Nick Van Exel’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro American basketball player
A.K.A. Nickey Maxwell Van Exel
Is Athlete 
Basketball player 
Sports coach 
Basketball coach 
From United States of America 
Type Sports 
Gender male
Birth 27 November 1971, Kenosha, USA
Age: 48 years
Star sign Sagittarius
Stats
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 77 kg
Education
St. Joseph High School
Sports Teams
Texas Southern Tigers men’s basketball
Portland Trail Blazers
Golden State Warriors
San Antonio Spurs
Atlanta Hawks
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Los Angeles Lakers

Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA teams from 1993 through 2006. He was an NBA All-Star with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998.

Van Exel played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats, earning third-team All-American honors as a senior in 1993. He was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 1993 NBA draft. In his first season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Early life and education

Van Exel was raised primarily by his mother, Joyce. He attended St. Joseph High School, a private high school in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He played from 1987 to 1989 and scored 1,282 points, including 772 as a senior. He led the WISAA (private schools) state tournament in scoring as a junior and senior when his team lost in the finals both years. He was named to the Associated Press all-state team as a senior.

College career

Van Exel wanted to play college basketball, but his grades weren’t high enough to qualify for a top-flight program, so he went to junior college at Trinity Valley Community College for two years. He applied himself to his studies and qualified to enroll at the University of Cincinnati and play for Bearcats coach Bob Huggins.

Prior to Van Exel’s arrival, the Bearcats had gone 18-12. In 1991–92, with Van Exel as starting point guard averaging 12.3 points and 2.9 assists per game, the Bearcats went 29-5, won their league tournament, and won four NCAA tournament games to advance to the NCAA Final Four, where they were defeated by Michigan and their “Fab Five.”

In his senior year, Van Exel led Cincinnati with 18.3 points and 4.5 assists per game as the team went 27-5, again won their league tournament, and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight before falling in overtime to North Carolina. Van Exel earned Third-team All-America honors (AP, Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly) and was a finalist for the Wooden Award for player of the year. In only two seasons, he became Cincinnati’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made (147), attempted (411), and percentage (.358). These records have since been surpassed.

Professional career

In a 13-year NBA career, Van Exel played for the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Van Exel’s career began when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round as the 37th overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft. Van Exel and Eddie Jones were the centerpiece of the Lakers’ rebuilding plan after the end of their successful Showtime era in the early ’90s. Led by Van Exel’s flashy play, the two guards helped the team to the playoffs in 1995 after the Lakers had missed the postseason for the first time in years in 1994. Van Exel was known for his shooting streaks, buzzer-beating shots, and speed, earning him the nickname “Nick the Quick”.

During his career with the Lakers, Van Exel averaged 14.9 points per game as well as 7.3 assists per game, finishing in the top 10 in the NBA in that category twice. In 1996, during a game against the Denver Nuggets, he pushed a referee, resulting in an ejection, seven-game suspension, and $187,000 fine.

On June 24, 1998, after five seasons as the starting point guard, Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Tony Battie and the draft rights to Tyronn Lue.

Playing on a Nuggets team which was one of the worst in the league, Van Exel achieved several career highs. Over four seasons he put up averages of 17.7 ppg and 8.4 apg, averaging 21.4 ppg through 45 games of the 2001–02 season.

On February 21, 2002, he was traded by the Nuggets along with Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks for Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway, and a 2002 first-round pick.

In Dallas, Van Exel played a smaller role but contributed effectively by creating scoring opportunities and scoring key three-pointers. He averaged 12.5 ppg during the 2002–03 season, and nearly 20 ppg in the 2003 playoffs, carrying the offensive load for the Mavericks in a tight series against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 36 and 40 points in back-to-back wins in games 2 and 3.

Van Exel was traded on August 18, 2003 to the Golden State Warriors along with Evan Eschmeyer, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones, and Antoine Rigaudeau in exchange for Antawn Jamison, Chris Mills, Danny Fortson, and Jiří Welsch. During the 2003–04 season, he played in a career-low 39 games, averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.3 apg.

