Speedy Claxton
{{Short description|American basketball coach and former player (born 1978)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Speedy Claxton
| image = SpeedyClaxton.jpg
| width = 210
| caption = Claxton in 1998 playing for Hofstra
| league = Coastal Athletic Association
| team = Hofstra Pride
| position = Head coach
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 170
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|05|08}}
| birth_place = Hempstead, New York, U.S.
| high_school = Christ the King
(Queens, New York)
| college = Hofstra (1996–2000)
| draft_year = 2000
| draft_round = 1
| draft_pick = 20
| draft_team = Philadelphia 76ers
| career_start = 2000
| career_end = 2009
| career_number = 12, 10, 5
| career_position = Point guard
| coach_start = 2013
| years1 = {{nbay|2000|start}}–{{nbay|2001|end}}
| team1 = Philadelphia 76ers
| years2 = {{nbay|2002|full=y}}
| team2 = San Antonio Spurs
| years3 = {{nbay|2003|start}}–{{nbay|2004|end}}
| team3 = Golden State Warriors
| years4 = {{nbay|2004|end}}–{{nbay|2005|end}}
| team4 = New Orleans Hornets{{efn|During the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, the team was known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets during their temporary relocation to Oklahoma City due to Hurricane Katrina.}}
| years5 = {{nbay|2006|start}}–{{nbay|2008|end}}
| team5 = Atlanta Hawks
| cyears1 = 2013–2021
| cteam1 = Hofstra (assistant)
| cyears2 = 2021–present
| cteam2 = Hofstra
| highlights = As player:
- NBA champion (2003)
- 2× America East Player of the Year (1998, 2000)
- 3x First-team All-AEC (1998-2000)
- Third-team All-AEC (1997)
- America East tournament MVP (2000)
- Haggerty Award (2000)
- No. 10 retired by Hofstra Pride
As coach:
- CAA regular season champion (2023)
- CAA Coach of the Year (2023)
| stats_league = NBA
| stat1label = Points
| stat1value = 3,096 (9.3 ppg)
| stat2label = Assists
| stat2value = 1,441 (4.3 apg)
| stat3label = Steals
| stat3value = 503 (1.5 spg)
}}
Craig Elliott "Speedy" Claxton (born May 8, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Hofstra University men's basketball team. Claxton won an NBA championship in 2003 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. In 2013, he was named as a special assistant to the head coach for the Hofstra University men's basketball program, before being hired as head coach in 2021.
College
Prior to his NBA career, Claxton played at Hofstra University under future Villanova University coach Jay Wright. At Hofstra, Claxton led the Flying Dutchmen to the America East Championship, where they defeated the University of Delaware in the championship game at Hofstra Arena. The team was defeated in the first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament by an Oklahoma State team led by Desmond Mason, Claxton's future NBA teammate with the New Orleans Hornets.
Claxton donated money to help build the 5,000-seat arena in which the Hofstra team plays, and his number 10 was retired by Hofstra on January 31, 2009. Claxton was inducted into the Hofstra Hall of Fame on January 29, 2011.
NBA career
Claxton was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 20th overall pick of the 2000 NBA draft.[http://www.nba.com/playerfile/speedy_claxton/bio.html NBA.com Bio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701191302/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/speedy_claxton/bio.html |date=2007-07-01 }} His rookie-scale contract was worth four years and $4.68 million; he opted out of the fourth year to become a free agent.
Claxton missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury suffered during the preseason. In 2002, Claxton was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Mark Bryant, Randy Holcomb, and John Salmons, where he played on the Spurs' 2003 championship team as the backup to starting point guard Tony Parker.
In 2003, Claxton was signed by the Golden State Warriors to a three-year contract worth $10 million.
On February 24, 2005, Claxton and Dale Davis were traded from the Warriors to the New Orleans Hornets for Baron Davis.
On July 12, 2006, Claxton signed a contract worth approximately $25 million over four years with the Atlanta Hawks. Claxton only played 44 games with the Hawks, as he was injured every year after he signed with the team. During the 2006–07 season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.4 assists per game.
On June 25, 2009, Claxton and Acie Law were traded to the Golden State Warriors for Jamal Crawford.{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors_acquire_law_claxton.html |title=Warriors Acquire Acie Law and Speedy Claxton From Atlanta Hawks |work= NBA.com |date=2009-06-25 |access-date=2009-06-28}} Claxton never reported to the Warriors and was waived by Golden State on February 6, 2010, without appearing in a game for them.
