Benoit Benjamin

Lenard Benoit Benjamin [be-NOYT] (/bəˈnɔɪt/; born November 22, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 1985 NBA draft. A 7'0" center from Creighton University, Benjamin played for nine NBA teams in 15 seasons from 1985 to 1999. He played for the Clippers (1985–91), Seattle SuperSonics (1991–93), Los Angeles Lakers (1993, 1999 preseason), New Jersey Nets (1993–95), Vancouver Grizzlies (1995), Milwaukee Bucks (1995–96), Toronto Raptors (1996), Philadelphia 76ers (1998–99) and Cleveland Cavaliers (1999).^[1] Benjamin's daughter is Khaalia Hillsman who played at Texas A&M.

Benoit Benjamin

Personal information
Born	(1964-11-22) November 22, 1964 (age 60) Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school	Carroll (Monroe, Louisiana)
College	Creighton (1982–1985)
NBA draft	1985: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Drafted by	Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career	1985–2001
Position	Center
Number	00, 7
Career history
1985–1991	Los Angeles Clippers
1991–1993	Seattle SuperSonics
1993	Los Angeles Lakers
1993–1995	New Jersey Nets
1995	Vancouver Grizzlies
1995–1996	Milwaukee Bucks
1996	Toronto Raptors
1997	Yakima Sun Kings
1997–1998	Peristeri Athens
1998	Philadelphia 76ers
1998	Grand Rapids Hoops
1998	Criollos de Caguas
1999	Philadelphia 76ers
1999	Cleveland Cavaliers
1999	Atenas de Córdoba
1999	Criollos de Caguas
2000	Detroit Dogs
2000–2001	Al Riyadi Beirut
Career highlights
Third-team All-American – NABC (1985) First-team Parade All-American (1982) McDonald's All-American (1982)
Career NBA statistics
Points	9,223 (11.4 ppg)
Rebounds	6,063 (7.5 rpg)
Assists	1,070 (1.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Career

Benjamin's best year as a professional came during the 1988–89 NBA season as a member of the Clippers, appearing in 79 games and averaging 16.4 ppg. It was also during this season that some criticized Benjamin's on-court actions, as famously exemplified by television announcer Dick Vitale after a January 1988 game against the Milwaukee Bucks: “He has a double zero on his back, but he should add another zero. I give him a zero for his offensive attitude, a zero for his defensive attitude, and a zero for his mental attitude ... he’s an absolute, flat-out disgrace to everyone that’s ever worn a basketball uniform.”^[2]

In his NBA career, he had a .541 field goal percentage, recorded 4,604 defensive rebounds and 1,581 blocks and averaged 11.4 points and 2.0 blocks per game. Benjamin also played briefly in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in the latter part of his career. In 8 games over two seasons with the Yakima Sun Kings and Grand Rapids Hoops, he averaged 10.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest.^[3]

He is the Clippers' career leader in blocked shots per game (2.75).

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
*	Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985–86	L.A. Clippers	79	37	26.4	.490	.333	.746	7.6	1.0	0.8	2.6	11.1
1986–87	L.A. Clippers	72	61	31.0	.449	.000	.715	8.1	1.9	0.8	2.6	11.5
1987–88	L.A. Clippers	66	59	32.9	.491	.000	.706	8.0	2.6	0.8	3.4	13.0
1988–89	L.A. Clippers	79	62	32.7	.541	.000	.744	8.8	2.0	0.7	2.8	16.4
1989–90	L.A. Clippers	71	58	32.6	.526	.000	.732	9.3	2.2	0.8	2.6	13.5
1990–91	L.A. Clippers	39	38	34.3	.492	.000	.728	12.0	1.9	0.7	2.3	14.9
1990–91	Seattle	31	27	29.0	.502	.000	.690	8.2	1.5	0.9	1.7	12.9
1991–92	Seattle	63	61	30.8	.478	.000	.687	8.1	1.2	0.6	1.9	14.0
1992–93	Seattle	31	6	14.5	.497	.000	.701	3.6	0.4	0.5	1.1	6.7
1992–93	L.A. Lakers	28	0	10.9	.481	.000	.595	3.4	0.4	0.5	0.5	4.5
1993–94	New Jersey	77	74	23.6	.480	.000	.710	6.5	0.6	0.5	1.2	9.3
1994–95	New Jersey	61	57	26.2	.510	.000	.760	7.2	0.6	0.4	1.0	11.1
1995–96	Vancouver	13*	13	31.1	.441	.000	.696	7.9	1.2	0.8	1.2	13.9
1995–96	Milwaukee	70*	58	21.3	.520	.000	.732	6.2	0.7	0.5	1.0	7.8
1996–97	Toronto	4	3	11.0	.417	.000	.750	2.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	3.3
1997–98	Philadelphia	14	0	14.1	.537	.000	.633	3.8	0.2	0.3	0.3	4.5
1998–99	Philadelphia	6	0	5.5	.286	.000	.000	1.3	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.7
1999–00	Cleveland	3	0	2.7	.333	.000	.000	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7
Career		807	614	27.2	.497	.048	.721	7.5	1.3	0.6	2.0	11.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1990–91	Seattle	5	5	32.6	.488	.000	.906	6.6	0.2	0.6	2.6	13.8
1991–92	Seattle	9	4	17.9	.561	.000	.500	5.1	0.6	0.6	1.4	6.1
1993–94	New Jersey	4	4	27.0	.412	.000	.875	5.3	0.3	0.5	2.0	5.3
Career		18	13	24.0	.505	.000	.776	5.6	0.4	0.6	1.9	8.1

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with 10 or more blocks in a game