Dale Ellis, the first generation of Thunder three-pointer killing god

Dale Ellis

2m 01 forward guard has a long career, played for 17 years and retired at the age of 40.

made 1,719 three-pointers in his career, the 35th in history. He was slowly surpassed by his juniors. After all, his peak period was in the 1980s.

career three-point shooting percentage, 40.3%, the 36th in history, the old rules, from the beginning.

Ellis studied at the University of Tennessee, which specializes in shooting, and is a senior at Central Shooting King Houston. Ellis averaged 22.6 points and 6.5 rebounds in his senior year, with a shooting percentage of 60%. He was selected for the National United States first team. At that time, the university had not yet introduced three-pointers.

The 1983 draft, with the ninth pick in the first round, he was selected by the Mavericks.

But for Dallas, who already has singles king Aguirre and shooter Blackman, Ellis is not only the icing on the cake, but even a little redundant. Everyone is young and can't play so many people with a ball.

Poor Ellis, who sat on the bench in Dallas for three years, did nothing, just like O'O of the Trail Blazers and McGrady of the Raptors.

The German pioneer Schramf was also the same as him.

But in those years, in the era when three-pointers were not valued, he had already used three-pointers as a conventional weapon. In 1985, he made 42 three-pointers, ranking 9th; in 1986, he had 63 three-pointers, ranking 4th! He is just a substitute! In 1986, Ellis was 26 years old.

This summer, the Mavericks sent him to the Supersonics in exchange for Al Wude, who was a swingman in the forward guard and averaged 11.6 points per game in 1986, but he disappeared after a year of playing.

And Ellis came to the supersonic speed and was soaring!

He firmly took up the main shooting guard, and his average score soared from 7.1 points to 24.9 points! The shooting percentage is 52%, and the three-point shooting percentage is 36%! He made 86 three-pointers throughout the season, ranking third! He shot 240 three-pointers throughout the season, the first in the league!

He and white power forward Chambers (23.3 points per game) and small forward McDaniel (23 points per game), formed three Musketeers and led the Supersonics to return to the playoffs!

Ellis won the Fastest Progressive Player Award.

However, only Chambers was selected into the All-Star Game at the Supersonics, and he was replaced by the host's light, but Chambers was very successful and actually left the All-Star MVP!

Superonics ranked 7th in the Western Conference. In the first round, they challenged the Mavericks. Facing the old owner, Ellis went wild, scoring 32 points in the second game and 43 points in the third game. He led the team to score three consecutive games while falling behind 0-1, completing the "Black 7"! In the semi-finals, they met the Rockets who completed "Black 6". Two dark horses met. The Supersonics became even darker and advanced 4-2. Ellis averaged 28.5 points per game and made 9 of 23 three-pointers.

Western Conference Finals, Lakers.

Facing the real king, Ellis averaged only 16 points per game and had no chance to take three-pointers. He only scored 5 shots in the entire series, all of which were missed. The Lakers swept 4-0 directly to advance.

But for Ellis, good days have just begun.

In the 1987-88 season, Ellis was still the team's number one scorer, averaging 25.8 points, a shooting percentage of 50%, and a three-point shooting percentage of up to 41%! He made 109 three-pointers throughout the season, ranking third!

But he still missed the All-Star. His playing style is not popular among fans and lacks viewing. He failed to enter the top 10 Western Conference defenders during the voting stage. This year, McDaniel represented the Supersonics to participate in the All-Star.

In this playoffs, the Supersonics met the Nuggets. The two offensive teams opened and played a big run and shot. This time, the Supersonics failed to create a miracle and were unfortunately eliminated 2-3. Ellis averaged 21 points per game.

In the 1988-89 season, Ellis scored his best career performance, averaging 27.5 points per game and a three-point shooting percentage of 47%! Ranked second! !

made 162 three-pointers throughout the season, ranking second, not Bird or Miller, but Michael Adams, a 1.78-meter-old man in the Nuggets.

The whole season, he scored 2253 points, ranking third in the league!

This year, Ellis was finally selected as the All-Star starter by fans and started with the Magic. He scored 27 points, second only to Malone in the West (28 points).

Not only that, he was also selected for the Best Third Team.

Super Sonics finally entered the upper half of the western region and ranked fourth. In the first round, against the Rockets, Olajuwon was unable to support himself, and the Supersonics easily advanced 3-1. Ellis averaged 23 points per game and made 8 of 17 three-pointers. In the semi-finals, it's the Lakers again.

Superonics still have no strength to fight back, and was swept 0-4 again! Ellis averaged 22.8 points per game and made 7 of 20 three-pointers.

Then, the madness of the late 1980s ended here.

In the 1989-90 season, the Supersonics changed personnel, Chambers left the team, Ellis was troubled by injuries and played only 55 games, and the Supersonics fell out of the playoffs.

But at the beginning of this season, Ellis scored his highest score in his career:

On November 9, 1989, the Supersonics faced the Bucks, and the two sides played a rare 5-overtime battle! In the end, the Bucks narrowly won 155-154! !

Ellis made 18 of 39 shots, made 14 of 17 free throws, scoring the highest score of 53 points in his career!

McDaniel scored 37 points, and the two of them scored 90 points together! In April 90, in the game against the Clippers, he made 9 of 11 three-pointers, setting a record for a single game. In the 1990-91 season, Ellis was affected by an injury and his condition declined. In the middle of the season, he was sent to the Bucks in exchange for the super sixth man Ricky Pierce.

In the Bucks, he also played in over six, and averaged 19 points in 29 minutes per game! Three-point shooting percentage is 44%! In the 1991-92 season, he became the Bucks' scoring champion with a six-pointer, averaging 15.7 points per game and a 42% three-point shooting percentage, but the Bucks' lineup was seriously aging. The center was 37-year-old Moses Malone, and the main defender was Robertson, a master of steals in the 1984th class. The main lineup was all over 30 years old. After the season ended, the Bucks sent him to the Spurs.

came to the Spurs and Robinson. Ellis was entrusted with an important task. Hsinai released his three-point firepower. He was pushed to the second position of the main force and averaged 16 points per game with a 40% three-point shooting percentage. The task was well completed.

But in the playoffs, he performed mediocrely in the face of high-pressure defense. In the summer of 1994, he signed with the Nuggets.

In Denver for three years, he has always maintained stable output as the main shooting guard. Although the Nuggets missed the playoffs, Ellis, who is already 35, has a very good competitive state.

In the 1996-97 season, he was already 37 years old and averaged 37 minutes per game. In October 1997, after 6 years, he returned to the supersonic speed, but at this time the supersonic speed was no longer the powerful man who fought the bulls in 1996, and had already gone downhill.

But it is a coincidence that in Dallas, two teammates from that year were also in Seattle, one was Schramf and the other was Sam Perkins. After going around, his youthful years were now middle-aged. In the 1997-98 season, Ellis' understanding of basketball has reached a state of perfection. He averaged 25 minutes per game, scored 12 points, and his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 46.4%, ranking first in the league! Real hit rate and effective hit rate are both the best in the league! In addition, he ranked third in the Best Sixth Person! Two years later, he was sent to the Magic, who then sent him to the Bucks. After the Bucks played 18 games, he was sent to the Hornets and stayed until the end of the season.

In the summer of 2000, he was sent to the Heat, and was cut off by the Heat, and he retired, just 40 years old!

He participated in the three-point competition seven times and successfully won the king in 1989!