Nazr Mohammed

The son of Alhaji Muhammad, an entrepreneur from Ghana, Mohammed was raised in Chicago and attended high school at Kenwood Academy, graduating in 1995. Mohammed entered the University of Kentucky in the fall of 1995 at a hefty 315 pounds, and saw little playing time during their NCAA Championship season. After slimming down for his sophomore year, Mohammed shared the starting center spot with Jamaal Magloire and was a key contributor in 1997, when the Wildcats were runners-up to Arizona. Mohammed once again shared the starting post position with Magloire in 1998, and once again they brought the NCAA Championship home to Kentucky, for the second time in three years.

After his junior year, Mohammed decided to enter the 1998 NBA draft. He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round, as the 29th pick overall. Utah traded his rights to the Philadelphia 76ers for a future first-round pick, which turned out to be Quincy Lewis in the 1999 NBA draft.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/draft2002/history/history_98draft.html|title=1998 NBA Draft, First Round|work=NBA.com|access-date=March 6, 2016}} He spent two and a half seasons in Philadelphia before being traded in February 2001 to the Atlanta Hawks along with an injured Theo Ratliff in exchange for Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo.{{cite web|url=http://a.espncdn.com/nba/news/2001/0222/1101977.html|title=Mutombo traded to Sixers in six-player deal|work=ESPN.com|date=February 23, 2001|access-date=March 6, 2016}}

On November 5, 2001, he scored a career-high 30 points against the Los Angeles Clippers.{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/scores101/101309/101309303.htm#RECAPS|title=Hawks vs. Clippers|work=USAToday.com|date=November 6, 2001|access-date=March 17, 2006}} He played for the Hawks through the middle of the 2003–04 season, at which point he was traded to the New York Knicks for Michael Doleac.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=1735956|title=N.Y. gets Thomas, Mohammed; Baker next?|work=ESPN.com|date=February 16, 2004|access-date=March 6, 2016}}

Mohammed spent half of the 2004–05 season with the Knicks.

He played for the San Antonio Spurs (who acquired him in a trade for Malik Rose), for the second half of the 2004-05 NBA season.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=1998814|title=Knicks land Rose, Taylor, draft picks|work=ESPN.com|date=February 24, 2005|access-date=March 6, 2016}} In a combined 77 games for both teams, he averaged 9.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mohamna01/gamelog/2005/|title=Nazr Mohammed 2004-05 Game Log|work=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=March 6, 2016}} He won his first and only championship in 2005 with the Spurs as a member of their starting lineup.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20050623/DETSAS/recap.html |title=Spurs Dethrone Pistons To Take Third NBA Title |work=NBA.com |date=June 23, 2005 |access-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219212308/http://www.nba.com/games/20050623/DETSAS/recap.html |archive-date=February 19, 2009 }}

During his second season in San Antonio, Mohammed shared the starting center position with Rasho Nesterović, averaging 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during the regular season.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mohamna01/gamelog/2006/|title=Nazr Mohammed 2005-06 Game Log|work=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=March 6, 2016}} On March 17, 2006, he tied his career-high of 30 points against the Phoenix Suns.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20060317/PHXSAS/recap.html|title=Mohammed Dominates Inside, Spurs Top Suns|work=NBA.com|date=March 17, 2006|access-date=March 17, 2006}} He was a key contributor to the team's first round series victory over the Sacramento Kings, averaging 7.0 points per game and nailing his second career three-point basket late in Game 1.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=260422024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224907/http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=260422024|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 15, 2018|title=Parker scores 25 as Spurs demolish Kings in Game 1|work=ESPN.com|date=April 22, 2006|access-date=April 22, 2006}} Mohammed, however, played sparingly in the team's second round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks. After the season, he turned down a four-year contract extension and did not return to the Spurs.

