Rolando Blackman
Born: February 26, 1959
Position: Shooting Guard
Height: 6-6 (1.98 m)
In the NBA:
His Game:
Rolando Blackman was a great scorer, "one of the best shooters of all time and one of the most difficult players to guard", according to Magic Johnson. He was also a good defender, according to Michael Jordan.
His Career:
He was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 9th place of the 1981 draft and averaged 13.3 ppg as a rookie. The next year he was scoring 17.7 points per game and the following one he established career-high's in points (22.4) and rebounds per game (4.6). From the 1983-'84 season till 1991-'92 (his last one in Dallas), he was a stable scorer and his scoring average was always between 18 and 22 points.
In 1992, he was traded to New York. He played for the Knicks during two seasons (1992-'93 and 1993-'94), averaging 8.6 ppg off the bench. The team lost in a hard-fought series Vs Jordan's Bulls in the 1993 Playoffs and made it to the NBA Finals in 1994 but Blackman, in his last year in the NBA, did not fit coach Pat Reilly's plans.
Honors:
A 4 times All-Star (1985-'87, 1990), Blackman played in all 48 of the Mavericks' playoff games (until 2001). He is the all-time leader of the Dallas Mavericks in points (16,643), field goals made (6,487), free throws made (3,501) and minutes played (29,684).
His jersey (#22) has been retired by the Dallas Mavericks.
Statistics:
| YEAR |
Team |
Games |
Pts |
FT % |
FG % |
3PM |
3-pt % |
Reb |
Trn |
Ast |
St |
Blk |
Min |
Star? |
| 1982 |
Dallas |
82 |
13.3 |
.768 |
.513 |
1 |
.250 |
3.1 |
1.4 |
1.3 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
24.1 |
No |
| 1983 |
Dallas |
75 |
17.7 |
.780 |
.492 |
3 |
.200 |
3.9 |
1.6 |
2.5 |
0.5 |
0.4 |
31.3 |
YES |
| 1984 |
Dallas |
81 |
22.4 |
.812 |
.546 |
1 |
.091 |
4.6 |
2.1 |
3.6 |
0.7 |
0.5 |
37.3 |
YES |
| 1985 |
Dallas |
81 |
19.7 |
.828 |
.508 |
6 |
.300 |
3.7 |
2.0 |
3.6 |
0.8 |
0.2 |
35.0 |
YES |
| 1986 |
Dallas |
82 |
21.5 |
.836 |
.514 |
4 |
.138 |
3.5 |
2.3 |
3.3 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
34.0 |
YES |
| 1987 |
Dallas |
80 |
21.0 |
.884 |
.495 |
5 |
.333 |
3.5 |
2.2 |
3.3 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
34.5 |
YES |
| 1988 |
Dallas |
71 |
18.7 |
.873 |
.473 |
0 |
.000 |
3.5 |
2.0 |
3.7 |
0.9 |
0.3 |
36.3 |
YES |
| 1989 |
Dallas |
78 |
19.7 |
.854 |
.476 |
30 |
.353 |
3.5 |
2.1 |
3.7 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
37.8 |
YES |
| 1990 |
Dallas |
80 |
19.4 |
.844 |
.498 |
13 |
.302 |
3.5 |
2.2 |
3.6 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
36.7 |
YES |
| 1991 |
Dallas |
80 |
19.9 |
.865 |
.482 |
40 |
.351 |
3.2 |
2.0 |
3.8 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
37.1 |
YES |
| 1992 |
Dallas |
80 |
18.3 |
.898 |
.461 |
65 |
.385 |
3.2 |
2.0 |
2.7 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
33.7 |
YES |
| 1993 |
New York |
60 |
9.7 |
.789 |
.443 |
31 |
.425 |
1.7 |
1.1 |
2.6 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
23.9 |
No |
| 1994 |
New York |
55 |
7.3 |
.906 |
.436 |
30 |
.357 |
1.7 |
0.8 |
1.4 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
17.6 |
No |
| Career |
Career |
980 |
18.0 |
.840 |
.493 |
229 |
.343 |
3.3 |
1.9 |
3.0 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
32.7 |
YES |
In Europe:
Blackman signed with Greek team AEK in the middle of the 1994-'95 season. The next one he played for Stefanel Milano, in Italy. The team won both the Italian Championship and Cup. In the Italian Cup final, Blackman had 28 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, hitting 8/12 three pointers!