On July 20, 2004, he was traded by Golden State to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Dale Davis and Dan Dickau. With the Blazers he played in only 53 games, averaging 11 ppg.

Van Exel was waived by Portland on August 3, 2005, and he signed with the San Antonio Spurs on August 29. After signing, Van Exel stated that it would be his last season in an NBA uniform. Due to knee and elbow injuries, he only played in 65 games during the 2005–06 season. He averaged career lows in almost every statistical category, including points (5.5 ppg) and minutes (15 mpg). In the playoffs, San Antonio was eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in a series that lasted seven games. Two days later, on May 24, 2006, ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon reported on their show Pardon the Interruption that Van Exel would soon announce his retirement.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1993–94 L.A. Lakers 81 80 33.3 .394 .338 .781 2.9 5.8 1.0 .1 13.6
1994–95 L.A. Lakers 80 80 36.8 .420 .358 .783 2.8 8.3 1.2 .1 16.9
1995–96 L.A. Lakers 74 74 34.0 .417 .357 .799 2.4 6.9 .9 .1 14.9
1996–97 L.A. Lakers 79 79 37.2 .402 .378 .825 2.9 8.5 .9 .1 15.3
1997–98 L.A. Lakers 64 46 32.1 .419 .389 .791 3.0 6.9 1.0 .1 13.8
1998–99 Denver 50 50 36.0 .398 .308 .811 2.3 7.4 .8 .1 16.5
1999–00 Denver 79 79 37.3 .390 .332 .817 3.9 9.0 .9 .1 16.1
2000–01 Denver 71 70 28.7 .414 .377 .819 3.4 8.5 .9 .3 17.7
2001–02 Denver 45 44 38.6 .408 .337 .782 3.8 8.1 .7 .2 21.4
2001–02 Dallas 27 2 28.0 .411 .347 .844 3.1 4.2 .5 .1 13.2
2002–03 Dallas 73 1 27.8 .412 .378 .764 2.8 4.3 .6 .1 12.5
2003–04 Golden State 39 29 32.2 .390 .307 .707 2.7 5.3 .5 .1 12.6
2004–05 Portland 53 34 30.5 .381 .389 .784 3.0 4.3 .8 .0 11.1
2005–06 San Antonio 65 2 15.2 .397 .357 .683 1.4 1.9 .2 .0 5.5
Career 880 670 32.9 .405 .357 .794 2.9 6.6 .8 .1 14.4
All-Star 1 0 20.0 .357 .167 1.000 3.0 2.0 .21 .0 13.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1995 L.A. Lakers 10 10 46.4 .414 .318 .763 3.8 7.3 2.1 .3 20.0
1996 L.A. Lakers 4 4 34.3 .296 .313 .769 4.0 6.8 .5 .0 11.8
1997 L.A. Lakers 9 9 39.2 .378 .273 .824 3.4 6.4 1.1 .0 14.4
1998 L.A. Lakers 13 0 28.2 .331 .314 .725 2.5 4.2 .6 .1 11.6
2002 Dallas 8 1 33.0 .366 .206 .667 3.0 3.9 1.0 .0 11.1
2003 Dallas 20 3 33.6 .460 .393 .703 3.4 4.1 .6 .0 19.5
2006 San Antonio 12 0 11.1 .219 .300 1.000 1.0 1.4 .3 .2 2.2
Career 76 27 31.4 .394 .324 .753 2.9 4.5 .8 .1 13.6

Coaching career

Texas Southern University hired Van Exel as an assistant coach to the Tigers men’s basketball team on October 15, 2009.

On September 8, 2010, the Atlanta Hawks hired Van Exel as a player development instructor. Van Exel remained in that position for the 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13 seasons. In 2013–14, he served as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.

On July 8, 2015, Van Exel was named head coach of the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League replacing Eduardo Nájera

On June 8, 2016, Van Exel was hired by the Memphis Grizzlies to serve as an assistant coach.

