|
John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former professional basketball player in the NBA. At 7'0, Salley played both power forward and center for the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers. He gained the nickname "Spider" for his in-your-face style of guarding his opponent.
He was drafted in the first round of the 1986 NBA Draft out of Georgia Tech. He is among the Pistons' all-time leaders in blocked shots. He holds GT's blocked shot record and has had his jersey number 22 retired. After joining the Pistons, he became close friends with Adrian Dantley, who taught him how to get a proper diet, exercise, vitamins, etc., and he called Dantley "Teacher". Salley, good friends with comedian Eddie Murphy, made several appearances at comedy clubs in the off-season. In 1989 and 1990, he was a part of the back-to-back Pistons championship teams.
He was taken in the Miami Heat expansion draft and, following a short stint with the inaugural Toronto Raptors team, was traded to the Bulls, where he helped Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and former Pistons teammate Dennis Rodman lead the Bulls to a record-breaking 72-win season. Salley retired following that season. However, in 2000, he came out of retirement to join the Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. He provided a veteran post presence and locker room leadership to the Lakers en route to their first of three consecutive NBA championships from 2000-2002; he retired again following the first championship season. Currently, he is one of the hosts of the Best Damn Sports Show Period on Fox Sports Network.
|
