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Amar'e Stoudemire

Phoenix Suns  – No. 1
Power forward/Center
Born	November 16, 1982 (1982-11-16) (age 27) Lake Wales, Florida
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	249 lb (113 kg)
League	NBA
High school	Cypress Creek
Draft	9th overall, 2002 Phoenix Suns
Pro career	2002–present
Awards	NBA Rookie of the Year (2003) 5× NBA All-Star (2005, 2007-2010) All-NBA First Team (2007) 2× All-NBA Second Team (2005, 2008) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2003)
Profile	Info Page

Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire^[1] (pronounced /əˈmɑreɪ ˈstɒdəmaɪər/; born November 16, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. He is a 6-foot-10-inch (208 cm) and 249-pound (113 kg) power forward/center.

Stoudemire won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, made five appearances in the NBA All-Star Game, made first-team All-NBA Team in 2007, and won Bronze Medal with the United States men's national basketball team at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Stoudemire's first name had previously been listed in the Phoenix Suns media guide as Amaré or Amare, but it was changed to Amar'e in October 2008.^[2] Stoudemire told NBA.com that his name had always been spelled Amar'e, but the media had been spelling it incorrectly since he joined the NBA.^[1]

Early life and career

Stoudemire was born in Lake Wales, Florida. His father died when he was twelve, and his mother Carrie was in and out of prison during that time also. As a result, he attended six different high schools before graduating from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida. He told Isaac Perry in an article for Dime Magazine that what kept him going in that time period was God and the words of rapper Tupac Shakur.

He did not start playing organized basketball until he was fourteen.^[3] Stoudemire only played two years of high school-level basketball, but in those two years he was named the MVP of the Nike summer league. He committed to play at the University of Memphis, but never attended the school.

Instead, he declared for the NBA draft because of his desire to quickly help his family. The Phoenix Suns decided on him with their ninth pick in the 2002 NBA Draft due to a need for inside strength at the time. Phoenix was the only team that year to select a high school player in the first round.

NBA career

Early years

In his rookie season, Stoudemire averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, with a season high of 38 points, against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 30, 2002, the highest score by a prep-to-pro player until broken a year later by LeBron James.^{[citation needed]} Stoudemire won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, beating out Houston Rockets center Yao Ming and Miami Heat forward Caron Butler and becoming the first player drafted out of high school to win the award.

The following season, Stoudemire improved statistically,^[4][5] but his team stumbled to a 29–53 record, and point guard Stephon Marbury was traded to the New York Knicks. During the summer of 2004, Stoudemire was selected to play for the United States national team in the 2004 Summer Olympics. However, head coach Larry Brown declined to give him significant playing time.

During the 2004–05 NBA season, Stoudemire teamed up with point guard Steve Nash to lead the Suns to a 62–20 record. Averaging 26 points per game that year and achieving a new career high of 50 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 2, 2005, he was selected to his first National Basketball Association All-Star Game as a reserve forward. In the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, Stoudemire performed magnificently, averaging 37 points per game, but the Suns lost in 5 games.

Knee problems

Amar'e Stoudemire training

During the 2005–2006 NBA pre-season, knee cartilage damage was discovered and Stoudemire underwent microfracture surgery on October 18, 2005. Initially, the Suns thought he would return by mid-February,^[6] but his rehab took longer than expected. Stoudemire, however, made an attempt to return but did not play well, going scoreless against the New Jersey Nets on March 27, 2006. On March 28 it was announced that he would likely miss the rest of the regular season due to ongoing stiffness in both knees. His manager stated that the comeback happened a little too soon, and Stoudemire needed to do more rehab.^[7] Stoudemire's rehabilitation, which was led by Suns trainer Aaron Nelson^[8] and Dr. Micheal Clark, the president and CEO of the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)^[9] went well as he stated during the rehab that he was pretty explosive and he gradually gained his strength back.

