Chris Raymond Gatling
Born: September 3, 1967
Position: Power Forward
Height: 6-10 (2.07 m)
Jerseys worn: #32 (Cleveland), #15 (Miami)
In the NBA:
Nicknames: "The Energizer" (for his frenetic playing style during his first years in the NBA), "Gat".
His Game:
Gatling was a very productive forward who came off the bench and scored in high percentages during the biggest part of his long NBA career.
His Career:
#16 in the 1991 NBA Draft, selected by the Golden State Warriors. He spent 4 years as a bench player in Golden State, scoring in high percentages in field goals (53-63%!) and improving his scoring average each year (from 5.7 to 13.7).
In the 1996 mid-season he got traded to the Miami Heat. The following year he joined the Dallas Maverics. 1996-'97 was his most productive season. He scored 19.1 points and grabbed 7.9 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game, all career-highs.
Dallas traded him to the New Jersey Nets, where he spent the next season averaging 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. During the 1998-'99 season, his numbers dropped significantly (4.7ppg) and in the midseason he was traded to Milwaukee. The next year he was traded to Orlando and then to Denver and he scored in double-figures again (11.9ppg). After the end of the 1999-'00 season he was traded to Miami and then, during the summer, to Cleveland. He spent the whole 2000-'01 season there, doing what he knew best: scoring a lot, in limited minutes. Then, he got traded again, back to Miami where he played 54 more games (6.4 points in 15 minutes).
Honors:
Gatling played in the 1997 All-Star Game. He led the NBA in field goal percentage in 1995 (63.3%). He is the Golden State Warriors' all-time leader in field goal percentage (58.1%)
Statistics:
| YEAR |
Team |
Games |
Pts |
FT % |
FG % |
3PM |
3-pt % |
Reb. |
Trn |
Ast |
St |
Blk |
Min. |
Star? |
| 1992 |
Golden State |
54 |
5.7 |
.661 |
.568 |
0 |
.000 |
3.4 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
11.3 |
No |
| 1993 |
Golden State |
70 |
9.3 |
.725 |
.539 |
0 |
.000 |
4.6 |
1.5 |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.8 |
17.8 |
No |
| 1994 |
Golden State |
82 |
8.2 |
.620 |
.588 |
0 |
.000 |
4.8 |
1.0 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
15.8 |
No |
| 1995 |
Golden State |
58 |
13.7 |
.592 |
.633 |
0 |
.000 |
7.6 |
2.0 |
0.9 |
0.7 |
0.9 |
25.3 |
YES |
| 1996 |
Golden State / Miami |
71 |
11.1 |
.671 |
.575 |
0 |
.000 |
5.9 |
1.3 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.6 |
20.1 |
No |
| 1997 |
Dallas / New Jersey |
47 |
19.0 |
.717 |
.525 |
1 |
.167 |
7.9 |
2.6 |
0.6 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
27.3 |
YES |
| 1998 |
New Jersey |
57 |
11.5 |
.600 |
.455 |
1 |
.250 |
5.9 |
1.7 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
0.5 |
23.8 |
No |
| 1999 |
New Jersey / Milwaukee |
48 |
5.7 |
.398 |
.442 |
1 |
.125 |
3.7 |
1.3 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
16.1 |
No |
| 2000 |
Orlando / Denver |
85 |
11.9 |
.713 |
.455 |
18 |
.257 |
5.9 |
2.0 |
0.8 |
1.0 |
0.3 |
21.3 |
No |
| 2001 |
Cleveland |
74 |
11.4 |
.684 |
.449 |
28 |
.304 |
5.3 |
1.6 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
22.6 |
No |
| 2002 |
Miami |
54 |
6.4 |
.701 |
.447 |
1 |
.125 |
3.8 |
1.1 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
15.0 |
No |
| Career |
Career |
700 |
10.3 |
.660 |
.513 |
50 |
.249 |
5.3 |
1.5 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
0.5 |
19.7 |
No |
In Europe:
Gatling signed with Russian team CSKA Moscow for the 2002-'03 season, joining a team coached by one of the top European coaches (Dusan Ivkovic) and full with European stars. He was replaced by Victor Alexander in early December 2002.
He had played 6 games for CSKA, starting one and averaging 12.8 points 5.2 rebounds and 1 assist, shooting 62% from the field. He was the team's third-best scorer and second best rebounder.