Timothy Eugene Legler (born December 26, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] He is currently an ESPN basketball analyst[1] and co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio.[2]

Tim Legler
Personal information
Born (1966-12-26) December 26, 1966 (age 57)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolJohn Randolph Tucker
(Richmond, Virginia)
CollegeLa Salle (1984–1988)
NBA draft1988: undrafted
Playing career1988–1999
PositionShooting guard
Number23, 22, 18, 20
Career history
1988Philadelphia Aces
1988–1989Rochester Flyers
1989Youngstown Pride
1989–1990Omaha Racers
1990Phoenix Suns
1990Philadelphia Aces
1990Omaha Racers
1990–1991Denver Nuggets
1991Philadelphia Spirit
1991–1992Omaha Racers
1992Limoges CSP
1992Philadelphia Spirit
1992Utah Jazz
1992–1993Omaha Racers
19931994Dallas Mavericks
1994–1995Omaha Racers
1995Golden State Warriors
19951999Washington Bullets / Wizards
1999Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points1,967 (6.9 ppg)
Rebounds481 (1.6 rpg)
Assists402 (1.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

College career

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Legler attended La Salle University,[1] where he became an Academic All-American and scored 1,699 career points in four seasons for the men's basketball team. He was named to the First Team All-Big 5 (1987) and All-MAAC teams (1987 and 1988). Legler's 3.40 GPA earned him a place on the 1988 GTE Academic All-American Team. He was a career 43 percent three-point shooter. Legler led La Salle to the 1987 National Invitation Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden as well as the 1988 NCAA tournament. He was inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1995 and the La Salle Hall of Athletes in 1997.

NBA career

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Legler went undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft and went to play basketball in Europe. After playing a few seasons in Europe, he came back to the United States and played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) with the Omaha Racers. He led Omaha to a CBA championship while leading the league in scoring.

Legler played in the NBA at the shooting guard position from 1990 to 1999. He is primarily known for his time in Washington, where he played four seasons (two with the Washington Bullets and two with the renamed Washington Wizards) from 1995 to 1999. Legler also played for the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Golden State Warriors.

During the 1995-96 season, he won the 1996 Three-Point Shootout during All-Star Weekend, and holds the record for a 3-round aggregate of 65 points, having tallied 23, 22, and 20 in each round, out of a maximum possible of 30 points per round, and 90 overall. He continued on to have his most productive season statistically, leading the league in both three-point field goal percentage and true shooting percentage, and ranked third in turnover ratio.[3] Legler made 128 three-pointers, which was over 49% of all career threes he made. Legler was one of three NBA players to finish a season shooting better than 50 percent from the field, better than 50 percent from the three-point line, and better than 80 percent from the free-throw line, the others being Steve Kerr and Detlef Schrempf.

Legler was well known as an accurate three-point shooter and made 260 of his 604 attempts from that range in his career, an accuracy of 43 percent. This figure ranks seventh on the all-time list[3]

His career ended due to a recurring knee problem. During his 10 seasons in the league, Legler made a little over $5.1 million in salary.[3]

Post-NBA career

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Legler began working on ESPN in 2000, where he has worked as a basketball analyst on the programs NBA Shootaround, NBA Fastbreak, First Take, NBA Coast to Coast, SportsCenter and various shows on ESPN Radio.[1] He currently also is a co-host with Adam Mares on the All-NBA podcast.

Legler was considered a front-runner for the vacant La Salle head coaching job in 2018, but the position was ultimately given to Ashley Howard.[4]

Personal life

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Legler attended John Randolph Tucker High School in Henrico County, Virginia and St. Mary's Catholic School in Richmond, Virginia. In 2002, he earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is married to Christina (née Fuller) who is a former Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader. Legler has two children with his ex-wife Jennifer and resides in the Philadelphia area.

Career statistics

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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

Source[3]

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1989–90 Phoenix 11 0 7.5 .379 .000 1.000 .7 .5 .2 .0 2.5
1990–91 Denver 10 0 14.8 .347 .250 .833 1.8 1.2 .2 .0 5.8
1992–93 Utah 3 0 1.7 .333 .3 .0 .0 .0 .7
1992–93 Dallas 30 0 21.0 .437 .338 .803 1.9 1.5 .8 .2 9.6
1993–94 Dallas 79 0 16.7 .438 .374 .840 1.6 1.5 .7 .2 8.3
1994–95 Golden State 24 0 15.5 .522 .520 .882 1.7 1.1 .5 .0 7.3
1995–96 Washington 77 0 23.1 .507 .522* .863 1.8 1.8 .6 .2 9.4
1996–97 Washington 15 0 12.1 .313 .276 .857 1.4 .5 .2 .3 2.9
1997–98 Washington 8 0 9.5 .158 .000 .750 .5 .4 .1 .0 1.1
1998–99 Washington 30 0 12.6 .443 .400 .500 1.3 .7 .1 .1 4.0
1999–2000 Golden State 23 4 12.3 .359 .333 .778 1.0 1.0 .2 .0 3.3
Career 310 4 16.9 .447 .431 .840 1.6 1.3 .5 .1 7.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1997 Washington 3 0 6.3 .000 .000 .500 .3 .7 .0 .0 .3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Tim Legler". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "SiriusXM NBA Radio: The Starting Lineup | Feb. 23 | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Tim Legler". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  4. ^ "Villanova's first loss could be asst. Coach Ashley Howard". April 6, 2018.
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