Player highlights

  • Van Exel was the last Laker to score in the Boston Garden when he nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lakers the win.
  • He hit a pair of clutch three-pointers for the Lakers in game 5 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. The first one sent the game into overtime, while the second one decided the game.
  • He recorded a career-high 23 assists on January 5, 1997, against the Vancouver Grizzlies. This record has come under scrutiny when it was admitted by the scorekeeper for the Grizzlies that he intentionally inflated Van Exel’s assist total due to the scorekeeper’s displeasure with the NBA’s scorekeeping system and wanted to prove its inaccuracy.
  • He finished in the top 15 in assists in eight of 13 seasons.
  • Coming into the 2005–06 season, Van Exel was first all-time among Los Angeles Lakers in three-point field goals made with 750. Midway through the season, he was surpassed by Kobe Bryant.
  • He twice scored a career single-game high of 44 points, both for the Nuggets—on April 15, 2000 against the Los Angeles Clippers (along with eight assists) and on November 1, 2001 (again with eight assists) against the Milwaukee Bucks.
  • Van Exel was famous throughout his playing career for his peculiar free-throw routine, in which he took his free throw attempts while standing well over a foot behind the free-throw line.

Career awards and recognition

  • For helping his team reach the final 4 in 1992 and the elite 8 in 1993, Van Exel was honored by the University of Cincinnati as he was inducted into the James P. Kelly Sr. Athletic Hall of Fame
  • Named an NBA All-Star in 1998, along with three of his Lakers teammates
  • Member of the 1994 All-Rookie Second Team
  • Earned third-team All-America honors in 1993

Personal life

Van Exel once appeared on an episode of MTV Cribs.

On January 31, 2013, Van Exel’s 22-year-old son, Nickey Van Exel, was convicted of murdering his friend and sentenced to 60 years in prison. Nickey fatally shot his best friend and dumped his body in Lake Ray Hubbard. This was done in fear that his friend, Bradley Eyo, would tell authorities about a string of robberies the two had committed together.