In July 2006, he signed with the Detroit Pistons and became their starting center.{{cite web|first=Justin|last=Rogers|url=http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/2006/07/pistons_sign_nazr_mohammed.html|title=Pistons sign Nazr Mohammed|work=MLive.com|date=July 4, 2006|access-date=March 6, 2016}} After beginning the season in the starting five, the arrival of Chris Webber on January 16, 2007 made him gradually fall out of the team's rotation, the culmination being his 5 minutes in two postseason contests. He averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 51 games (33 starts), with about 15 minutes of action per game.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mohamna01/gamelog/2007/|title=Nazr Mohammed 2006-07 Game Log|work=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=March 6, 2016}}

Mohammed was traded from the Pistons to the Charlotte Bobcats on December 14, 2007, in exchange for Primož Brezec and Walter Herrmann.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3155460|title=Bobcats acquire Mohammed from Pistons for Brezec, Herrmann|work=ESPN.com|date=February 22, 2008|access-date=February 22, 2008}}

On February 24, 2011, Mohammed was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, while forward D. J. White and guard Morris Peterson were sent to the Charlotte Bobcats.{{cite web|first=John|last=Rohde|url=http://newsok.com/okc-thunder-trade-for-kendrick-perkins-nate-robinson-nazr-mohammed/article/3543582|title=OKC Thunder trade for Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Nazr Mohammed|work=NewsOK.com|date=February 24, 2011|access-date=February 24, 2011}} He reached the 2012 NBA Finals with the Thunder, but the team lost to the Miami Heat 4 games to 1.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20120621/OKCMIA/gameinfo.html|title=Notebook: Heat 121, Thunder 106|work=NBA.com|date=June 22, 2012|access-date=March 6, 2016}}

On July 27, 2012, Mohammed signed with his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-sign-free-agent-center-nazr-mohammed.html|title=BULLS SIGN FREE AGENT CENTER NAZR MOHAMMED|work=NBA.com|date=July 27, 2012|access-date=July 27, 2012}} On May 10, 2013, he was involved in an altercation with LeBron James in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. James was called for a technical foul for tying up with Mohammed in transition; Mohammed retaliated by shoving James which required James to sue Mohammed.{{cite web|first=Ben|last=Swanson|url=https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/10/4320430/nazr-mohammed-lebron-james-video-bulls-heat|title=Nazr Mohammed shoves LeBron James to the ground after foul|work=SBNation.com|date=May 10, 2013|access-date=March 6, 2016}}

On July 11, 2013, Mohammed re-signed with the Bulls.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-re-sign-center-nazr-mohammed.html|title=BULLS RE-SIGN CENTER NAZR MOHAMMED|work=NBA.com|date=July 11, 2013|access-date=July 11, 2013}} On September 22, 2014, he again re-signed with the Bulls.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-re-sign-center-nazr-mohammed-2014|title=BULLS RE-SIGN CENTER NAZR MOHAMMED|work=NBA.com|date=September 22, 2014|access-date=September 22, 2014}}

On August 1, 2015, Mohammed played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/13359599/nba-current-former-stars-put-show-africa-exhibition|title=NBA stars, legends shine as Team World rallies to beat Team Africa|work=ESPN.com|date=August 1, 2015|access-date=August 1, 2015}} On October 9, 2015, he retired from the NBA.{{cite web|first=Marc|last=Cantave|url=http://marquelaries.sportsblog.com/posts/5199778/nba--nazr-mohammed-retires-from-the-nba.html|title=NBA: NAZR MOHAMMED RETIRES FROM THE NBA|work=SportsBlog.com|date=October 9, 2015|access-date=October 9, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117020528/http://marquelaries.sportsblog.com/posts/5199778/nba--nazr-mohammed-retires-from-the-nba.html|archive-date=November 17, 2015}}

In March 2016, Mohammed came out of retirement in order to return to the NBA.{{cite news|first=Shams|last=Sharania|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--thunder-to-sign-veteran-center-nazr-mohammed-032133571.html|title=Sources: Thunder to sign veteran center Nazr Mohammed|work=Yahoo.com|date=March 4, 2016|access-date=March 4, 2016}} On March 5, he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, returning to the franchise for a second stint.{{cite news|url=http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release_mohammed_160305|title=Thunder Signs Nazr Mohammed|work=NBA.com|date=March 5, 2016|access-date=March 5, 2016}}{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/14905312/oklahoma-city-thunder-sign-center-nazr-mohammed|title=Nazr Mohammed signs with Thunder|work=ESPN.com|date=March 5, 2016|access-date=March 5, 2016}} Four days later, he made his season debut in a 120–108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.{{cite news|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20160309/LACOKC/gameinfo.html|title=Westbrook's huge triple-double leads Thunder past Clippers|work=NBA.com|date=March 10, 2016|access-date=March 12, 2016}}

