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24 Jamal Mashburn

Name
Jamal Mashburn
Position
Forward
Class
JR
Hometown (Last School)
Bronx, NY (Cardinal Hayes)
Ht
6'8"
Wt
240
Seasons
1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93
Birthday
November 29, 1972

Jamal Mashburn was born November 29, 1972, in New York City to Bobby, a former heavyweight boxer and New York City police officer, and Helen Mashburn.  Growing up playing basketball, he pretended to be Magic Johnson.  He played high school basketball at Cardinal Hayes High School in The Bronx. Mashburn learned the game at Rucker Park, just a block away from where he grew up.  He averaged 26.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game his senior year and led his team to the Catholic High School championship with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals while playing “point forward.”  Cardinal Hayes defeated All Hallows—USA Today’s preseason No. 2 team—52-46 for the title to capture its first championship in 46 years.  ln the three championship games, he scored 73 points, had 28 rebounds, and dished out 13 assists to earn MVP honors.  Cardinal Hayes lost in the semifinals of the state championships to eventual champ Grady where he ended his senior year with 22 points and nine rebounds.  Named Player of the Year for New York by Newsday and was first-team All-New York by the New York Daily News and the New York Post.  He scored a career-high 40 points against LaSalle High.  Mashburn is the all-time leading scorer in Cardinal Hayes.  He was a Second-team Parade All-American and Mr. New York Basketball in 1990.

Nicknamed “The Monster Mash,” he was the single most important Wildcat in the post-probation era. He displayed plenty of courage by choosing to buck the odds and sign on with the scandal-scarred Wildcats. Had he not done so, the resurrection of UK’s basketball program would have taken much longer. He was the athlete, the complete basketball player that Rick Pitino needed to help kick start the program and the recruiting process. He could score, pass, rebound and defend. He scored 1,843 points – currently 6th best in UK history – although he only played in 98 games as a Wildcat. He was a consensus All-America pick in 1993.

Mashburn started all 28 games of his freshman year, averaging 12.9 points per game on Pitino’s second UK team, which finished with a 22-6 record.  He set a UK freshman single-game scoring record with 31 points vs. Georgia in Lexington.  That same game he also had eight rebounds, four block and six steals.  He finished second on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.2 per game.  He was the Player of the Game vs. Mississippi State in Lexington after recording 24 points, eight rebounds, four steals and one blocked shot and Player of the Game vs. Vanderbilt after a 17-point, six-rebound effort.  He was named SEC Rookie of the Week twice.

As a sophomore, he averaged a team-best 21.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.  Selected First Team All-SEC by Associated Press and Coaches.  He scored 28 points to lead UK to SEC Tournament title, and was named Tourney MVP.  Selected as member of the All-East Regional team in the NCAA Tournament.  Had scored 1,129 points to date, placing him 33rd on the UK all-time scoring list after just two seasons and he was only the 15th sophomore in SEC history to score 1,000 or more points.  He also surpassed Rex Chapman’s record for most points in a season by a UK sophomore (Chapman scored 609 in 1987-88; Mashburn scored 767 in 1991-92).  Mashburn had the second- highest scoring season ever by a Kentucky player … Scored a “double-double” in 11 games, to bring his career total to 17 double-doubles.  He also broke Chapman’s record for three-point field goal percentage in a season; Chapman shot 41.5% in 1981-88, Mashburn shot 43.9% in 1991-92.  He finished top 15 in the SEC in seven different statistical — scoring (21.3, 3rd), rebounding (7.8, categories field goal percentage (56.7, 5th), three-point percentage (43.9, 4th), three-point goals per game (1.6, 15th), free throw percentage (70.9, 14th), and steals (1.8, 7th).  After four NCAA Tournament games, had scored more points (96) than any player in the tourney (later surpassed by Christian Laettner of Duke in the NCAA Finals).  He’s probably most remember for his outstanding game against Duke in NCAA East Regional finals which included 28 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three three-pointers.

In what turned out to be his final season at UK, he averaged 21 points and 8.3 rebounds. He had 38 points and 19 rebounds against Eastern Kentucky. He also hit for 30 against Georgia. He scored 29 in a big 81-78 win over Indiana. Mashburn was a model of consistency that season, hitting 20 or more in 21 of UK’s 34 games. He scored 23 in UK’s 92-81 SEC tourney semi-final win over Arkansas, then came back with 17 in an 82-65 win over LSU in the title game. He had 19 and 23 in NCAA tourney wins over Utah and Wake Forest. He racked up 26 points before fouling out with 3:23 left in overtime in UK’s 81-78 loss to Michigan in the Final Four. Mashburn earned All-SEC honors in each of his three seasons as a Wildcat. He finished with an 18.8 scoring average and hit on 37.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

  • Led Kentucky back to the Final Four in 1993, its first appearance in nearly a decade
  • NCAA Consensus First Team All-American in 1993
  • Also picked up All-America Second Team honors from the Basketball Times in 1992
  • SEC Player of the Year in 1993
  • Made the All-NCAA Tournament Final Four Team and NCAA All-Regional Team in 1993
  • Also tabbed to the NCAA All-Regional Team in 1992
  • Three-time All-SEC member, including first-team nods in 1992 and 1993
  • Won the 1992 SEC Tournament MVP
  • All-SEC Freshman Team in 1991
  • Guided Kentucky to back-to-back SEC Tournament championships in 1992 and 1993
  • Finished his career with 1,843 points, which was ranked fourth all time at the completion of his career
  • Averaged double figures in all three seasons, including 21.0 or more in his final two seasons
  • Averaged 18.8 points for his career
  • At the completion of his career, his 776 points as a sophomore were the second most in a single season in UK history

Mashburn was inducted into the Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.

