Signed
COMPLETED
Bryon Russell
One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Bryon Russell: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you have a better example of his signature, or a story about it, the note at the foot of this page still stands.
Utah found its defensive stopper in the second round in 1993 — a Long Beach State forward taken 45th who spent nine seasons guarding the other team's best man. He played every regular-season game from 1997 to 2000, started in back-to-back Finals, and peaked at 14.1 points a game in 1999–2000.
History remembers one play: Michael Jordan's series-winner over him in Game 6, 1998. 'Whether he pushed off or not, he was making that shot,' Russell said. The two later shared a Wizards locker room, and after Jordan needled him in his 2009 Hall of Fame speech, Russell challenged him to a charity one-on-one. Long Beach State retired his jersey in 2010.
HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah took the swingman 45th overall in 1993 and he stayed nine seasons and two Finals runs. The Jazz made no offer after 2001-02 — he said they never offered him anything — and he signed with Washington that September.
- Full name
- Bryon Demetrise Russell
- Utah Jazz tenure
- 1993–2002
- Position
- Forward
- Born
- 1970, San Bernardino, California
- Height
- 6′7″ (201 cm)
- Weight
- 225 lb (102 kg)
- College
- Long Beach State
- Drafted
- 1993, 2nd round (No. 45), Utah
With the Jazz
BRYON RUSSELL · 1993–2002 · PER GAME| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | UTA | 67 | 16.7 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | .484 | .091 | .614 |
| 1994–95 | UTA | 63 | 13.7 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | .437 | .295 | .667 |
| 1995–96 | UTA | 59 | 9.8 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | .394 | .350 | .716 |
| 1996–97 | UTA | 81 | 31.2 | 10.8 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.3 | .479 | .409 | .701 |
| 1997–98 | UTA | 82 | 27.1 | 9.0 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | .430 | .341 | .766 |
| 1998–99 | UTA | 50 | 35.4 | 12.4 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | .464 | .354 | .795 |
| 1999–00 | UTA | 82 | 35.4 | 14.1 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.3 | .446 | .396 | .750 |
| 2000–01 | UTA | 78 | 31.7 | 12.0 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | .440 | .413 | .779 |
| 2001–02 | UTA | 66 | 30.3 | 9.6 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | .380 | .341 | .821 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 9 SEASONS | 628 | 26.2 | 9.2 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | .441 | .371 | .747 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Did you know
BRYON RUSSELL · 7 NOTES- A second-round pick who started 366 of his 628 games for the franchise.
- Michael Jordan singled him out by name in his 2009 Hall of Fame speech, still relitigating their 1990s trash talk more than a decade after The Last Shot.
- When the duel never happened, the D-League's Utah Flash staged a halftime game between Russell and a Jordan look-alike.
- He kept playing long after the NBA, winning an International Basketball League title with the Los Angeles Lightning in 2009.
- In September 2014 he went back to San Bernardino High for the first Berdoo Basketball Bonanza, working on shooting with kids as young as three.
- Of the parting he told the Deseret News: 'I thought it ended on a sour note. But I'm blessed to be gone.'
- Before facing Utah as a Wizard in November 2002 he said 'I'm going out there with the intention of whipping the Jazz's you-know-what.' Jerry Sloan declined to comment.
All photographs
2 PHOTOS