{{NBA player statistics legend|champion=y|leader=7}}

{{NBA player statistics start}}

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|1998}}

| align="left" | Philadelphia

| 26 || 0 || 4.7 || .357 || .000 || .571 || 1.4 || .1 || .2 || .2 || 1.6

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|1999|trunc=y}}

| align="left" | Philadelphia

| 28 || 3 || 6.8 || .389 || .000 || .545 || 1.8 || .1 || .1 || .4 || 1.9

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2000}}

| align="left" | Philadelphia

| 30 || 3 || 6.5 || .466 || .000 || .500 || 1.8 || .1 || .2 || .2 || 3.2

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2000}}

| align="left" | Atlanta

| 28 || 19 || 25.6 || .480 || .000 || .765 || 9.0 || .6 || .8 || 1.0 || 12.3

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2001}}

| align="left" | Atlanta

| 82 || 73 || 26.4 || .461 || .000 || .617 || 7.9 || .4 || .8 || .7 || 9.7

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2002}}

| align="left" | Atlanta

| 35 || 0 || 12.7 || .421 || .000 || .634 || 3.7 || .2 || .5 || .6 || 4.6

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2003}}

| align="left" | Atlanta

| 53 || 1 || 17.7 || .493 || .000 || .627 || 5.0 || .4 || .4 || .5 || 6.5

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2003}}

| align="left" | New York

| 27 || 23 || 24.9 || .563 || .000 || .525 || 7.7 || .6 || 1.2 || .9 || 9.1

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2004}}

| align="left" | New York

| 54 || 54 || 28.1 || .509 || .000 || .708 || 8.1 || .5 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 10.9

|-

| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| {{nbay|2004}}†

| align="left" | San Antonio

| 23 || 5 || 18.0 || .387 || .000 || .571 || 6.4 || .3 || .2 || 1.4 || 6.2

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2005}}

| align="left" | San Antonio

| 80 || 30 || 17.4 || .504 || .000 || .785 || 5.2 || .5 || .3 || .6 || 6.2

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2006}}

| align="left" | Detroit

| 51 || 33 || 15.2 || .532 || .000 || .610 || 4.5 || .2 || .5 || .8 || 5.6

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2007}}

| align="left" | Detroit

| style="background:#cfecec;"| 21 || 0 || 10.9 || .475 || .000 || .433 || 3.5 || .3 || .3 || .4 || 3.3

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2007}}

| align="left" | Charlotte

| style="background:#cfecec;"| 61 || 29 || 23.3 || .520 || .000 || .617 || 6.9 || 1.1 || .6 || .9 || 9.3

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2008}}

| align="left" | Charlotte

| 39 || 1 || 8.7 || .406 || .000 || .550 || 2.0 || .2 || .1 || .4 || 2.7

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2009}}

| align="left" | Charlotte

| 58 || 29 || 17.0 || .553 || .000 || .648 || 5.2 || .5 || .3 || .7 || 7.9

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2010}}

| align="left" | Charlotte

| 51 || 30 || 16.7 || .502 || .000 || .591 || 4.9 || .3 || .3 || .9 || 7.3

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2010}}

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

| 24 || 7 || 17.9 || .573 || .000 || .625 || 4.8 || .3 || .7 || .4 || 6.9

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2011}}

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

| 63 || 1 || 11.0 || .467 || .000 || .565 || 2.7 || .2 || .3 || .6 || 2.7

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2012}}

| align="left" | Chicago

| 63 || 12 || 11.0 || .367 || .000 || .723 || 3.1 || .4 || .3 || .5 || 2.6

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2013}}

| align="left" | Chicago

| 80 || 1 || 7.0 || .429 || .000 || .533 || 2.2 || .3 || .2 || .4 || 1.6

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2014}}

| align="left" | Chicago

| 23 || 0 || 5.6 || .433 || .000 || .333 || 1.7 || .1 || .2 || .2 || 1.2

|-

| align="left" | {{nbay|2015}}

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

| 5 || 0 || 3.8 || .600 || .000 || 1.000 || .8 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 1.6

