John Salmons

John Salmons
Born	(1979-12-12) December 12, 1979 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player (retired)
Years active	2002–2015
Known for	NBA career with multiple teams including Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Pelicans

John Rashall Salmons (born December 12, 1979) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who competed for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played collegiate basketball representing the Miami Hurricanes.

Early life and education

Salmons entered the world on December 12, 1979, in Philadelphia.

High school career

In 1997, Salmons contributed to a Pennsylvania state championship team at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. During his high school tenure, he also surpassed the milestone of 1,000 career points.

College career

Throughout his four-year stint at the University of Miami, Salmons started in 107 consecutive games, marking the second-longest streak in the institution’s history. He became the first player at Miami to exceed 1,000 points (1287), 600 rebounds (687), 400 assists (433), and 150 steals (192).

Philadelphia 76ers (2002–2006)

Selected as the 26th pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, Salmons was promptly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers along with Mark Bryant and rights to Randy Holcomb in exchange for Speedy Claxton. He remained with the 76ers through the 2005–06 NBA season, maintaining an average of 4.1 points per game.

Sacramento Kings (2006–2009)

Although initially involved in a sign-and-trade arrangement with the Toronto Raptors during July 2006, Salmons withdrew from the deal before completion. Subsequently, on July 24, 2006, he inked a multi-year contract with the Sacramento Kings. On December 22, 2006, he achieved his first career triple-double, posting 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Denver Nuggets.

Chicago Bulls (2009–2010)

On February 18, 2009, Salmons was traded alongside Brad Miller to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Cedric Simmons, Drew Gooden, Andrés Nocioni, and Michael Ruffin. During the 2009 NBA Playoffs, Salmons emerged as a vital player for Chicago, averaging over 18 points per game and logging an average of 44.7 minutes per contest throughout a seven-overtime first-round series versus the Boston Celtics. The Bulls were ultimately eliminated in game seven.

Milwaukee Bucks (2010–2011)

Salmons joined the Milwaukee Bucks on February 18, 2010, after being traded for Hakim Warrick, Joe Alexander, multiple draft selections, and a swap option on first-round picks in the 2010 NBA draft. Following his arrival in Milwaukee, he posted nearly a 20-point average per game. Although he opted out of his final contract year, Salmons subsequently agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Bucks.

Return to Sacramento (2011–2013)

On June 23, 2011, Salmons was traded back to the Sacramento Kings through a three-team transaction involving both the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats. This trade also brought Jimmer Fredette to Sacramento.

Toronto Raptors (2013–2014)

On December 9, 2013, Salmons was part of a trade sending him along with Greivis Vásquez, Patrick Patterson, and Chuck Hayes to the Toronto Raptors. The Kings received Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy, and Aaron Gray in return.

On June 30, 2014, Salmons was traded to the Atlanta Hawks together with a second-round pick for 2015 in exchange for Louis Williams and draft rights to Lucas Nogueira. The Hawks waived him shortly thereafter on July 10, 2014.

New Orleans Pelicans (2014–2015)

On August 26, 2014, Salmons inked a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.

His last appearance in an NBA game occurred on February 2, 2015, during a 115–100 victory against the Atlanta Hawks. In that contest, he logged only a brief period on the court, failing to score but contributing one assist.

Subsequently, on February 19, 2015, Salmons was involved in a three-team trade including the Miami Heat and was sent to the Phoenix Suns. He was released by Phoenix later that same month along with Kendall Marshall.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 64 || 1 || 7.9 || .414 || .323 || .743 || .9 || .7 || .3 || .1 || 2.1 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 77 || 24 || 20.8 || .387 || .340 || .772 || 2.5 || 1.7 || .8 || .2 || 5.8 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 58 || 8 || 17.1 || .405 || .341 || .729 || 2.1 || 2.0 || .7 || .2 || 4.1 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || 24 || 25.1 || .420 || .299 || .775 || 2.7 || 2.7 || .9 || .2 || 7.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Sacramento | 79 || 19 || 27.0 || .456 || .357 || .779 || 3.3 || 3.2 || .9 || .3 || 8.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Sacramento | 81 || 41 || 31.1 || .477 || .325 || .823 || 4.3 || 2.6 || 1.1 || .4 || 12.5 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Sacramento | 53 || 53 || 37.4 || .472 || .418|| .823||4.2|| 3.7||1.1||.2||18.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Chicago |26||21|| 37.7|| .473|| .415|| .843|| 4.3||2.0||1.0|| .6||18.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Chicago |51||28||33.2||.420||.380||.789||3.4||2.5||1.3||.4||12.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Milwaukee |30||28||37.6||.467||.385||.867||3.2||3.3||1.1||.1|||19.9 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Milwaukee |73||70||35.0||.415||.379||.813||3..6||3..5||1..0||..4|||14..0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Sacramento |46||32||27..2||..409|||..295|||..644|||2..9|||2..0|||0..8|||0..2|||7..5

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2003 | align="left" | Philadelphia |6||0||2..7|||..000|||..000|||..000|||..5|||..0|||..0|||..0|||..0 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-

(Note: The statistics table has been preserved as originally requested.)

Personal life

A devoted Christian, Salmons has actively participated as a representative of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in public forums. His outstanding collegiate career was honored in 2018 when he was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

External links

• John Salmons at the Miami Hurricanes Hall of Fame