50 facts you didn’t know about Baron Davis

50 things about Baron Davis, professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.

1. Baron Walter Louis Davis is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent.

2. Baron Davis last played for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

3. A two-time NBA All-Star, he was drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.

4. Baron Davis went on to play for the Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers before signing with New York as a free agent in 2011.

5. Baron Davis played college basketball at UCLA, where he was an All-American honoree before turning professional after his sophomore year.

6. Baron Davis was a star high school player while at Crossroads School.

7. Baron Davis was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the South Central area.

8. His grandmother and guardian, Lela Nicholson, was instrumental in pushing him to play basketball.

9. With her encouragement, he eventually enrolled at Crossroads School, a prestigious private school in Santa Monica.

10. As a senior at Crossroads, Davis led his team to the championship of The Beach Ball Classic tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina over perennial prep powerhouse Christ The King Regional High School (Queens, New York), while earning MVP honors and a spot on the All-Tournament team along with future St. John's standout Erick Barkley at that prestigious event.

11. That year, Davis was also named Gatorade National Player of the Year and a Parade All-American.

12. Baron Davis was also selected to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game in Colorado Springs in 1997, playing with future NBA players Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Larry Hughes and Ron Artest, and winning the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest despite being the smallest man in the competition at 6'2".

13. After a highly contested recruiting battle that saw Kansas, Georgia Tech, Duke, and UCLA in hot pursuit for his services, Davis selected UCLA as his school of choice, so that he could play in front of his family and friends.

14. In Davis' two years at UCLA, he averaged 13.6 points and 5.1 assists for the Bruins.

15. While coming down from a dunk during an NCAA Tournament game his freshman year, he injured his knee and tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Surprisingly, though, he made a full recovery the next season and seemed to have regained nearly all of the speed, quickness, and explosiveness he had before the injury while doing enough on the basketball court to warrant his declaring for the 1999 NBA draft after his sophomore campaign.

16. Baron Davis was the third pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.

17. In his NBA debut, a 100-86 win over the Orlando Magic, Davis scored nine points, and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. In Davis' first year, he backed up Eddie Jones and David Wesley, as the Hornets lost in the first round of the playoffs to the 76ers in four games.

18. Baron Davis saw better success the following year, as his averages in points, assists, steals and minutes per game all increased and he started all 82 games for the Hornets. Davis lead the Hornets back into the playoffs, and swept the Miami Heat before being defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games in the second round.

19. The next season, Davis again started all 82 games while averaging 18 points and 8.5 assists per game. He was also selected as an injury replacement for Vince Carter in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game.

20. On February 24, 2005, Davis was traded from the Hornets to the Golden State Warriors for guard Speedy Claxton and veteran forward Dale Davis after tension with the Hornets' coaching staff and several nagging injuries. The move created one of the more potent backcourts in the NBA with Davis and star guard Jason Richardson. It also saw Davis' return to California, where he had craved to return since his college days at UCLA.

21. After two seasons in which the Warriors underachieved under coach Mike Montgomery, the Warriors hired former coach Don Nelson for the 2006-07 season. His high-scoring offensive system was designed to fit Davis's up-tempo style.

22. Although Davis suffered through knee soreness and underwent surgery during the season, he still led the Warriors to their first playoff appearance since 1994.

23. Steve Kerr, then television analyst, called Davis' performance in the 2007 NBA Playoffs "outrageous...stunningly athletic and creative and explosive."

24. Davis' playoff highlights included numerous acrobatic layups, a buzzer-beating half-court three-pointer, and a memorable dunk over Andrei Kirilenko. Davis averaged 25.3 points, 6.5 assists, 2.9 steals, and 4.5 rebounds per game in the 2007 Playoffs.

25. On July 1, 2008, Davis verbally agreed to a 5-year, $65 million deal to play for his hometown-team, the Los Angeles Clippers, and officially signed with the Clippers on July 10, 2008.

