Player Profile
Kendall Gill | 13
Position:  G
Born: 05/25/68
Height: 6-5 /  1,96
Weight: 216  lbs. /  98,0  kg.
College - Illinois '90


A multitalented and often spectacular player who has emerged as a steals leader, Kendall Gill starred for the Charlotte Hornets in their expansion years before becoming a key member of a talented Seattle SuperSonics team. After a brief second tour of duty with Charlotte, Gill was acquired by New Jersey in January, 1996, but missed the last two months of the season due to a broken finger. Switched from his normal guard position to small forward, he had the best year of his career in 1996-97, averaging 21.8 ppg to rank ninth in the NBA in scoring. Though his scoring dipped by more than eight points, his versatility helped the Nets to a playoff berth in 1997-98. He led the NBA in steals in while playing in all 50 games in 1998-99, and tied the league record with 11 steals in one game. An honor student in high school, Gill was awarded many additional honors for his basketball prowess at the University of Illinois. As a senior in 1989-90 he led the Big Ten Conference in scoring with an average of 20.0 points per game. He was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and the United Press International All-America First Team, and he was a finalist for the John Wooden Award. Selected by Charlotte with the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, Gill spent three seasons with the Hornets. As a rookie he averaged 11.0 points and 3.7 assists and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In 1991-92 he had his best season, averaging 20.5 points (18th in the NBA), 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. With both Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning aboard, Gill's point production slipped in 1992-93 (16.9 ppg), yet he was among the team leaders in points, steals, assists, minutes, and rebounding. At season's end the Hornets traded him to the Seattle SuperSonics in a deal that brought Hersey Hawkins and Eddie Johnson to Charlotte. After having served as a primary force with the Hornets, Gill joined a Seattle team that boasted a multitude of talented players, leaving Gill in a complementary role. For two seasons he started at the off guard slot, averaged in double figures, and finished among the league leaders in steals. The Sonics were a powerful team in each of those years, winning 63 and 57 games, respectively, but they were drubbed in the first round of the playoffs in both 1994 and 1995. In a strange twist of events, the Sonics traded Gill back to Charlotte for shooting guard Hersey Hawkins and swingman David Wingate following the 1994-95 season. Gill spent barely half a season in his second stay in Charlotte, moving on to New Jersey in January, but then played only 11 games for the Nets before injury ended his season prematurely. A backcourt glut led the Nets to experiment with Gill at small forward, and it turned out to be a rousing success. His quickness and shooting ability proved too much for most of the players who tried to cover him and he averaged a team-leading, career-high 21.8 ppg. He also averaged 6.1 rpg, 4.0 apg and 1.88 spg, ranking 13th in the league in steals. His scoring average dropped off to 13.4 ppg in 1997-98, but he led the team in steals at 1.93 spg, eighth in the NBA. His scoring dropped again in 1998-99 to 11.8 ppg, but he led the league in steals at 2.68 spg and tied an NBA record with 11 steals against Miami on April 3.



CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

  • Tallied his 10,000 career point against the Seattle SuperSonics on 11/15/99
  • Notched a team-high 139 steals in 76 games (1.83 spg), ranking him 7th in the league in steals
  • Finished the 1999-2000 season ranked first in the league in steal per turnover ratio with an average of 1.56
  • Ranked 1st in the NBA in Steals Per Game (2.68) in 1998-99
  • Matched the NBA single-game record with 11 steals and notched a triple-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds, in an 88-77 win over the Miami Heat on 4/3/99
  • Notched his 1,000th career steal, totaling 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, in a 79-69 win over the Atlanta Hawks on 2/7/99
  • Led the Nets and ranked 8th in the NBA in 1997-98 in steals (1.93 spg) and closed the season only two steals short of 1,000 for his career
  • Totaled a 1997-98 season-high 27 points (9-12 FG, 9-9 FT), 5 rebounds and 5 steals against the Detroit Pistons on 4/19/98
  • Blocked a career-high 6 shots, adding 19 points and 4 rebounds, against the Miami Heat on 11/7/97
  • Led the Nets in 1996-97 in scoring with a career-high 21.8 ppg, the most by a Net since John Williamson scored 22.2 ppg in 1978-79, as well as assists (4.0 apg)
  • Was one of only three NBA players in 1996-97 to score in double figures in all 82 games, including a career-high 41 points against the Orlando Magic on 1/13/97
  • Named to the 1990-91 NBA All-Rookie First Team after averaging 11.0 ppg, 3.7 apg and 3.2 rpg
  • Established Hornets' rookie records in 1990-91 for highest free-throw percentage (.835) and most assists (303) and steals (104) in a season



CAREER TRANSACTIONS

Selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round (fifth pick overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft. Traded by the Hornets to the Seattle SuperSonics for Eddie Johnson, Dana Barros, and the option to switch 1994 first-round draft choices on 9/1/93. Traded by the Sonics to the Hornets for Hersey Hawkins and David Wingate on 6/27/95. Traded by the Hornets with Khalid Reeves to the New Jersey Nets for Kenny Anderson and Gerald Glass on 1/19/96.



PERSONAL

  • Graduated from Illinois with a degree in speech communications
  • Established the Kendall Gill House for working homeless in Charlotte
  • Hobbies include boating, dancing, weightlifting and reading