Mike Bibby

Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player.

He played professionally for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He last served as the head coach for Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bibby played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, with whom he won the 1997 NCAA Championship.

As a freshman at Arizona playing under coach Lute Olson, Bibby helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA championship in 1997, scoring 19 points in the overtime, 84–79 NCAA Championship Game win versus the University of Kentucky and finished third in the voting for the 1998 Wooden Award.

He was selected to the ’97 All-Final Four Team, after also being named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year after posting averages of 13.5 ppg, 5.2 apg and 3.2 rpg.

Bibby and his father are one of four father-son duos to each win an NCAA basketball championship.

His sophomore year was just as impressive, as he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year (1997–98), after averaging 17.2 ppg, 5.7 apg, and 3.0 rpg (.464 FG%, .387 3FG%, .755 FT%).

He started all 69 games during his Wildcat career and earned First-Team All-America honors after his sophomore campaign.

He was drafted second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1998 NBA draft.

He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season with the Grizzlies.

He also played for the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.

Bibby attended Shadow Mountain High School, and won an Arizona state championship as a point guard under coach Jerry Conner.

He is the son of professional basketball player Henry Bibby and the nephew of Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bibby.

Following his sophomore season, Bibby entered the 1998 NBA Draft and was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the second overall pick.

In his first rookie season, Bibby averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game, earning NBA All-Rookie honors during the season which was abbreviated by a labor dispute.

He improved those numbers in his next two seasons with the team, averaging 14.5 points per game during the 99-00 season and 15.9 points per game as well as what would be a career-best 8.4 assists per game during the 00-01 season, but the Grizzlies continued to struggle.

The next season, Bibby averaged 15 points, 5 assists and 1.2 steals per game to help the Hawks win their first playoff series since 1999, against the Miami Heat.

The Hawks lost in the conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On January 16, 2000 and April 2, 2000, Bibby twice tied Vancouver's franchise record for steals in a single game with seven.

On June 27, 2001, Bibby and Brent Price were traded to the Sacramento Kings for Jason Williams and Nick Anderson.

In his first season with Sacramento, Bibby formed one of the league's best duos alongside Chris Webber.

The two of them guided the Kings to an NBA best-record at 61–21 and a Pacific division title over their archrivals the Los Angeles Lakers, who at the time were the two-time defending NBA Champions.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, they easily defeated the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, setting up a Western Conference Finals match-up against the Lakers.

The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers was one of the most memorable in league history.

Bibby's performance during the series, perhaps most memorably his Game 5 game-winner, earned him a reputation as a clutch performer, and as a reward, he was granted a 7-year, $80.5 million contract.

During the 2002–03 season, Bibby was hampered by injuries, playing in only 55 games, but still averaged a respectable 15.9 points per game with the Kings going 59–23 and securing second seed in the West, as well as a second-consecutive division title.

They faced the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks in the first two rounds respectively for the second consecutive playoffs, but after defeating the Jazz, 4–1, lost to the Mavericks in seven games.

The Kings had lost Chris Webber to season-ending injury in game 2 against Dallas, but still forced the series to seven games.

For the 2003–04 season, Bibby posted some of the best numbers of his career, scoring 1,506 points (18.4 per game) and helping the Kings reach the playoffs.

Bibby helped to lift the Kings over the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, scoring a career playoff-best 36 points in the clinching Game 5.

They would go on to lose in the second round for the second consecutive year, this time to the Minnesota Timberwolves 4–3.

The next two seasons would see Sacramento taking yet another step backwards, losing in the opening round of the playoffs in both years.

During the 2005–06 season, Bibby started all 82 games, and averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game.

They would lose in the first round of the playoffs to the defending-champion Spurs 4–2.

On February 16, 2008 the Atlanta Hawks acquired Bibby in exchange for Shelden Williams, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round draft pick (which was used to select Sean Singletary.

Battling injuries and joining a Hawks team that was 22–28, Bibby put up 14.1 points and 6.6 assists per game while working in an unfamiliar offense to lead the Hawks to their first playoff berth in eight years.

Despite being the eighth seed and expected to be swept out of the first round, Bibby helped the Hawks force an improbable seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, who went on to win the NBA Championship.

Bibby was made a guest of honor by the Sacramento Kings, as he sat court side to watch the game against the Chicago Bulls on November 20, 2014.

Along with former teammate Chris Webber, the pair were introduced to the crowd along with video clips as part of the team honoring its legends.