Tony Battie

Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Tony Battie

Battie with the Magic in 2008
Personal information
Born	(1976-02-11) February 11, 1976 (age 49) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school	South Oak Cliff (Dallas, Texas)
College	Texas Tech (1994–1997)
NBA draft	1997: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Drafted by	Denver Nuggets
Playing career	1997–2012
Position	Center / power forward
Number	4, 40, 7
Career history
1997–1998	Denver Nuggets
1999–2003	Boston Celtics
2003–2004	Cleveland Cavaliers
2004–2009	Orlando Magic
2009–2010	New Jersey Nets
2010–2012	Philadelphia 76ers
Career highlights
First-team All-Big 12 (1997)
Career statistics
Points	5,082 (6.1 ppg)
Rebounds	4,287 (5.1 rpg)
Blocks	713 (0.9 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

High school and college career

Battie attended South Oak Cliff High School^[1] in Dallas winning a state championship in 1993. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders where he ended his career as the school all-time leader in blocked shots with 162 blocks. His best season, statistically, was in his junior year when he scored 18.8 points per game, 11.8 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game.^[2]

NBA career

Battie was drafted fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1997 NBA draft, where he played one season. The Nuggets, who were deterred by Battie's inefficiency during his rookie season, traded Los Angeles Lakers along with Tyronn Lue for Nick Van Exel during the 1998 NBA draft. Battie, however, did not play for the Lakers due to the then-ongoing NBA lockout. In 1999, he was traded to the Boston Celtics for Travis Knight, and Battie flourished in Boston.

He remained with the Celtics for six years before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Eric Williams and Kedrick Brown in exchange for Ricky Davis, Chris Mihm, Michael Stewart, and a second-round pick. The following season The Cavaliers traded Battie to the Orlando Magic for Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter, and the Magic's second-round draft pick, Anderson Varejão.^[3]

On June 25, 2009, Battie was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee in exchange for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson.^[4] In July, 2010 Battie signed a contract with Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent. He would spend the last two seasons with the 76ers before announcing his retirement.^[5]

Battie was a solid role player who only became more valuable with age. As an offensive player, he lacked the skills to be an effective scorer, but he still developed an adept mid-range jump shot. Battie's worth came from his perfected offensive and defensive screens which aided in the team strategy. On the defensive side, Battie was an average rebounder and blocker. As his career progressed, Battie's veteran presence was a helpful tool to young, emerging teams like the Magic and the 76ers.^[6]

Personal life

In September 2000, Battie's then teammate, Paul Pierce, was stabbed at the Buzz Club, a late night dance club in the Boston Theater District; Battie and his brother saved Pierce by rushing him to a nearby hospital. After retiring, he moved pack to Dallas. His son, Dawson Battie, is widely considered a top prospect. ^[7]

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
1997–98	Denver	65	49	23.2	.446	.214	.702	5.4	.9	.8	1.1	8.4
1998–99	Boston	50*	15	22.4	.519	.000	.672	6.0	1.1	.6	1.4	6.7
1999–00	Boston	82	4	18.4	.477	.125	.675	5.0	.8	.6	.9	6.6
2000–01	Boston	40	25	21.1	.537	.000	.638	5.8	.4	.7	1.5	6.5
2001–02	Boston	74	73	24.6	.541	.000	.413	6.5	.5	.8	.9	6.9
2002–03	Boston	67	62	25.1	.539	.200	.746	6.5	.7	.5	1.2	7.3
2003–04	Boston	23	6	21.8	.479	1.000	.697	5.1	.9	.3	.9	5.9
2003–04	Cleveland	50	1	19.5	.427	.125	.768	4.8	.7	.4	.9	5.4
2004–05	Orlando	81	32	23.4	.460	.000	.723	5.6	.5	.4	1.0	4.9
2005–06	Orlando	82*	82*	27.0	.507	.000	.664	5.6	.6	.6	.8	7.9
2006–07	Orlando	66	66	23.9	.489	.000	.675	5.2	.5	.4	.5	6.1
2008–09	Orlando	77	3	15.6	.489	.222	.659	3.6	.4	.3	.3	4.8
2009–10	New Jersey	15	0	8.9	.350	.250	.700	1.5	.2	.3	.1	2.4
2010–11	Philadelphia	38	0	9.9	.469	.667	.571	2.6	.3	.1	.4	2.6
2011–12	Philadelphia	27	11	10.9	.373	.000	1.000	2.5	.6	.1	.2	1.6
Career		837	429	21.1	.488	.162	.690	5.1	.6	.5	.9	6.1

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002	Boston	16	16	27.7	.488	.000	.619	7.6	.8	.6	1.9	6.1
2003	Boston	10	10	21.3	.564	.000	.500	4.9	.5	.4	1.4	6.6
2007	Orlando	4	4	21.8	.389	.000	.250	4.0	.3	.0	.0	3.8
2009	Orlando	21	0	6.1	.467	.000	.600	1.0	.1	.0	.1	2.1
2011	Philadelphia	5	0	7.6	.429	.000	.500	2.0	.0	.0	.6	1.4
Career		56	30	16.2	.493	.000	.550	3.9	.4	.3	.9	4.1