Derek Strong

Derek Lamar Strong (born February 9, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in ten National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons from 1991 to 2001 for six different teams. A 6'8" forward from Xavier University, Strong was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round (47th pick overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. Strong has successfully transitioned into stock car racing.

Derek Strong

Personal information
Born	(1968-02-09) February 9, 1968 (age 57) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles, California)
College	Xavier (1987–1990)
NBA draft	1990: 2nd round, 47th overall pick
Drafted by	Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career	1990–2003
Position	Power forward
Number	35, 20, 31, 7, 33, 30
Career history
1990–1991	Huesca La Magia
1991	Miami Tropics
1992	Washington Bullets
1992–1993	Quad City Thunder
1993–1994	Milwaukee Bucks
1994–1995	Boston Celtics
1995–1996	Los Angeles Lakers
1996–2000	Orlando Magic
2000–2001	Los Angeles Clippers
2002–2003	Columbus Riverdragons
Career highlights
CBA Most Valuable Player (1993) All-CBA First Team (1993) CBA All-Defensive Team (1993) CBA Newcomer of the Year (1993) Second-team All-MCC (1990)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,088 (6.8 ppg)
Rebounds	2,213 (4.9 rpg)
Assists	291 (0.6 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Professional basketball career

Strong played for the Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers.

In his NBA career, Strong played in 456 games and scored a total of 3,088 points. His best year as a professional came during the 1997–98 season as a member of the Magic, appearing in 58 games and averaging 12.7 ppg.

Strong played for the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1992–93 season.^[1] He was selected as the CBA Most Valuable Player and Newcomer of the Year, and named to the All-CBA First Team and All-Defensive Team.^[1]

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

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1991–92	Washington	1	0	12.0	.000	.000	.750	5.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
1992–93	Milwaukee	23	0	14.7	.457	.500	.800	5.0	0.6	0.5	0.0	6.8
1993–94	Milwaukee	67	11	16.9	.413	.231	.772	4.2	0.7	0.6	0.2	6.6
1994–95	Boston	70	24	19.2	.453	.286	.820	5.4	0.6	0.3	0.2	6.3
1995–96	L.A. Lakers	63	0	11.8	.426	.111	.812	2.8	0.5	0.3	0.2	3.4
1996–97	Orlando	82	21	24.4	.447	.000	.803	6.3	0.9	0.6	0.2	8.5
1997–98	Orlando	58	8	28.2	.420	.000	.781	7.4	0.9	0.5	0.4	12.7
1998–99	Orlando	44	0	15.8	.422	.000	.717	3.7	0.4	0.3	0.2	5.1
1999–00	Orlando	20	0	7.4	.438	.250	.786	2.2	0.2	0.3	0.1	2.7
2000–01	L.A. Clippers	28	8	17.5	.385	.000	.757	3.9	0.3	0.5	0.0	4.2
Career		456	72	18.7	.430	.180	.786	4.9	0.6	0.4	0.2	6.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1994–95	Boston	4	1	20.3	.333	.000	.500	6.0	0.8	0.8	0.3	2.8
1996–97	Orlando	5	5	39.0	.525	.000	.760	10.0	0.8	0.4	0.4	12.2
1998–99	Orlando	1	0	16.0	.500	.000	1.000	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	4.0
Career		10	6	29.2	.481	.000	.727	7.4	0.7	0.6	0.3	7.6

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1987–88	Xavier	30	-	22.3	.569	.000	.718	7.1	0.8	0.7	0.4	10.6
1988–89	Xavier	33	31	29.8	.617	.000	.817	8.0	0.5	0.8	0.5	15.3
1989–90	Xavier	33	31	29.7	.533	.000	.839	9.9	0.9	0.8	0.8	14.2
Career		96	62	27.4	.573	.000	.802	8.4	0.7	0.8	0.6	13.4

NASCAR career

During his tenure in the NBA, Derek was an avid NASCAR fan and remained committed to pursuing this childhood dream when his playing days ended. Strong transitioned into a professional stock car driver and owner of Strong Racing Team Derek is the first NBA player to successfully transition into stock car racing. Strong Racing is the first team in NASCAR history to have African-American female owners – Dawn Whitaker and Erika Hill.^[2] Strong Racing is a Stock Car Racing Team that competes in ASA and NASCAR Racing events. Strong Racing is managed by Stuart Lycett and is based in Los Angeles.^[3]

Charities

Strong supports many charities including The Music City Motorsports Institute, a non-profit associated with Strong Racing that seeks to motivate and inspire students to achieve academic success with an educational platform of learning, discovery and fun in the motor sports industry.^[3] Co-owner of Strong Racing, Erika Hill is also the co-founder of Peace International, a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to build schools in remote areas throughout the world.^[4]