Matt Geiger
{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1969)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Matt Geiger
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| height_ft = 7
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 243
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|09|10}}
| birth_place = Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| high_school = Countryside (Clearwater, Florida)
| college =
- Auburn (1987–1989)
- Georgia Tech (1990–1992)
| draft_year = 1992
| draft_round = 2
| draft_pick = 42
| draft_team = Miami Heat
| career_start = 1992
| career_end = 2001
| career_number = 52
| career_position = Center
| years1 = {{nbay|1992|start}}–{{nbay|1994|end}}
| team1 = Miami Heat
| years2 = {{nbay|1995|start}}–{{nbay|1997|end}}
| team2 = Charlotte Hornets
| years3 = {{nbay|1998|end}}–{{nbay|2001|start}}
| team3 = Philadelphia 76ers
| stats_league = NBA
| stat1label = Points
| stat1value = 5,059 (9.2 ppg)
| stat2label = Rebounds
| stat2value = 3,158 (5.7 rpg)
| stat3label = Assist
| stat3value = 388 (0.7 apg)
}}
Matthew Allen Geiger (born September 10, 1969) is an American former professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played at the center position.
College career
Geiger played for Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida and was recruited to play college basketball at Auburn University. He played with Auburn before transferring to Georgia Tech for more playing time.
NBA career
His successful college career led Geiger to be selected by the Miami Heat in the second round (42nd pick overall) of the 1992 NBA draft. He played in the NBA for 10 seasons from 1992 to 2002 with 3 teams: Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, and Philadelphia 76ers.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071109101922/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GEIGEMA01 Matt Geiger Past Stats, Playoff Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards]}}
In the summer of 2000, Matt Geiger's refusal to waive a $5 million trade kicker clause in his contract stopped a four-team deal between Philadelphia, the Hornets, the Detroit Pistons and the L.A. Lakers that would have sent All-Star player Allen Iverson to the Pistons.[https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3244818 ESPN – Mavs forward George blocks trade of Kidd to Mavs – NBA] He was suspended for 2 games during the 2000–01 season for a violation of the NBA/NBPA's steroid policy.[http://www.nba.com/playerfile/matt_geiger/bio.html NBA.com: Matt Geiger Bio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221055238/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/matt_geiger/bio.html |date=December 21, 2007 }}
Geiger signed a contract in 2001 with the Philadelphia 76ers but knee injuries forced him to retire in 2002 after a ten-year career. For his career, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend|leader=y}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1987–88
| style="text-align:left;"| Auburn
| 30 || 13 || 19.9 || .513 || – || .660 || 4.1 || .8 || .4 || .3 || 6.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1988–89
| style="text-align:left;"| Auburn
| 28 || 28 || 28.8 || .504 || .000 || .688 || 6.6 || 1.2 || .6 || .9 || 15.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1989–90
| style="text-align:left;"| Georgia Tech
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"| Transfer
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1990–91
| style="text-align:left;"| Georgia Tech
| 27 || 24 || 26.3 || .549 || .000 || .671 || 6.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 1.1 || 11.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1991–92
| style="text-align:left;"| Georgia Tech
| 35 || 35 || 27.2 || .611 || .000 || .706 || 7.3 || 1.1 || .7 || 1.9 || 11.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 120 || 100 || 25.6 || .545 || .000 || .687 || 6.1 || 1.0 || .5 || 1.1 || 11.4
{{S-end}}
=NBA=
==Regular season==
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1992}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 48 || 2 || 11.5 || .524 || .000 || .674 || 2.5 || .3 || .3 || .4 || 4.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1993}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 72 || 0 || 16.7 || .574 || .200 || .779 || 4.2 || .4 || .5 || .4 || 7.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1994}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 74 || 43 || 23.1 || .536 || .400 || .650 || 5.6 || .7 || .6 || .7 || 8.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1995}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 77 || 50 || 30.5 || .536 || .375 || .727 || 8.4 || .8 || .6 || .8 || 11.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1996}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 49 || 13 || 21.3 || .489 || .300 || .701 || 5.3 || .8 || .4 || .6 || 8.