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B. J. Armstrong

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This article is about the basketball player. For the lead singer of Green Day, see Billie Joe Armstrong.

Benjamin Roy Armstrong Jr. (born September 9, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Armstrong won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships during his career as a point guard for the Chicago Bulls.

B. J. Armstrong
Personal information
Born (1967-09-09) September 9, 1967 (age 57)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrother Rice
(Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)
CollegeIowa (1985–1989)
NBA draft1989: 1st round, 18th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1989–2000
PositionPoint guard
Number10, 11, 2
Career history
1989–1995Chicago Bulls
1995–1997Golden State Warriors
1997–1999Charlotte Hornets
1999Orlando Magic
1999–2000Chicago Bulls
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points7,320 (9.8 ppg)
Rebounds1,321 (1.8 rpg)
Assists2,479 (3.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
Silver medal – second place 1987 Zagreb National team

Early life

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Armstrong was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. He graduated in 1985.

Playing career

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College career

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Armstrong had an illustrious career at the University of Iowa as the Hawkeyes' all-time leader in assists with 517 upon graduation; and is currently ranked sixth all-time. He also ranked sixth on the school's all-time steals list (178) and fourth in total points (1,705). The 6-foot-2 guard shot .443 (136-of-307) from three-point range over his four-year career and averaged 18.6 points and 5.4 assists as a senior. Armstrong received his bachelor's degree from Iowa in May 1989.

National Basketball Association

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Chicago Bulls

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Selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft,[1] the 6'2" (1.88 m) Armstrong helped the team return to the Eastern Conference Finals after compiling 55 regular season victories in 1990.[2]

In 1991, he helped them win their first NBA title against the Los Angeles Lakers after winning 61 games. In 1992, Armstrong averaged double-digit scoring while coming off the bench behind longtime starter John Paxson to help the Bulls win 67 games and their second straight title. In 1993, he locked down the starting job, contributing to a 57–25 record and the Bulls' third straight title. He also claimed the NBA's three-point field goal percentage crown with a mark of .453 on 63-for-139 shooting.[3]

In 1994, he emerged as more of a leader in the wake of Michael Jordan's abrupt retirement, placing third on the team in scoring. He was voted a starter in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, finished second in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage at .444 while leading the team to a 55–27 record and a second-round exit from the playoffs.

Armstrong finished third in scoring again in 1995 as the Bulls posted a 47–35 record, and with Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoč, led the team to the second round again.

Golden State Warriors

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Armstrong was the first player chosen in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft (via Toronto Raptors) but refused to report. He was traded by the Raptors to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Carlos Rogers and 4 other players and played for the Warriors in 1996 and in 1997.

Charlotte Hornets

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Four games into the 1997–98 season, Armstrong was acquired by the Charlotte Hornets for Tony Delk and Muggsy Bogues, playing 62 games that year. He also played 10 games for the Hornets in the 1999 season before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, alongside J.R. Reid and Glen Rice, for Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones. The Lakers immediately waived Armstrong, and he signed by the Orlando Magic in March of that year.

Orlando Magic

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Armstrong was signed by the Orlando Magic in March of the 1998–99 NBA season.

Return to Chicago

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On August 30, 1999, he was again signed by the Bulls and played the 1999–2000 season and retired at the end of the season, ending his career with the team that drafted him and with which he spent much of his playing career.

Later endeavors

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Armstrong stepped into Chicago's front office as a special assistant to Vice President of Basketball Operations Jerry Krause. Having replaced Paxson as the Bulls' starting point guard years before, Armstrong was himself replaced by Paxson as hire to the GM job in Chicago when Krause resigned in 2003. Armstrong remained with the organization as a scout for a couple of seasons, leaving in 2005.[4]

Armstrong served as a basketball analyst for ESPN's NBA Fast Break series. Since 2006 he has also been employed by Wasserman Media Group, a sports marketing and representation group out of Los Angeles, California representing professional athletes and entertainers.[5] He currently serves as an agent for Derrick Rose, who was the first player selected in the 2008 NBA draft. He also serves as an agent for Bismack Biyombo, Emmanuel Mudiay, Donatas Motiejūnas, JaVale McGee,[6] Denzel Valentine, and Josh Jackson.

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  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
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1989–90 Chicago 81 0 15.9 .485 .500 .885 1.3 2.5 0.6 0.1 5.6
1990–91† Chicago 82 0 21.1 .481 .500 .874 1.8 3.7 0.9 0.0 8.8
1991–92† Chicago 82 3 22.9 .481 .402 .806 1.8 3.2 0.6 0.1 9.9
1992–93† Chicago 82 74 30.4 .499 .453* .861 1.8 4.0 0.8 0.1 12.3
1993–94 Chicago 82* 82* 33.8 .476 .444 .855 2.1 3.9 1.0 0.1 14.8
1994–95 Chicago 82* 82* 31.4 .468 .427 .884 2.3 3.0 1.0 0.1 14.0
1995–96 Golden State 82 64 27.6 .468 .473 .839 2.2 4.9 0.8 0.1 12.3
1996–97 Golden State 49 17 20.8 .453 .278 .861 1.5 2.6 0.5 0.0 7.9
1997–98 Golden State 4 0 14.8 .316 .000 .714 1.8 1.5 1.0 0.0 4.3
1997–98 Charlotte 62 0 12.5 .510 .265 .860 1.1 2.3 0.4 0.0 3.9
1998–99 Charlotte 10 1 17.8 .488 .750 .900 1.6 2.7 0.3 0.0 5.7
1998–99 Orlando 22 0 8.2 .422 .143 .818 1.0 1.5 0.4 0.0 2.2
1999–00 Chicago 27 18 21.6 .446 .448 .880 1.7 2.9 0.3 0.0 7.4
Career 747 341 23.8 .477 .425 .856 1.8 3.3 0.7 0.1 9.8
All-Star 1 1 22.0 .556 .500 – 1.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 11.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990 Chicago 16 0 13.6 .339 .000 .917 1.3 1.8 0.6 0.0 4.0
1991† Chicago 17 0 16.1 .500 .600 .800 1.6 2.5 1.1 0.1 5.5
1992† Chicago 22 0 19.7 .453 .294 .789 1.1 2.1 0.6 0.0 7.3
1993† Chicago 19 19 33.8 .524 .512 .909 1.5 3.3 1.0 0.1 11.4
1994 Chicago 10 10 36.0 .519 .583 .818 2.4 2.5 0.8 0.0 15.3
1995 Chicago 10 10 28.8 .456 .448 .818 1.8 2.7 0.6 0.0 10.3
1998 Charlotte 9 0 16.2 .381 .400 .750 1.1 2.0 0.7 0.0 4.1
1999 Orlando 2 0 1.5 .000 – – 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0
Career 105 39 22.5 .471 .451 .832 1.4 2.4 0.8 0.0 7.9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ CHICAGO BULLS: Transaction History
  2. ^ NBA.com – Chicago Bulls History
  3. ^ B.J. ARMSTRONG – NBA.COM PLAYER BIO Archived March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Armstrong leaves Bulls". The State. Associated Press. May 12, 2005. p. C5. Retrieved May 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Nadkarni, Rohan (November 20, 2020). "B.J. Armstrong Draws on His Career to Help Young Players Navigate the NBA". SI. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Shaq drops his Twitter feud with JaVale McGee on orders from the top". February 27, 2017.
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