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 1005 || 354 || 15.8 || .486 || .000 || .640 || 4.7 || .4 || .4 || .6 || 5.8

{{s-end}}

{{NBA player statistics start}}

|-

| align="left" | 1999

| align="left" | Philadelphia

| 3 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0

|-

| align="left" | 2004

| align="left" | New York

| 4 || 4 || 24.3 || .500 || .000 || .688 || 5.8 || .3 || 1.5 || .8 || 10.3

|-

| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2005†

| align="left" | San Antonio

| 23 || 23 || 23.0 || .528 || 1.000 || .638 || 6.7 || .3 || .6 || 1.0 || 7.1

|-

| align="left" | 2006

| align="left" | San Antonio

| 8 || 3 || 11.8 || .733 || 1.000 || .722 || 3.9 || .1 || .4 || .8 || 4.5

|-

| align="left" | 2007

| align="left" | Detroit

| 2 || 0 || 3.0 || .500 || .000 || 1.000 || 1.5 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.5

|-

| align="left" | 2010

| align="left" | Charlotte

| 4 || 0 || 12.0 || .579 || .000 || .667 || 2.0 || .5 || .3 || .5 || 6.0

|-

| align="left" | 2011

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

| 14 || 0 || 10.6 || .412 || .000 || .400 || 2.3 || .0 || .3 || .4 || 2.3

|-

| align="left" | 2012

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

| 8 || 0 || 10.4 || .500 || .000 || .500 || 2.0 || .1 || .0 || .4 || 2.3

|-

| align="left" | 2013

| align="left" | Chicago

| 12 || 0 || 9.5 || .512 || .000 || .571 || 2.7 || .3 || .2 || .6 || 3.8

|-

| align="left" | 2014

| align="left" | Chicago

| 2 || 0 || 2.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0

|-

| align="left" | 2015

| align="left" | Chicago

| 3 || 0 || 4.7 || .286 || .000 || .000 || 1.7 || .0 || .0 || .3 || 1.3

|-

| align="left" | 2016

| align="left" | Oklahoma City

| 5 || 0 || 2.0 || .500 || .000 || .000 || 0.6 || .0 || .0 || .2 || 0.4

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 88 || 30 || 13.1 || .514 || .667 || .639 || 3.5 || .2 || .3 || .6 || 4.2

{{s-end}}

Mohammed is a practicing Muslim who fasts for Ramadan. He had lost nearly ten pounds during 2004–05 season because of his fasting.{{cite news|first=Howard|last=Beck|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/31/sports/basketball/mohammed-is-having-an-allstar-season.html|title=Mohammed Is Having an All-Star Season|work=The New York Times|date=December 31, 2004|access-date=April 1, 2005}}

Mohammed and his wife Mandi have two daughters and a son. Their son, Sir, currently plays college basketball for Notre Dame.

He created The Nazr Mohammed Foundation which is committed to being a charitable member of the global community by supporting a multitude of worthy causes through personal donations, fundraisers, camps, grants and scholarships and in August 2012, his foundation hosted the Kenwood Academy Capital Improvements Fundraiser.

Mohammed studied Business Management at Kentucky and graduated in May 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Arts and Sciences.

{{reflist|30em}}

{{basketballstats|bbr=m/mohamna01}}

• [http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/1737/ NBA.com profile]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/19991111075100/http://www.fansonly.com/schools/kty/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kty-m-baskbl-mohammed.html Kentucky Wildcats bio]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammed, Nazr}}

Category:1977 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen

Category:21st-century American sportsmen

Category:African-American Muslims

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:American sportspeople of Ghanaian descent

Category:Atlanta Hawks players

Category:Basketball players from Chicago

Category:Centers (basketball)

Category:Charlotte Bobcats players

Category:Chicago Bulls players

Category:Detroit Pistons players

Category:Kenwood Academy alumni

Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players

Category:Muslims from Illinois

Category:New York Knicks players

Category:Oklahoma City Thunder players

Category:Philadelphia 76ers players

Category:San Antonio Spurs players

Category:Utah Jazz draft picks