The son of NFL quarterback Frank Tripucka, Kelly scored 2,278 points at Bloomfield High in New Jersey and led Notre Dame to its only Final Four in 1978. An All-Star as a Pistons rookie, he averaged 26.5 points in 1982-83, then arrived in Utah in the 1986 trade that sent Adrian Dantley to Detroit. He and coach Frank Layden never clicked — his scoring fell to 9.1 a game over two frustrating seasons before expansion Charlotte revived him at 22.6 points.
Broadcasting became his second act: eight years on Pistons television, then Nets radio and the YES Network, then four seasons on Knicks telecasts alongside Walt Frazier and Mike Breen. His son Travis played professional football.
HOW HE CAME & WENTDetroit sent him and Kent Benson to Utah for Adrian Dantley on August 21, 1986. Two frustrating seasons later the Jazz traded him to the expansion Charlotte Hornets for Mike Brown — and he was immediately himself again.
No photograph of this signature is online yet.
| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986–87 | UTA | 79 | 23.6 | 10.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | .469 | .365 | .872 |
| 1987–88 | UTA | 49 | 19.9 | 7.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.1 | .459 | .419 | .868 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 2 SEASONS | 128 | 22.2 | 9.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | .465 | .397 | .871 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