Tony Massenburg
Tony Massenburg | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 31, 1967 Sussex County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 1990–2007 |
| Known for | NBA record for appearing on active rosters of 12 different teams; NBA champion (2005) |
Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. He shares the NBA record for appearing on the active rosters of 12 different teams, a distinction held alongside Joe Smith, Jim Jackson, and Chucky Brown until Ish Smith surpassed this by joining his 13th team, the Denver Nuggets, during the 2022–23 season. In 2005, while playing with the San Antonio Spurs, Massenburg became the first player to secure an NBA championship after having been part of at least 12 franchises.
College career
Between 1986 and 1990, Massenburg competed at the University of Maryland under the guidance of coaches Lefty Driesell, Bob Wade, and Gary Williams. Over his collegiate tenure, he achieved a field goal percentage of 52.3% and averaged 12.1 points per game. During his senior season, he posted averages of 18 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest, distinguishing himself as one of just two players in the Atlantic Coast Conference to reach double figures in both categories. This outstanding performance earned him a place on the All-ACC Second Team.
Initial professional years and stint in Italy (1990–1991)
Massenburg was chosen 43rd overall in the second round of the 1990 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, where he shared the court with NBA star David Robinson over 35 games during the 1990–91 NBA season. Following an injury, he moved to the Italian League in 1991 to aid his recovery, averaging close to 23 points and 10 rebounds across four appearances with Pallacanestro Reggiana.
Brief NBA return (1991–1992)
He made a short comeback with the Spurs for a single game in the 1991–92 NBA season before being released. Subsequently, he signed with the Charlotte Hornets for three games and had brief ten-day contracts with both the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors, totaling 18 games that season while representing four different teams.
Playing in Spain (1992–1994)
Massenburg competed in Spain’s premier league with Unicaja-Mayoral during the 1992–93 season and then joined FC Barcelona for 1993–94. During his time with Barcelona, he contributed to winning both the Spanish King's Cup and the Catalan League titles in 1994.
Second NBA tenure (1994–2004)
In 1994, Massenburg signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, participating in nearly all games that season with an appearance count of 80. The following year, he was selected by the newly formed Toronto Raptors in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, playing 24 games before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he appeared in another 30 contests. For the 1996–97 campaign, he joined the New Jersey Nets, taking part in 79 games.
Massenburg returned to Canada for two seasons with the Vancouver Grizzlies, serving as a backup center to Bryant Reeves. Prior to the start of the 1999–2000 season, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, appearing in ten games before heading back to Vancouver. When this franchise relocated to Memphis in 2001, Massenburg moved along and played in 73 games that season, averaging 5.5 points per game. His later career included stints with both the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings.
NBA title and conclusion of playing career
Massenburg rejoined the Spurs for the 2004–05 season and was part of the squad that clinched the NBA championship after defeating the Detroit Pistons in a seven-game series during the 2005 NBA Finals. Although his role was predominantly as a reserve, he contributed to the Spurs securing their third championship within a seven-year span. Approximately six weeks following the finals, Massenburg suffered a severe ankle injury in a late-night car crash, which forced him to miss two full seasons.
In 2007, he sought to return to the NBA by signing with the Washington Wizards, but he was released before the regular season commenced. He briefly joined Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Captains but was let go soon thereafter. Across 15 seasons in the NBA and 683 games played, Massenburg posted averages of 6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per contest, accumulating totals of 4,238 points and 2,964 rebounds.
Post-retirement endeavors
In 2010, Massenburg opened 44 Sports Bar in Gaithersburg, Maryland, naming it after his jersey number. His high school, Sussex Central High School (VA), honored him by retiring his jersey in December 2013 alongside fellow professional athlete Reginald Givens.
Currently, Massenburg serves as a contributor for CSN Mid-Atlantic's coverage of the Washington Wizards.
Publications
- Tony Massenburg, Walt Williams, Lessons from Lenny: The Journey Beyond a Shooting Star, Whyde Range Productions, 2018.
Regular season
|- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 35 || 0 || 4.6 || .450 || || .622 || 1.7 || .1 || .1 || .3 || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left" rowspan=4| |style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 1 || 0 || 9.0 || .200 || || || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte | 3 || 0 || 4.3 || .000 || || .500 || 1.3 || .0 || .3 || .0 || .3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 7 || 0 || 6.6 || .444 || || .500 || 1.3 || .0 || .0 || .1 || 1.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Golden State | 7 || 0 || 3.1 || .625 || || .667 || 1.7 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers | 80 || 50 || 26.6 || .469 || .000 || .753 || 5.7 || .8 || .6|| .7||9.3 |- | style="text-align:left" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Toronto |24||20||27.5||.510||||.662||6.9||.8||.5||.4||10.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia |30||8||26.8||.483||.000||.739||6.2||.4||.5||.4||9.9 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey |79||49||24.7||.485||.000||.631||6.5||.3||.5||.6||7.2 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Vancouver |61||13||14.7||.479||||.730||3.8||.3||.4||.4||6.5 |- |style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2|
|style="text-align:left;" |1998–99 Vancouver Grizzlies season |43||35||26.6||.487||||.665||6.0||.5||'.6'||'.9'||11.2 |- |style="text-align:left;" |1999–2000 Houston Rockets season |10||0||10.9||'.444'||||'.875'||2..7'||'.3'||'.2'||'.5'||4..6' |- |style="text-align:left;" | |style="text-align:left;" |2000–01 Vancouver Grizzlies season |52||20||15..8'||'.462'||||'.700'||4..0'||'.2'||'.2'||'.5'||4..5' |- |style="text-align:left;" | |style="text-align:left;" |2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies season |73||31||17..1'||'.456'||'1..000'||'.718'||4..4'||'.4'||'.4'||'.4'||5..5' |- |style="text-align:left;" | |style="text-align:left;" |2002–03 Utah Jazz season |58||1||13..7'||'.448'||||'.774'||2..7'||'.3'||'.3'||'.3'||4..7' |- |style="text-align:left;" |2003–04 Sacramento Kings season |59||0||13..4'||'.475'||'.000'||'.683'||3..2'||'.5'||'.2'||'.3'||4..3' |- |- class='sortbottom' |- style='text-align:center;' colspan='2'|'Career' |-683 |-233 |-18..0 |-..470 |-..091 |-..705 |-..4..3 |-..4 |-..4 |-..5 |-..6..2
Playoff Appearances
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1991 | style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio Spurs | 1 || 0 || 1.0 || || || || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003 | style="text-align:left;"| Utah Jazz | 5 || 0 || 14.0 || .476 || || .556 || 4.2 || .4 || .0 || .8 || 5.0 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"|2005† | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio Spurs | 9 || 0 || 3.1 || .167 || || .500 || 1.2 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Overall Playoff Stats | 15 || 0 || 6.6 || .407 || || .545 || 2.1 || .1 || .0 || .3 || 1.9
External links
- Pages with script errors
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- 1967 births
- Living people
- American expatriate basketball players in Canada
- American expatriate basketball players in Italy
- American expatriate basketball players in Spain
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball players from Virginia
- Boston Celtics players
- Baloncesto Málaga players
- Charlotte Hornets players
- FC Barcelona Bàsquet players
- Golden State Warriors players
- Houston Rockets players
- Liga ACB players
- Los Angeles Clippers players
- Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players
- Memphis Grizzlies players
- New Jersey Nets players
- Pallacanestro Reggiana players
- People from Sussex County, Virginia
- Philadelphia 76ers players
- Power forwards (basketball)
- Sacramento Kings players
- San Antonio Spurs draft picks
- San Antonio Spurs players
- Toronto Raptors expansion draft picks
- Toronto Raptors players
- Utah Jazz players
- Vancouver Grizzlies players