Stoudemire attended the 2006 USA Basketball camp in Las Vegas, although he ultimately did not play in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. His athletic trainers stated that he had no swelling since his most recent surgery and his strength and flexibility have been "better than ever: almost like superman".

Stoudemire played in the FIBA Americas Championship 2007, but withdrew from the national team for the 2008 Olympics. Jerry Colangelo, managing director for the national team, said, "Amar'e has pulled himself out of consideration for the roster and that's predicated on, despite the fact that he's had an injury-free year coming back, he's a little hesitant on pushing the envelope too hard." Stoudemire had said in April 2008, "It's more than a year-round grind. It's last year and the year before that and the year before that. It's really been like a three-year-round basketball circuit."^[10]

2006–07 season

Before the 2006–07 season, Stoudemire changed his jersey number from 32 to 1.^[11] Dijon Thompson, last wore #1 the previous season.^[11][12]

Stoudemire joined the United States national team once and began practicing with the international team in July, but was dropped from the squad for its trip to Asia because coach Mike Krzyzewski believed he needed a proper chance to fully recover from his knee injuries.

On February 18, 2007, Stoudemire appeared in the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, his second NBA All-Star Game appearance. He scored 29 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and came in second in MVP voting to winner Kobe Bryant.^{[citation needed]} He had previously announced that he would make the All Star Game in his first season back after his knee recovered.^{[citation needed]}

During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, in a series against the San Antonio Spurs, Stoudemire accused Manu Ginóbili and Bruce Bowen of being "dirty" players.^[13][14] Stoudemire was suspended for Game 5 for leaving the bench area after an altercation between guard Steve Nash and Robert Horry. The Suns lost to the Spurs in six games.

2007–2008

Stoudemire led the Suns in scoring 25.8 and rebounds 9.1 in the 2007–2008 season. He made the 2008 NBA All-Star team and was named to the 2nd team on the All-NBA Team. Stoudemire also adjusted well to playing with Shaquille O'Neal, who the Suns had acquired in February. The Suns however faltered in the playoffs, again losing to their rivals the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns blew a big lead in game one of the series, and seemed to never recover, losing the series 4–1 to the Spurs. Stoudemire averaged 23 points in the series. After the season, the Suns coach Mike D'Antoni left the team to coach the New York Knicks.

2008–2009

With new coach Terry Porter, the Suns game turned more to an emphasis on defense and a more controlled offense. The Suns offensive slowdown affected Stoudemire, whose scoring average dropped about 4 points from the previous season, although he was still the leading the team in scoring and rebounding. The Suns also struggled with Terry Porter's system, and were just 28–23 and had lost their last five games just before the 2009 NBA All-Star game. Stoudemire started for the winning Western Conference in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.

On February 19, in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Stoudemire suffered a detached retina, although he may have injured it earlier as he had been bothered by the same eye even before this game. He had injured the same eye in preseason, although this injury involved a partially torn iris, with no damage to his retina. He said then that he would have to wear protective goggles for the rest of his career, but stopped wearing them after seven games.^[15] Stoudemire underwent eye surgery to repair the retina, and that the recovery would take eight weeks, which would force him to miss the remainder of the regular season.^[16] He announced that he would wear protective goggles when he returned to play the following season.^[17]

Off the court

In November 2008, Stoudemire received the NBA's Community Assist Award, for his work with his Each 1, Teach 1 Foundation, and its efforts to provide safe drinking water in Sierra Leone by funding the building of water wells in impoverished villages. Stoudemire visited the country in Summer 2008, making visits to water well sites and meeting with President Ernest Bai Koroma and the rest of the cabinet.^[18]

Awards/honors

• NBA All-Star: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• All-NBA First Team: 2007
• All-NBA Second Team: 2005, 2008
• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2003
• NBA Rookie of the Year: 2003
• NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge MVP: 2004

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

• Video interview with Amare Stoudemire @ fiba.com
• NBA player profile
• Amar'e Stoudemire at ESPN.com
• Basketball-Reference.com Current Stats