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1997}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 78 || 42 || 23.6 || .505 || .091 || .712 || 6.7 || 1.0 || .9 || 1.1 || 11.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1998}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| style="background:#cfecec;"| 50* || 40 || 30.8 || .479 || .200 || .797 || 7.2 || 1.2 || .8 || .8 || 13.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1999|trunc=y}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 65 || 20 || 21.6 || .441 || .000 || .779 || 6.0 || .6 || .4 || .3 || 9.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|2000}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 35 || 4 || 15.5 || .393 || .000 || .685 || 4.0 || .4 || .3 || .2 || 6.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|2001}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 4 || 0 || 8.8 || .125 || {{sort|-|–}} || .500 || 1.5 || .0 || .0 || .5 || .8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 552 || 214 || 22.1 || .499 || .232 || .728 || 5.7 || .7 || .6 || .6 || 9.2
|-
{{s-end}}
==Playoffs==
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1994}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Miami
| 2 || 0 || 5.5 || .000 || {{sort|-|–}} || .500 || 2.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1997}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 3 || 0 || 10.3 || .667 || {{sort|-|–}} || 1.000 || 2.7 || .7 || .7 || .3 || 2.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1998}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte
| 4 || 0 || 5.5 || .167 || {{sort|-|–}} || {{sort|-|–}} || 1.3 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1999}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 8 || 8 || 29.9 || .438 || .000 || .828 || 7.6 || .8 || 1.1 || .8 || 13.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|2000}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 8 || 0 || 16.0 || .500 || {{sort|-|–}} || .800 || 5.0 || .3 || .6 || .3 || 8.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|2001}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 12 || 0 || 8.3 || .586 || {{sort|-|–}} || 1.000 || 1.5 || .6 || .2 || .0 || 3.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 37 || 8 || 14.4 || .468 || .000 || .823 || 3.7 || .5 || .5 || .2 || 6.1
|-
{{s-end}}
Personal life
Geiger resides in Tarpon Springs, Florida where he is a real estate investor. His {{convert|28000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} estate, reported as the largest in the county,[http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/27/Sports/Livin__large.shtml Sports: Livin' large] sold on January 3, 2011, for 8 million dollars.{{Cite web |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/matt-geigers-mansion-finally-sells-8212-at-a-deep-discount/1143686 |title=Geiger's Mansion finally sells — at deep discount |access-date=January 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108171117/http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/matt-geigers-mansion-finally-sells-8212-at-a-deep-discount/1143686 |archive-date=January 8, 2011 |url-status=dead }} The Punisher used this home as the residence of John Travolta's character Mr. Saint.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
In January 1992, during Geiger's senior year at Georgia Tech, his fraternal twin Mark Geiger was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease at the age of 22.{{cite news |title=Matt Geiger Toughens Up The Hard Way |author=David Teel |url=https://www.dailypress.com/1992/03/13/matt-geiger-toughens-up-the-hard-way/ |newspaper=Daily Press |date=March 13, 1992 |access-date=May 14, 2011}} Because his brother lost his hair during chemotherapy, Matt Geiger shaved his head during his NBA career in support of his brother.{{cite news |title=Iverson might be available vs. Bucks |author=Phil Jasner |url=http://articles.philly.com/2001-03-26/sports/25328008_1_allen-iverson-primary-backup-injuries/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509202740/http://articles.philly.com/2001-03-26/sports/25328008_1_allen-iverson-primary-backup-injuries/2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 9, 2012 |newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News |date=March 26, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{1992 NBA draft}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, Matt}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Auburn Tigers men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Pinellas County, Florida
Category:Basketball players from Essex County, Massachusetts
Category:Charlotte Hornets players
Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players
Category:Miami Heat draft picks
Category:Philadelphia 76ers players
Category:Sportspeople from Clearwater, Florida