26. Davis initially decided to join the Clippers with the intent of playing with Elton Brand, but Brand shockingly opted out of his contract to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers. After officially signing with the Clippers, Davis said that Brand's departure had no impact on his decision to come to Los Angeles.

27. Prior to Davis' arrival, the Clippers had never even won their division or conference, and had only advanced past the first round of the playoffs twice since entering the league in 1970. Davis promised to change that, and despite Brand's departure, Clippers fans remained excited to have a star who could compete with crosstown rival Kobe Bryant's popularity.

28. Davis' first year with the Clippers was marked with a series of injuries and disappointments, as the Clippers struggled to a 19-63 record in which Davis was only able to play 65 games, and saw his points per game average and field goal percentage take a steep decline.

29. Despite this, Davis did produce a few bright spots on the year. On November 22, he scored 30 points and handed out 10 assists in a game against the New Jersey Nets. He also had a pair of 20-assist games on the year.

30. On November 20, 2009, at a home game vs the Denver Nuggets, Baron reached and surpassed the 5,000 assist mark.

31. On February 24, 2011, Davis was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with a first round pick (which turned out to be the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Kyrie Irving), in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.

32. This trade to Cleveland marked a reunion between Davis and former coach Byron Scott, to which Davis was quoted as saying "I know we're together for a reason. There's some things my game can benefit from just playing in his system".

33. Davis chose to wear no. 85 to honor his grandparents who raised him in Los Angeles and whose house was on 85th Street.

34. In his debut with the Cavs, Baron scored 18 points, grabbed 4 rebounds got 5 assists, and made four three-point shots, in a win over the New York Knicks.

35. Despite joining a Cavaliers team who at the time of the trade had the worst record in the NBA (which included a record-setting 26-game losing streak), Davis helped the Cavaliers close the season with several victories, including a 102-90 upset victory over LeBron James and the Miami Heat, to ensure that Cleveland did not have the worst record in the league at the season's end.

36. On December 14, 2011, the Cavaliers waived Davis via the amnesty clause. He will still make the $30 million over the two years left on his contract, but it will not count against Cleveland's salary cap.

37. On December 19, 2011, Davis signed a one-year contract with the New York Knicks, choosing New York over the Lakers and Heat who also expressed interest in signing Davis.

38. At the time of the signing, Davis had a herniated disk in his back.

39. He did not make his debut for the Knicks until February 20, 2012, coming off the bench to score a three-pointer along with an assist.

40. Davis took over as the Knicks' starting point guard following the season-ending injury to Jeremy Lin.

41. On May 6, 2012, during Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs in New York's lone win against the Miami Heat, Davis injured his right knee while dribbling down the court. He was carted off the court on a stretcher.

42. An MRI later revealed that Davis completely tore the ACL and MCL and partially tore the patellar tendon in his right knee. Davis underwent surgery.

43. Davis became an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2012, but he was expected to be out until May 2013 while recovering from his surgery.

44. As of July 2015, Davis was still training in hopes of returning to play in the NBA.

45. In addition to his NBA career, Baron Davis has had an increasing role in the film industry, with the intention of making it a full-time career when his playing days are over.

46. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, having earned membership by appearing in movies such as The Cookout and guest-starring on the ABC Family show Lincoln Heights and ABC's The Forgotten.

47. In the past decade Davis has made appearances both as himself and fictional characters in movies and on television; he has also been involved in producing a number of films, ranging from The Pool Boys to Crips and Bloods: Made in America.

48. Baron Davis and high school friend Cash Warren formed a production company called Verso Entertainment in 2005.

49. Baron Davis appeared on the DVD commentary track of the 2008 film Step Brothers alongside Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.

50. On January 30, 2014, Davis married former Creative Artists Agency (CAA) agent Isabella Brewster, the sister of actress Jordana Brewster. In April 2014, Brewster announced she and Davis were expecting a child.

Source: Wikipedia.org