You May Also Like

Alyssa Milano’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Alyssa Milano Net Worth and Salary: Alyssa Milano is an American actress, producer and singer who has a net worth of $10 million dollars. Alyssa Milano became a household name in the 1980s with her starring role on the sitcom “Who’s the Boss?”. She appeared in several television movies in the 1990s, and starred in the television series “Charmed”. Other notable roles of hers include the short-lived sitcom “Romantically Challenged” and the film “Hall Pass”. Early Life and Career Beginnings: Alyssa Jayne Milano was born on December 19, 1972, in Brooklyn, New York City. Her parents are Lin Milano, a fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film-music editor. Their family are of Italian descent, and she was raised Roman Catholic. Milano has a younger brother, Cory, who is younger than her by a decade. When Milano was 7 years old, her babysitter took her to an audition for a national touring company of “Annie”. This happened without Milano’s parents’ permission. Milano made it through the auditions, and was actually chosen for one of the four principal parts, beating out more than 1,500 other girls. While she was in the play, Milano and her mother traveled the United States with the touring company and were on the road for 18 months. Upon their return to New York, Milano began appearing in various television commercials, and also in different off-Broadway stage productions. Career: In August 1984, when she was 11 years old, Milano made her film debut in the drama “Old Enough”. The film won First Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. She then landed the role of the daughter of Tony Danza’s character on the sitcom “Who’s the Boss?”, and the show began airing on ABC in September 1984. To support her career, her whole family actually moved out to Los Angeles that year, where the show was filmed and produced. She starred on the show for 8 seasons, until it’s end in 1992, for a total of 196 episodes. This role established her as a household name and teen idol, and opened up the opportunity for her to take on many more roles. For example, when she was 12 years old, she co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Commando” (1985). On stage, she starred in productions like “Tender Offer” by Wendy Wasserstein; “All Night Long” by John O’Keefe; and “Butterflies Are Free” in Los Angeles (December 1991 – January 1992). After a Japanese producer saw her perform, Milano was offered a five-album record deal. She ended up only releasing four studio albums: “Look in My Heart” (1989), “Alyssa” (1989), “Locked Inside a Dream” (1991), and “Do You See Me?” (1992). The general sound of the albums are described by Milano herself as “bubblegum pop”, and she has been openly critical of their musical quality. Her musical career actually did not fare too badly overseas; she achieve platinum status in Japan. But she did not pursue a music career back in the United States, saying that she would “much rather have [her music] released where it’s appreciated than laughed at”. She continued to work on various projects, including producing a teen workout video “Teen Steam”, as well as starring in things like the television films “Crash Course” (1988) and “Dance til’ Dawn” (1988); and the independent film “Where the Day Takes You” (1992). In an attempt to distance herself from the “nice girl” image established by her work on “Who’s the Boss?”, Milano appeared in a number of erotic films like “Embrace of the Vampire” (1995) and “Deadly Sins” (1995). In these films, she appeared in several nude scenes. From 1995 to 1998, Milano starred in seasons 5-7 of “Melrose Place”, as the character Jennifer Mancini. After leaving “Melrose Place”, she joined the cast of “Charmed” as the character Phoebe Halliwell. The show ran for 8 seasons, until 2006. In addition to starring on “Charmed”, Milano also became a producer on the show beginning with the fifth season. She has gone on to appear on shows like “Mistresses” (2013-2014) and “Insatiable” (2018-2019). On top of her television work, Milano has also appeared in films like “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” (2010) and “Hall Pass” (2011). Salary: At the peak of her time on “Charmed”, Alyssa earned $90,000 per episode which worked out to around $2 million per season. Personal Life: From 1987 to 1990, Milano was in a relationship with the actor Corey Haim, who struggled with addiction throughout the duration of their relationship. Supposedly, Milano and his manager tried unsuccessfully to get him professional help. In 1993, she became engaged to fellow actor Scott Wolf. However, they ended their engagement and separated just a year later. She revealed in 2019 that, despite being on birth control at the time, she had actually gotten pregnant with Wolf and undergone two abortions in 1993 while they were still together. In 2008, Milano became engaged to David Bugliari, an agent at Creative Artists Agency, after a year of dating. They got married at Bugliari’s family home in August 2009. Together, they have two children, a son born in August 2011, and a daughter born in September 2014. Financial Lawsuit: In 2017, Milano sued a former business manager who reportedly left her millions of dollars in debt and ruined her credit. Milano sued her accountant for allegedly allowing the costs of a home renovation to soar to $5 million. After the renovations, the home was worth $3 million. Milano was under the impression her finances were perfectly fine and turned down lucrative acting roles, but in reality she and her husband were millions of dollars in debt. Her accountant reportedly failed to make payments to the IRS which led to millions of dollars in penalties and unpaid taxes. She further alleged that the accountant forged her name to make bad investments in things like a parking lot. In the wake of the financial problems, Milano has put her $2 million West Hollywood condo up for sale and is actively seeking work.
Read More

Paul Williams’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Paul Williams net worth: Paul Williams is an American boxer who has a net worth of $3 million dollars. Born in Augusta, Georgia, Paul Williams began boxing professionally in 2000. He won his first bout, and his subsequent thirty matches, before finally losing a match in 2008. Along the way, he outboxed an Olympic Bronze medalist, defeated formerly undefeated Walter Matthysse, and won his match against junior welterweight champion Sharmba Mitchell. He won his first Welterweight title in 2007, and then lost it the following year, but regained it in a rematch a few months later. He then won the Interim Light Middleweight title later that same year. He began fighting in the Middleweight division in 2009, but was not able to claim the title, though he did retain the Light Middleweight title. In May of 2012, while out riding his motorcycle, he swerved to avoid a car, and was thrown from his bike. His spinal cord was severed, and he is now paralyzed from the waist down, effectively ending his boxing career. During his career, he had 41 wins – 27 by knockout, and 2 losses.
Read More