Joe Kleine
Joseph William Kleine (born January 4, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the NBA and for the US national team. He won a gold medal as a member of the United States men's basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1998, he won the NBA championship as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Kleine is now a restaurant proprietor, owning a number of successful Corky's Ribs & BBQ restaurants.
 Kleine, circa 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | January 4, 1962 Colorado Springs, Colorado | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Slater (Slater, Missouri) | |||||||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1985 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall | |||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1985–2000 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 35, 53 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2007–2015 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1989 | Sacramento Kings | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1993 | Boston Celtics | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | Phoenix Suns | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Los Angeles Lakers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | New Jersey Nets | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Chicago Bulls | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Phoenix Suns | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Portland Trail Blazers | |||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2015 | Little Rock (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Points | 4,666 (4.8 ppg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 3,991 (4.1 rpg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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College career
Kleine, a seven-foot center, graduated from Slater High School in Slater, Missouri and originally enrolled to play basketball at the University of Notre Dame. After his freshman season, Kleine transferred to the University of Arkansas where he played alongside Darrell Walker and Alvin Robertson, who like Kleine would go on to have productive professional careers.
Professional career
Kleine was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the sixth pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. Kleine went on to have a fifteen-year NBA career, playing with the Kings as well as the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Chicago Bulls, and Portland Trail Blazers. Kleine played on teams with legendary NBA players Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish,Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. He won an NBA championship in 1998, as a center, for a Chicago Bulls team that included Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr.
His best season was with the Kings in 1985, when he averaged 9.8 PPG. At the time of his retirement from the NBA, he'd scored 4,666 points, had 3,991 total rebounds, and had scored 849 free throws out of 1,069 attempts.
National team career
Kleine played for the US national team in the 1982 FIBA World Championship, winning the silver medal.[1] Along with his college teammate Robertson, he also won a gold medal as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached by Bob Knight. Sportswriter Jon Goode would later write in part that "Joe Kleine was never a star, but what made Kleine great was that he accepted his role and was ready to play every night."[2]
Coaching career
After coaching AAU and high school basketball in Little Rock and serving as an analyst for Arkansas basketball games, Kleine was hired as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2007.[3]
References
- 1982 USA Basketball Archived June 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Jon Goode (April 14, 2005). "Better than average Joe". Boston.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Kyle Newport (August 13, 2014). "Former NBA Player Joe Kleine Received $0.38 Check for His Role in 'Eddie'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 9, 2020.