May 28, 2008
Game 5 - NBA Eastern Conference Final
May 26, 2008
Game 4 - NBA Eastern Conference Final
May 22, 2008
Game 2 - NBA Eastern Conference Finals
Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974,
in Quitman, Mississippi) is an American professional
basketball player. McDyess is listed at 6'9" (2.06
m), 245 lb. (111 kg) and is the starting power
forward for the Detroit Pistons of the National
Basketball Association.
McDyess played college basketball at the University
of Alabama. In 1995 he was drafted by the Los
Angeles Clippers as the second pick in the NBA Draft
and was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the
season began for fellow power forward Rodney Rogers
and a mid-first round pick that turned out to be
Brent Barry. McDyess's explosive leaping and power
dunking ability allowed him to average 17.8 points
and 8.8 rebounds per game over his first six
seasons. In 1997, before his third year, McDyess was
traded to the Phoenix Suns. He returned to the
Nuggets as a free agent the next season. In 1999,
McDyess became just the third Nugget to average at
least 20 points and 10 rebounds for a season, after
Dan Issel in '77-78 and George McGinnis in '78-79.
Considered an up and comer, the quiet McDyess was
selected to be a part of the gold-winning U.S.
Olympic men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer
Olympics.
Early in the 2001-2002 season, McDyess suffered a
serious knee injury that required season-ending
surgery. McDyess struggled to play through the
injury, re-aggravating it several times and going
through additional surgeries over the next few
seasons. During this time, McDyess was traded to the
Knicks for Marcus Camby and a high lottery pick. By
then, McDyess had lost most of his explosiveness.
Nevertheless, in the 2004 offseason, his knee was
declared healthy and the Detroit Pistons signed him
for the full mid-level exception.
As a member of the Pistons, McDyess was successful
in reinventing his game. In his first season with
the Pistons, McDyess became a dependable sixth man,
averaging 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per 23.3
minutes. He relied mostly on mid-range and
turn-around jumpers, but remained an efficient
scorer, averaging 51.3% FG% (ranked 13th in the NBA)
in his first season with the Pistons. In 2007-08,
following the departure of Chris Webber, McDyess
became the Pistons' starting power forward. Also, on
July 30, 2007, he married his longtime girlfriend,
Liara.
