 |
1985–86 | Atlanta | 74 | 61 | 24.1 | .499 | .000 | .767 | 6.2 | .6 | .5 | 2.3 | 5.6 |
1986–87 | Atlanta | 75 | 58 | 23.5 | .546 | — | .724 | 6.5 | .3 | .6 | 1.9 | 5.4 |
1987–88 | Atlanta | 76 | 59 | 23.2 | .512 | — | .875 | 6.0 | .3 | .4 | 1.7 | 4.4 |
1988–89 | Cleveland | 60 | 2 | 9.7 | .449 | .000 | .632 | 2.3 | .3 | .2 | .6 | 2.3 |
1989–90 | Cleveland | 48 | 19 | 14.0 | .456 | .000 | .688 | 3.2 | .5 | .3 | 1.1 | 2.6 |
1990–91 | Detroit | 37 | 0 | 5.5 | .424 | — | .571 | 1.1 | .1 | .1 | .5 | 1.0 |
1991–92 | Houston | 59 | 5 | 11.8 | .535 | — | .867 | 2.9 | .3 | .2 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
1992–93 | Houston | 42 | 0 | 5.9 | .268 | .000 | .750 | 1.4 | .2 | .1 | .4 | .7 |
1993–94 | Orlando | 45 | 1 | 8.5 | .547 | — | .600 | 2.1 | .2 | .2 | .8 | 1.7 |
1994–95 | Orlando | 51 | 3 | 9.4 | .476 | — | .677 | 1.9 | .2 | .1 | .7 | 1.2 |
Career | 1,156 | 463 | 20.8 | .522 | .000 | .700 | 5.8 | .6 | .4 | 2.2 | 5.4 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Atlanta | 2 | — | 25.5 | .583 | — | .250 | 4.5 | .5 | .5 | 2.0 | 8.0 |
1979 | Atlanta | 9 | — | 23.6 | .412 | — | .692 | 7.9 | .6 | .3 | 2.7 | 5.7 |
1980 | Atlanta | 5 | — | 26.8 | .581 | — | .600 | 7.6 | .6 | .4 | 2.8 | 8.4 |
1982 | Atlanta | 2 | — | 32.5 | .333 | — | .750 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
1983 | Atlanta | 3 | — | 39.3 | .481 | — | .333 | 10.0 | 1.0 | .3 | 3.3 | 9.7 |
1984 | Atlanta | 5 | — | 30.4 | .400 | — | .625 | 6.8 | .2 | .4 | 2.0 | 5.0 |
1986 | Atlanta | 9 | 9 | 27.6 | .553 | — | .636 | 8.7 | .3 | .2 | 1.7 | 6.6 |
1987 | Atlanta | 9 | 9 | 24.6 | .536 | — | .714 | 5.9 | .3 | .3 | 1.8 | 4.4 |
1988 | Atlanta | 12 | 12 | 27.8 | .556 | — | .867 | 5.9 | .5 | .8 | 1.6 | 4.4 |
1989 | Cleveland | 5 | 0 | 14.8 | .750 | — | .600 | 3.2 | .2 | .6 | 1.4 | 3.0 |
1990 | Cleveland | 3 | 0 | 12.7 | .333 | — | .750 | 2.7 | .3 | .7 | .3 | 2.7 |
1991 | Detroit | 6 | 0 | 5.3 | 1.000 | — | — | .5 | .0 | .2 | .2 | .7 |
1993 | Houston | 6 | 0 | 2.7 | .000 | .000 | — | .7 | .0 | .3 | .0 | .0 |
1994 | Orlando | 3 | 0 | 9.7 | .400 | — | — | 1.0 | .0 | .3 | .3 | 1.3 |
1995 | Orlando | 14 | 0 | 5.8 | .600 | — | .250 | .4 | .0 | .0 | .4 | .5 |
Career | 93 | 30 | 19.4 | .505 | .000 | .624 | 4.6 | .3 | .4 | 1.4 | 3.9 |
See also
- List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
- List of National Basketball Association players with most blocks in a game
References
- ^ "Rollins Career High 12 Blocks Against Trail Blazers". Statmuse.
- ^ "1982-83 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball Reference.
- ^ a b c "Strong Roots Make Tree Rollins Excited About the Mystics in 2008". WNBA.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Diaz, Angel (April 21, 2017). "The Greatest Brawls in NBA Playoffs History". Complex. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Watanabe, Ben (April 24, 2012). "'Tree Bites Man' Entered Basketball Lexicon 29 Years Ago Tuesday When Tree Rollins Bit Danny Ainge". NESN.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Rosenberg, I.J. (April 15, 2016). "Rollins remembers biting Danny Ainge's finger". AJC.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ "Washburn says no to Soviet jaunt". news.google.com. Wilmington Morning Star. April 15, 1988. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Rollins signs on for the season, web: The Naples Daily News, 1994, retrieved March 13, 2023
- ^ "Tree Rollins Named Greenville Head Coach". NBA.com. July 11, 2002. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ "Mystics' assistant Kenlaw takes over as coach for fired Rollins". ESPN.com. July 19, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Hersh, Philip (April 30, 2013). "Tree Rollins named Sky assistant". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ Bengtson, Russ (May 28, 2013). "50 Things You Didn't Know About Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars". Complex. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ a b "NBA Postseason Awards - All-Defensive Teams". NBA.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.