Corey Benjamin

American basketball player (born 1978)
Corey Benjamin
Personal information
Born (1978-02-24) February 24, 1978 (age 46)
Compton, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolFontana (Fontana, California)
CollegeOregon State (1996–1998)
NBA draft1998: 1st round, 28th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1998–2008
PositionGuard
Number25
Career history
1998–2001Chicago Bulls
2001–2002Sutor Montegranaro
2001–2002Southern California Surf
2003Atlanta Hawks
2002–2003North Charleston Lowgators
2003–2004Chalonnais
2004–2005Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2005–2006Guaros de Lara
2006Conquistadores de Guaynabo
2006–2007Benfica
2007–2008Daegu Orions
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points835 (5.5 ppg)
Rebounds259 (1.7 rpg)
Assists143 (0.9 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Corey Dwight Benjamin (born February 24, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2003. He graduated from Fontana High School[1] in Fontana, California, then played college basketball for Oregon State University, and was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (28th overall) of the 1998 NBA draft.

NBA career

Benjamin stayed with the Bulls for three seasons, and during the 2002–03 campaign, he signed a pair of 10-day contracts to play for the Atlanta Hawks. Between his stints with Chicago and Atlanta, he played for Sutor Montegranaro in Italy, and the Southern California Surf in the American Basketball Association. He also suited up for the North Charleston Lowgators in the NBDL (now known as the NBA G League).

Benjamin is also known for an incident where he mentioned to teammate Randy Brown that he could beat Michael Jordan in one-on-one game. Jordan had just retired, but he showed up at a Bulls practice to completely embarrass Benjamin in an 11–3 rout.[2][3]

International career

Benjamin spent the final five years of his career playing abroad, first heading to France's Ligue Nationale de Basketball with Chalonnais for the 2003–04 season, followed by a stint in China for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2004–05.

Heading to Latin America for the 2005–06 campaign, Benjamin next joined the Guaros de Lara in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto, followed by a spell in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional with the Conquistadores de Guaynabo.

Benjamin then returned to Europe to play for Benfica in Portugal during the 2006–07 season.[4][5] He wrapped up his overseas career with a second stint in Asia the following winter, going to South Korea to compete in the Korean Basketball League with the Daegu Orions.

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

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998–99 Chicago 31 1 10.3 .376 .214 .675 1.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 3.8
1999–00 Chicago 48 10 18.0 .414 .348 .598 1.8 1.1 0.6 0.5 7.7
2000–01 Chicago 65 5 13.2 .381 .259 .675 1.5 1.1 0.4 0.2 4.7
2002–03 Atlanta 9 0 16.9 .302 .154 .750 3.4 1.1 0.1 0.2 4.4
Career 153 16 14.3 .390 .289 .652 1.7 0.9 0.5 0.3 5.5

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1996-97 Oregon State 23 17 26.1 .432 .315 .653 4.0 1.3 1.1 0.5 14.9
1997–98 Oregon State 25 22 26.9 .539 .293 .713 5.0 2.2 1.9 0.7 19.8
Career 48 39 26.5 .491 .305 .688 4.5 1.8 1.5 0.6 17.5

Personal life

While a member of the Oregon State Beavers, Benjamin played on the same team as his older brother, Sonny.[6]

In 2000 Benjamin was arrested and charged with one count of domestic battery.[7] He was arrested again in 2016.[8]

In 2021, Benjamin apologised after a video of his daughter punching another player 1/3 her size during a basketball game went viral. [9]

References

  1. ^ "Corey Benjamin". Basketball Reference. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  2. ^ Bayless, Skip. "JORDAN BACK IN GYM TONING UP (NO, THAT'S NOT WHY)," CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Nov. 28, 1999).
  3. ^ Remembering When A Retired Michael Jordan Came By The Bulls Practice To Accept A Challenge From Corey Benjamin
  4. ^ L C B – Liga dos Clubes de Basquetebol
  5. ^ Basquetebol 2006/2007 Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  6. ^ Baum, Bob (February 27, 1997). "High school star Benjamin ready for homecoming". AP News. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Johnson, K.C. "BENJAMIN'S ARREST CLOUDS BULLS FUTURE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Teenager Banned From Multiple Girls Basketball Tournaments Following Incidents Of On-Court Violence". CBS News. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  9. ^ Kaplan, Anna. "Mother Charged For Urging Daughter To 'Hit' Basketball Opponent, Calif. DA Says". Forbes. Retrieved 19 September 2022.

External links

  • NBA.com bio
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