Mashburn was drafted 4th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1993 draft.  Mashburn was very successful as a rookie, leading all rookies with 19.2 points per game and breaking seven separate Mavericks rookie records along the way to an All-Rookie Team selection.

In his second year, along with third-year pro Jim Jackson and rookie Jason Kidd (collectively known as ‘Triple J’), Mashburn led the Dallas Mavericks to the biggest turnaround in the NBA that year. He is the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points in an NBA game (Brandon Jennings is the youngest). He also broke many franchise records and blossomed into one of the best scoring forwards in the league.

However, injuries reduced Mashburn’s value and he was traded to the Miami Heat in the middle of the 1996-97 season. He played a reduced role in the Heat’s offense, so his offensive production dipped. In 2000, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets where, as leader of a young squad of players, he took on more of the scoring load and in 2003 was selected to the All-Star Game in Atlanta, playing for the East. In his first All-Star appearance, he scored 10 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 14 minutes of play in a 155-145 double-overtime loss to the West.

Mashburn continued his stellar play in the 2003-04 season, but injuries plagued him for most of the year and he managed to play in only 19 games. Bothered by problems with his right knee (patella femoral irritation), he decided to sit out the 2004-05 season in hopes that his knee would recover. He had microfracture surgery performed on his knee, a risky surgery that not all players have been able to recover from.

Despite his decision to sit out the year due to his knee, the Hornets still traded Mashburn, along with Rodney Rogers, to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for forward Glenn Robinson on February 24, 2005. Mashburn was never able to recover from his chronic knee problems and never saw court time for Philadelphia. He was on the injured list for all of the 2004-05 season and the inactive list for 2005-06. On March 24, 2006, the 76ers waived Mashburn, who subsequently announced his retirement from the NBA. He had career averages of 19.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Mashburn, who averaged 20.8 points per game in 2003-04, is one of only six players since 1970 to have averaged at least 20 points per game in his final NBA season. The other five are Jerry West (20.3 in ’73-74), Larry Bird (20.2 in ’91-92), Drazen Petrovic (22.3 in ’92-93), Reggie Lewis (20.8 in ’92-93), and Michael Jordan (20.0 in ’02-03).

Mashburn is involved in numerous investments that span an impressive variety of industries. Of particular interest to Mashburn is his majority interest in automotive dealerships and real estate in the Lexington/Central Kentucky market area. These include Toyota/Scion, Lexus and Porsche dealerships (Mashburn serves as Dealer Principal of Porsche of Lexington and is owner of Kentucky’s Toyota on Nicholasville and Lexus Store of Lexington).  As of 2022, he owned over 90 businesses, including 38 Outback Steakhouse franchises, 40 Papa John’s franchises and three Dunkin Donut stores.  Mashburn is a partner in Ol Memorial Stable, along with former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino and Outback Steakhouse co-founder Chris T. Sullivan.  Most recently, Mashburn’s basketball expertise has earned him a seat in front of the camera as a NBA analyst for ESPN.

Extremely civic-minded, Mashburn is committed to helping others and giving back to the community. In 1993, before he ever signed his first professional basketball contract, he donated $500,000 to establish and endow the Mashburn Scholarship Fund at the University of Kentucky. The scholarship identifies ninth grade students in the Lexington, Kentucky, area, tracks them through high school, and then awards them a full scholarship to attend the University of Kentucky or Bluegrass Community and Technical College in the event they achieve their academic and personal goals. He is also a founding member, officer, and director of The MAP Foundation (focused on youth mentoring) and Mashburn Family Foundation (offering programs and support for latch-key children and children of alcoholics and single mothers), both of which are non-profit 501(c)(3) corporations. In 20011 Mashburn held a seat on the Board of Directors for the National Forest Foundation and has served on the Advisory Board for Central Bank & Trust Company in Lexington, KY from 2005-2008. Mashburn also ensures that each of his businesses actively participate in their local communities by way of donations to various charitable organizations.

In 2013, Mashburn received an honorary doctorate of humanities from the University of Kentucky for his contributions to the school, state, and community.

Mashburn lives in Miami, Florida.

College Statistics:

NCAA

SeasonTeamMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Kentucky677137289248264888810790425615373622824.247.4072.7328.927.01.51.30.512.9
Kentucky117627949258132151213102179116528423657673632.656.7170.8943.947.81.41.80.621.3
Kentucky1109259526661801301941141709212410315517143432.749.2467.0136.678.43.61.50.421.0
Total-296267513071483943454953044562982182435315318439830.251.6469.7037.477.82.21.60.518.8

Career Totals

SeasonMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1990-91677137289248264888810790425615373622824.247.4072.7328.927.01.51.30.512.9
1991-92117627949258132151213102179116528423657673632.656.7170.8943.947.81.41.80.621.3
1992-931109259526661801301941141709212410315517143432.749.2467.0136.678.43.61.50.421.0
Total296267513071483943454953044562982182435315318439830.251.6469.7037.477.82.21.60.518.8

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club.  He did it in 54 games.

 

On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.

 

On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.

 

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