Matt Geiger
Matthew Geiger | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1969 |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 1992–2002 |
| Known for | NBA center for Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers |
Matthew Allen Geiger (born September 10, 1969) is a retired American professional basketball player who played as a center in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
College career
Geiger began his basketball journey at Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida, before advancing to collegiate competition with Auburn University. Seeking more court time, he transferred to play for the Georgia Tech team.
NBA career
Picked 42nd overall in the second round of the 1992 NBA draft by the Miami Heat, Geiger enjoyed a decade-long NBA tenure from 1992 to 2002. His professional career included stints with the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, and Philadelphia 76ers.
In 2000, Geiger exercised his contractual right by refusing to relinquish a $5 million trade kicker clause, effectively halting a significant four-team trade that involved All-Star Allen Iverson. During the 2000–01 season, he faced a two-game suspension due to a violation of the NBA/NBPA steroid regulations.
Geiger joined the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 but concluded his playing career in 2002 owing to persistent knee problems. Throughout his NBA presence, he maintained averages of 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
College
|- | 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: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
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 48 || 2 || 11.5 || .524 || .000 || .674 || 2.5 || .3 || .3 || .4 || 4.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 72 || 0 || 16.7 || .574 || .200 || .779 || 4.2 || .4 || .5 || .4 || 7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Miami | 74||43||23.1||.536||.400||.650||5.6||.7||.6||.7||8.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte |77||50||30.5||.536||.375||.727||8.4||.8||.6||.8||11.2 |- | style="text-align:left;" |
| style="text-align:left" | Charlotte |49||13||21.3||.489||.300||.701||5.3||.8||.4||.6||8.9 |- |style="text-align:left" | |style="text-align:left" | Charlotte |78||42||23.6||.505||.091||.712||6.7||1.0||.9||.1||11.3 |- |style="text-align:left" | |style="text-align:left" | Philadelphia |50*||40||30.8||.479||.200|||.797|||7,2|||.1,2.|||0,8|||0,8|||13,5
|-
|style="text-align:left" | Template:Nbay |style="text-align:left" | Philadelphia |65|||20|||21,6|||,441|||0,000|||,779|||6,0|||0,6|||,4|||,3|||9,7
|-
|style="text-align:left" | |style="text-align:left" | Philadelphia |35|||4|||15,5|||393|||0,000|||685|||4,0|||0,4|||3|||2|||6,1
|-
|style="text-align:left" | Template:Nbay |style="text-align:left" | Philadelphia |4|||0|||8,8|||125||||500|||1,5|||0,0|||0,0|||5|||08
|- class = "sortbottom"
Playoffs
| Season | Team | Games | Games Started | Minutes Per Game | Field Goal % | Three-Point % | Free Throw % | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game | Steals Per Game | Blocks Per Game | Points Per Game | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Nbapy | Miami | 2 | 0 | 5.5 | .000 | – | .500 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Template:Nbapy | Charlotte | 3 | 0 | 10.3 | max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; | max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; | max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; | max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; | max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; display:block; | max-width:50px; white-space:nowrap; text-overflow:ellipsis; overflow:hidden; | max-width:50px; | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: | max-width: |
Personal life
Geiger resides in Tarpon Springs, Florida and is actively involved in real estate investment. His property, which was once the largest in the county, was sold for $8 million in January 2011. This estate gained recognition as the home of John Travolta’s character in the film The Punisher.
In January 1992, while Geiger was a senior at Georgia Tech, his fraternal twin brother Mark received a diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease at the age of 22. To show solidarity during Mark’s chemotherapy treatments, Matt maintained a shaved head throughout his NBA career.