Post-playing career
Claxton served as a college scout with the Golden State Warriors[http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15339858?nclick_check=1 Warriors might be focusing in on Monroe] before joining the Hofstra University men's basketball staff in 2013.[http://www.gohofstra.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=207767760&DB_OEM_ID=22200 Mihalich Announces Staff; Claxton Returns To Program] On April 7, 2021, he was hired as head coach at Hofstra.{{Cite web|title=MBB: Past. Present. Future. Claxton To Lead The Hofstra Men's Basketball Program|url=https://gohofstra.com/news/2021/4/7/mens-basketball-mbb-past-present-future-claxton-to-lead-the-hofstra-mens-basketball-program.aspx|access-date=2021-04-07|website=Hofstra University Athletics|language=en}}
For the 2022–23 season, Claxton led the Pride to the CAA regular season title and was named CAA Coach of the Year.{{cite press release|url=https://caasports.com/news/2023/3/1/mens-basketball-estrada-williams-collect-back-to-back-major-caa-awards.aspx |title=Estrada, Williams Collect Back-to-Back Major CAA Awards |publisher=Colonial Athletic Association |date=March 2, 2023 |access-date=March 2, 2023}}
Personal life
Claxton's parents are from Antigua and Barbuda. His sister, Lisa, played for the St. John's Red Storm women's basketball team. His brother Michael (M. Buckets) played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. Claxton has two daughters, Aniya and London, with ex-wife Meeka. The couple announced their divorce in July 2014.{{cite web |url=http://thinkpynk.com/my-next-chapter-by-meekaclaxton/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719171538/http://thinkpynk.com/my-next-chapter-by-meekaclaxton/ |archive-date=2014-07-19 |title="My Next Chapter" By: @MeekaClaxton {{!}} Think Pynk}}
NBA career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend|champion=y}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1996–97
| style="text-align:left;"| Hofstra
| 27 || – || 33.9 || .432 || .158 || .706 || 4.6 || 3.4 || 1.9 || .1 || 15.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1997–98
| style="text-align:left;"| Hofstra
| 31 || – || 34.9 || .485 || .182 || .730 || 4.6 || 7.2 || 2.2 || .3 || 16.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1998–99
| style="text-align:left;"| Hofstra
| 30 || 28 || 32.3 || .482 || .316 || .801 || 4.4 || 5.3 || 2.3 || .5 || 13.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1999–2000
| style="text-align:left;"| Hofstra
| 31 || 31 || 35.1 || .470 || .381 || .764 || 5.4 || 6.0 || 3.3 || .2 || 22.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 119 || 59 || 34.1 || .468 || .322 || .748 || 4.8 || 5.5 || 2.4 || .3 || 16.9
{{S-end}}
=NBA=
==Regular season==
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2001}}
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 67 || 18 || 22.8 || .400 || .121 || .838 || 2.4 || 3.0 || 1.4 || .1 || 7.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| {{nbay|2002}}†
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 30 || 0 || 15.7 || .462 || .000 || .684 || 1.9 || 2.5 || .7 || .2 || 5.8
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2003}}
| align="left" | Golden State
| 60 || 29 || 26.6 || .427 || .182 || .813 || 2.6 || 4.5 || 1.6 || .2 || 10.6
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2004}}
| align="left" | Golden State
| 46 || 44 || 32.6 || .431 || .192 || .761 || 3.3 || 6.2 || 1.9 || .1 || 13.1
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2004}}
| align="left" | New Orleans
| 16 || 3 || 22.8 || .373 || .111 || .610 || 1.9 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .1 || 6.8
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2005}}
| align="left" | New Orleans/Oklahoma City
| 71 || 3 || 28.4 || .413 || .270 || .769 || 2.7 || 4.8 || 1.5 || .1 || 12.3
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2006}}
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 42 || 31 || 25.1 || .327 || .214 || .550 || 1.9 || 4.4 || 1.7 || .1 || 5.3
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|2008}}
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 2 || 0 || 7.5 || .286 || .000 || .500 || .0 || 1.5 || .0 || .0 || 2.5
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 334 || 128 || 25.6 || .409 || .193 || .762 || 2.5 || 4.3 || 1.5 || .1 || 9.3
{{s-end}}
==Playoffs==
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | 2002
| align="left" | Philadelphia
| 5 || 0 || 9.8 || .333 || .000 || .667 || .2 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .0 || 2.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2003†
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 24 || 0 || 13.6 || .438 || .000 || .750 || 1.9 || 1.9 || .7 || .2 || 5.2
|-
| align="left" | 2009
| align="left" | Atlanta
| 1 || 0 || 3.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 30 || 0 || 12.6 || .427 || .000 || .740 || 1.5 || 2.0 || .7 || .2 || 4.6
{{s-end}}
Head coaching record
=College=
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=Hofstra Pride
|startyear=2021
|conference=Coastal Athletic Association
|endyear=
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
|championship=
|season=2021–22
|name=Hofstra
|overall= 21–11
|conference= 13–5
|confstanding= 3rd
|postseason=
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
|championship=conference
|season=2022–23
|name=Hofstra
|overall= 25–10
|conference= 16–2
|confstanding= T–1st
|postseason=NIT Second Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
|championship=
|season=2023–24
|name=Hofstra
|overall= 20–13
|conference= 12–6
|confstanding=T–3rd
|postseason=
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
|championship=
|season=2024–25
|name=Hofstra
|overall= 15–18
|conference= 6–12
|confstanding=11th
|postseason=
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
|name=Hofstra
|overall= {{Winning percentage|81|52|record=y}}
|confrecord= {{Winning percentage|47|25|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
|overall= {{Winning percentage|81|52|record=y}}
}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Basketballstats |nba= 2049 |bbr= c/claxtsp01 }}
{{Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Navboxes|list1=
{{Hofstra Pride men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{San Antonio Spurs 2002-03 NBA champions}}
{{2000 NBA draft}}
{{America East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}
{{Haggerty Award}}
{{Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Speedy}}
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 basketball coaches
Category:American men's basketball coaches
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:American people of Antigua and Barbuda descent
Category:Atlanta Hawks players
Category:Basketball coaches from New York (state)
Category:Basketball players from Nassau County, New York
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:Golden State Warriors players
Category:Hofstra Pride men's basketball coaches
Category:Hofstra Pride men's basketball players
Category:Hofstra University alumni
Category:NBA championship–winning players
Category:New Orleans Hornets players
Category:People from Hempstead (village), New York
Category:Philadelphia 76ers draft picks
Category:Philadelphia 76ers players