Nick Van Exel - NBA Career

NBA Career

In a 13-year NBA career, Van Exel played for the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.

Van Exel's career began when he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round as the 37th overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft. Van Exel and Eddie Jones were the centerpiece of the Lakers' "rebuilding" plan in the twilight of the "Showtime" era of the early '90s. Led by Van Exel's flashy play, the two guards helped the team to the playoffs in 1995 after the Lakers had missed the postseason for the first time in years in 1994. Van Exel was known for his shooting streaks, buzzer-beating shots, and speed, earning him the nickname "Nick the Quick".

During his career with the Lakers, Van Exel averaged 14.9 points per game as well as 7.3 assists per game, finishing in the top ten in the NBA in that category twice. Van Exel reportedly experienced tensions with several teammates, including 1996 draftee Derek Fisher, as well as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who joined the Lakers in 1996, though his later trade is generally thought to be the result of a major conflict with then-head coach Del Harris.

On June 24, 1998, after five seasons as the starting point guard, Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Tony Battie and the draft rights to Tyronn Lue.

Playing on a Nuggets team which was one of the worst in the league at the time, Van Exel achieved several career highs. Over four seasons he put up averages of 17.9 ppg and 8.3 apg, averaging 21.4 ppg through 27 games of the 2001–02 season.

On February 21, 2002, he was traded by the Nuggets along with Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks for Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, Tim Hardaway, and a 2002 first-round pick.

In Dallas, Van Exel played a smaller role, but contributed effectively by creating scoring opportunities and scoring key three pointers. He averaged 12.5 ppg during the 2002–03 season, and nearly 20 ppg in the 2003 playoffs, carrying the offensive load for the Mavericks in a tight series against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 36 and 40 poins in back-to-back wins in games 2 and 3.

Van Exel was traded on August 18, 2003 to the Golden State Warriors along with Evan Eschmeyer, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones, and Antoine Rigaudeau in exchange for Antawn Jamison, Chris Mills, Danny Fortson, and Jiri Welsch. During the 2003–04 season he played in a career low 39 games, averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.3 apg.

On July 20, 2004, he was traded by Golden State to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Dale Davis and Dan Dickau. With the Blazers he played in only 53 games, averaging 11 ppg.

Van Exel was waived by Portland on August 3, 2005, and he signed with the San Antonio Spurs on August 29. After signing, Van Exel stated that it would be his last season in an NBA uniform. Due to injury, he only played in 65 games during the 2005–06 season. He averaged career lows in almost every statistical category, including points (5.5 ppg) and minutes (15 mpg). In the playoffs, San Antonio was knocked out a seven-game series at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. In this series Van Exel picked up key technical fouls which may have caused his team to lose. Two days later, on May 24, 2006, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon reported on their show Pardon the Interruption that Van Exel would soon announce his retirement.

Van Exel was hired by the 2010-11 Atlanta Hawks as their Player Development Instructor.