Wes Matthews

This article is about the former basketball player. For his son and former player, see Wesley Matthews.

Wesley Joel Matthews Sr. (born August 24, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the father of former NBA player Wesley Matthews.

Wes Matthews

Matthews with Ranger Varese in 1989
Personal information
Born	(1959-08-24) August 24, 1959 (age 65) Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Warren Harding (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
College	Wisconsin (1977–1980)
NBA draft	1980: 1st round, 14th overall pick
Drafted by	Washington Bullets
Playing career	1980–1996
Position	Point guard
Number	1, 14
Career history
1980–1981	Washington Bullets
1981–1983	Atlanta Hawks
1983–1984	Ohio Mixers
1984	Atlanta Hawks
1984	Philadelphia 76ers
1984–1985	Chicago Bulls
1985–1986	San Antonio Spurs
1986–1988	Los Angeles Lakers
1988–1989	Tulsa Fast Breakers
1989	Ranger Varese
1990	Atlanta Hawks
1991	Atlanta Eagles
1991	Ginebra San Miguel
1992–1993	Rapid City Thrillers
1993–1994	Rochester Renegade
1994–1995	Fort Wayne Fury
1995	Florida Sharks
1995	Atlanta Trojans
1995	Memphis Fire
1996	Atlanta Trojans
1998	COC-Ribeirão Preto
Career highlights
2× NBA champion (1987, 1988) CBA champion (1989) PBA Best Import of the Conference award (1991 Third Conference) Fourth-team Parade All-American (1977)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,654 (7.9 ppg)
Rebounds	626 (1.3 rpg)
Assists	1,955 (4.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Basketball career

Matthews graduated from Warren Harding High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1977. A 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) point guard at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he was selected by the Washington Bullets with the 14th pick of the 1980 NBA draft. He played nine seasons in the league with the Bullets, Atlanta Hawks (two stints), Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. Averaging eight points and four assists per game, he scored 3,654 career points and earned NBA Championship rings with the 1987 and 1988 Lakers.

Matthews retired from professional basketball in 1996. Besides his NBA stints, he also played in the United States Basketball League, in the Continental Basketball Association and in Italy, spending the 1989–90 season at Ranger Varese before being called by the Hawks for one regular season match.

He had a stint in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), winning the best import award in 1991 for Ginebra San Miguel.

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
†	Won an NBA championship

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1980–81	Washington	45	—	25.8	.499	.333	.767	1.5	4.4	1.0	0.2	12.3
	Atlanta	34	—	32.5	.488	.000	.837	2.1	6.2	1.8	0.2	12.5
1981–82	Atlanta	47	5	17.8	.440	.250	.759	1.2	3.0	1.1	0.0	6.9
1982–83	Atlanta	64	0	18.5	.403	.292	.768	1.4	3.9	0.9	0.1	6.9
1983–84	Atlanta	6	0	16.0	.533	.000	.818	0.7	3.5	0.8	0.2	8.3
	Philadelphia	14	5	20.9	.446	.143	.643	1.6	4.4	0.8	0.1	7.1
1984–85	Chicago	78	38	19.5	.495	.125	.694	0.9	4.5	0.9	0.2	5.7
1985–86	San Antonio	75	46	24.7	.531	.160	.820	1.7	6.3	1.2	0.4	10.9
1986–87†	L.A. Lakers	50	0	10.6	.476	.333	.806	0.9	2.0	0.5	0.1	4.2
1987–88†	L.A. Lakers	51	8	13.8	.460	.233	.831	1.3	2.7	0.5	0.1	5.7
1989–90	Atlanta	1	0	13.0	.333	.000	1.000	0.0	5.0	0.0	0.0	4.0
Career		465	102	20.0	.478	.225	.788	1.3	4.2	1.0	0.2	7.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1982	Atlanta	4	—	14.0	.200	—	1.000	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.5	4.0
1983	Atlanta	3	—	12.7	.333	.000	.800	0.0	3.7	0.0	0.3	3.3
1984	Philadelphia	4	—	5.8	.500	.500	.500	0.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	2.5
1985	Chicago	4	4	22.8	.344	.000	.778	1.5	3.0	1.3	0.0	7.3
1986	San Antonio	3	3	38.7	.648	.000	.750	2.3	8.0	2.0	0.0	25.3
1987†	L.A. Lakers	12	0	5.1	.478	.000	.857	0.3	0.8	0.1	0.0	2.3
1988†	L.A. Lakers	10	0	2.7	.400	.000	.800	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.0	1.2
Career		38	7	10.1	.482	.111	.800	0.5	1.7	0.4	0.1	4.6

Personal life

Matthews' son, Wesley, also a basketball guard, played for Marquette University,^[1] and has played in the NBA since going undrafted in 2009.