Biography
Played three years at Louisiana State University (1990-92), averaging 21.6 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.6 blocked shots in 90 games .
Consensus First Team All-American following both his sophomore and junior seasons ...
Named college basketball's Player of the Year by AP, UPI and Sports Illustrated following his sophomore season (27.6 points and an NCAA-leading 14.7 rebounds .
Originally a first round selection of the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft (1st overall selection) .
Has been named to the All-Star team in eight of his nine seasons in the NBA (starting center for the Eastern Conference in each of his first four season and started for the Western Conference in 1998 and 2000; injured and did not play in 1997 and 2001.
Has earned All-NBA honors eight times (First Team in 1997-98, 1999-2000 and 2000-01; Second Team in 1994-95 and 1998-99; and Third Team in 1993-94, 1995-96 and 1996-97) .
Was a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team .
Has recorded a double-double in 490-of-608 career games .
Has registered 30-plus points 225 times and 40-plus points on 37 occasions .
Has captured NBA Player of the Month honors nine times and Player of the Week accolades on 12 occasions .
Earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1992-93 (averaged 23.4 points, a career-high 13.9 rebounds and a career-best 3.53 blocked shots in 81 games) .
Became the first player in NBA history to be named the NBA's Player of the Week after his first week of his career (25.8 points and 16.4 rebounds)
Named one of the 50 Greatest Players on NBA History, the youngest player to earn the honor .
Career scoring average (27.7 points) ranks third all-time among NBA leaders, trailing only Michael Jordan (31.5) and Wilt Chamberlain (30.1)
Three-Time NBA Champion.
Three-Time NBA Finals MVP.