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Eduardo Nájera

Dallas Mavericks  – No. --
Forward
Born	July 11, 1976 (1976-07-11) (age 33) Ciudad Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico
Nationality	Mexican
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
League	NBA
Salary	$3,000,000[1]
High school	Cornerstone Christian Academy (San Antonio, USA)
College	Oklahoma
Draft	2nd round, 38th overall, 2000 Houston Rockets
Pro career	2000–present
Former teams	Dallas Mavericks (2000–2004, 2010–Present) Golden State Warriors (2004–2005) Denver Nuggets (2005–2008) New Jersey Nets (2008–2010)
Awards	1996–97 Big 12 All-Freshman Team 1998–99 Second Team All-Big 12 1999 Top of the World Classic MVP and Champion 1999–2000 Big 12 All-Defensive Team 1999–2000 First Team All-Big 12 1999–2000 Third Team AP All-American 2000 Chip Hilton Player of the Year 2006 Chopper Travaglini Award
Profile	Info Page

Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez^[2] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnaxeɾa]^[3]) (born July 11, 1976 in Chihuahua, Mexico) is a Mexican professional basketball player in the NBA, currently playing reserve forward for the Dallas Mavericks. He is known for his rebounding and his tenacity on defense. He attended Cornerstone Christian Academy High School in San Antonio, Texas, United States.^[2]

Personal information

Eduardo Najera is only the second NBA player that is Mexican-born. He is a son of Servando Najera and Rosa Irene Perez.^[4]

Currently, he and Jennifer, his wife, have a daughter and a son.^[5]

Basketball career

Najera played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, from 1997–2000, becoming a major star there. He helped the team to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances during his college career, as well as finishing in the school's all-time top ten in nine statistical categories. Before being drafted into the NBA in 2000, Najera received rave reviews from scouts, who boasted on Najera's quick first step and extraordinary rebounding ability. He is only the second Mexican-born player to join the NBA.^[3] He was the first Mexican player to be drafted into the NBA (Horacio Llamas being undrafted).^[2]

Najera played for the Mexican team in the 1997 World University Games and helped them achieve a fourth place finish in the 1999 World University Games.^[2]

He saw significant action as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000–01 and 2001–02, but recurrent knee injuries limited his action in his last two years in Dallas.

He played at the first-ever Basketball Without Borders Americas tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the 2004 NBA Summer of Goodwill.^[6]

On August 24, 2004, Najera was traded along with Luis Flores, Christian Laettner, Mladen Sekularac, cash, a 2007 first round draft pick, and another future first round draft pick to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Erick Dampier, Dan Dickau, Evan Eschmeyer, and Steve Logan. In Golden State Najera again put in modest minutes and was a solid contributor.

Najera with the Denver Nuggets

After a very brief stint in Golden State, he was then sent to the Nuggets in a trade on February 24, 2005, where he would have some of his most productive seasons as an NBA player.

Also in 2006, an exhibition match was played in Monterrey, Mexico, between the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets.

On April 27, 2006, Najera started his first playoff game for the Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round series facing the Los Angeles Clippers. He replaced Kenyon Martin who was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team".

He was partly involved in the December 2006 Knicks–Nuggets brawl. While not involved in the actual fighting, he did try to separate the players. He was ejected from the game.

On July 11, he signed a contract with the New Jersey Nets for 4 years $12 million.^{[7 ]} He stated that he would make it a point to turn the Nets' young forwards Yi Jianlian and Ryan Anderson and center Brook Lopez into stronger, tougher players. Najera turned down more money and a chance to return to his college state, Oklahoma City Thunder. He also turned down an offer from a championship contender in the New Orleans Hornets in order to take a chance to lead a young and talented New Jersey team.

On January 11, 2010, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams.

College career stats

Off the court

In 2000, Eduardo Najera was named Third Team All-American by both the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

In 2000, Eduardo Najera graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in sociology.

In 2000, Najera received the Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame, an award given to a player who has demonstrated personal character both on and off the court.^[3]

In 2001, Najera served as the United Nations Drug Control Programme Goodwill Ambassador for Sports Against Drugs. In 2004, he established the Eduardo Najera Foundation for Latino Achievement, which provides college scholarships for outstanding Latino students facing barriers to their educations, and in 2006, he received the Chopper Travaglini Award for demonstrating outstanding charity work in the Denver community.^[8]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

External links

• NBA.com: Eduardo Najera
• http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/najered01.html