Chris Gatling


Chris Raymond Gatling is an American former professional basketball player. Gatling played for many National Basketball Association teams from 1991 to 2002. He played for the United States men's national [basketball team|US national team] in the 1990 [FIBA World Championship], winning the bronze medal.

College career

Gatling played three years at Old Dominion University after transferring there from the University of Pittsburgh. He is ODU's sixth all-time scorer with 1,811 points. He also hauled down 859 career rebounds, which ranks him ninth all-time. Gatling is the school's all-time field goal percentage leader at.606, and is second all-time at ODU with 30-point games. He shot.620 from the field in 1991.
Gatling scored 36 points in a game against UNC Charlotte in 1991 and against Alabama-Birmingham in March 1989. He earned honorable mention NCAA [Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American] honors in 1990 and 1991. Gatling was named sophomore of the year in 1988, and then Sun Belt Conference Sun Belt Conference Men's [Basketball Player of the Year|Player of the Year] in both 1990 and 1991. In 1991, he was named the Sun Belt Conference [men's basketball tournament|Sun Belt Conference tournament] Most Valuable Player as he led the then seventh seeded Monarchs to the finals before losing to South Alabama.

Professional career

Gatling was drafted 16th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1991 NBA draft. He spent the first four years of his career with the Warriors, and averaged 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in his final full season with the Warriors, 1994–95. That same year, Gatling led the NBA in field goal percentage at List of [National Basketball Association top individual field goal percentage seasons|0.633]-one of the ten highest percentages in NBA history. Gatling was traded, along with Tim Hardaway, to the Miami Heat halfway through the 1995–96 season, and also played for the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets during the 1996–97 season.
Gatling played 78 games in slightly more than two seasons with the Nets before requesting a trade. He played next with the Milwaukee Bucks for the final thirty games of the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season. He split the 1999–2000 season with the Denver Nuggets and the Orlando Magic. His final two NBA seasons saw him with the Cleveland Cavaliers and again, the Heat. Gatling retired from the NBA following the 2001–02 season with career averages of 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and a.513 field goal percentage. After his NBA career ended in 2002, he played one season in Russian League with CSKA Moscow.

Personal life

Gatling attended Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. During his NBA career, Gatling was known for wearing a headband during games. Gatling stated that he started the practice after he fell out of a truck as a teenager, causing a serious head injury. The headband served as a reminder that he was lucky to be alive. In December 2017, Gatling was sentenced in Maricopa County, Arizona to two and a half years in prison for fraud.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs