Mario Elie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Shooting guard/forward |
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| Nickname | Super Mario |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | November 26 1963 New York City, New York |
| High school | Power Memorial NYC, NY |
| College | American International College |
| Draft | 7th round, 160th overall, 1985 Milwaukee Bucks |
| Pro career | 1990–2001 |
| Former teams | Philadelphia 76ers (1991) Golden State Warriors (1991-1992) Portland Trail Blazers (1993) Houston Rockets (1994-1998) San Antonio Spurs (1999-2000) Phoenix Suns (2001) |
Mario Antoine Elie (born November 26 1963 in New York City, United States) is a former professional basketball player and coach. Currently, he works for the Houston Rockets as a post-game analyst.
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[edit] Early life and career
Elie, an American of Haitian heritage, grew up in New York City. He was named "Mario" for opera singer Mario Lanza. His father died after Elie graduated from college. He has a brother named Clark, who is an amateur basketball player, and a sister named Nancy. Elie attended Power Memorial Academy, where he was a teammate of Chris Mullin. Elie played streetball in Central Park and other locations in New York City during the 1980s, trying and failing several times to get into the NBA. His nickname on the New York playgrounds was 'The Jedi'. Eventually he played in Europe, most notably in Portugal, and later for the World Basketball League, and spent two years in the Continental Basketball Association with the Albany Patroons. In 1991, Elie played his first NBA games, first for the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers briefly before being traded to the Houston Rockets in 1993.
[edit] NBA career
Elie won NBA championships with the Rockets first in 1993-1994 and again in 1994-1995, making some incredible three-point field goals and getting the nickname Super Mario and "Junkyard Dog."
Perhaps the highlight of Elie's career came when he hit a clutch three-pointer in game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns to put the Rockets up by 3 with 7.1 seconds to play, sending Houston to the Western Conference Finals. The shot is called the 'kiss of death' by Rocket fans, as Elie made a taunting kissing gesture towards the Suns' bench shortly after the shot was made.
[edit] Later career and retirement
Elie played for the Rockets until 1997-98, when he was signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs. He won a third NBA championship when he was part of the Spurs' championship team in 1999. Finally, after playing one season for the Phoenix Suns, he retired. On September 28, 2007, Elie was hired by the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach.[1]
[edit] Personal life
Elie married Gina Gaston, a journalist and anchorwoman for Houston's KTRK-TV, while playing for the Suns. He and his wife have triplets; two boys and one girl.
In 2007 Mario was inducted into the New York basketball hall of fame.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- ClutchFans.net Mario Elie Profile @ Houston Rocket Fan Site
- Elie's statistics at Basketball-reference.com
Houston Rockets 1993-94 NBA Champions |
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Houston Rockets 1994-95 NBA Champions |
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San Antonio Spurs 1998-99 NBA Champions |
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Categories: 1963 births | Living people | African American sportspeople | American basketball coaches | American basketball players | Milwaukee Bucks | Philadelphia 76ers players | Golden State Warriors players | Portland Trail Blazers players | Houston Rockets players | San Antonio Spurs players | Phoenix Suns players | People from Manhattan | Golden State Warriors coaches | Haitian Americans | Haitian basketball players | Shooting guards | Small forwards | People from New York City
