NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 35. Rod Strickland
The New York Knicks had drafted DePaul point guard Rod Strickland with the 19th overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, but he didn’t stay long when the new decade rolled around.
In February 1990, Strickland was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs for Maurice Cheeks after averaging 8.4 points, 4.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 20 minutes per game, shooting .440/.286/.638 in 51 games.
Plagued by injuries in 1990-91 and sitting out the beginning of the 1991-92 season in a contract dispute, Strickland played well for the Spurs when he was on the court, finishing fifth in the NBA in assists per game in 1991-92.
In July 1992, Strickland signed with the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent.
In parts of three seasons with San Antonio, Strickland averaged 13.9 points, 8.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes per game, shooting .468/.316/.696.
In Portland, Strickland’s playmaking still flourished, as he finished fifth in the NBA in assists in both 1993-94 and 1995-96 and was fourth in the league assists per game in 1994-95 and 1995-96.
But in July 1996, the Trail Blazers sent Strickland and Harvey Grant to the Washington Bullets in exchange for Rasheed Wallace and Mitchell Butler.
In four seasons in Portland, Strickland averaged 17 points, 8.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 34.9 minutes per game, shooting .473/.328/.716.
Strickland earned his only All-NBA selection in Washington in 1997-98, when he led the NBA with 801 assists and 10.5 assists per game. He was third in the league in assists in 1996-97 and fourth in 1998-99 and was fifth and second in assists per game those two seasons.
In three seasons for the Bullets and Wizards in the 1990s, Strickland averaged 17.1 points, 9.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 37.9 minutes per game, shooting .443/.222/.735.
He remained with the Wizards until he was waived in March 2001, returning to Portland as a free agent four days later. He signed with the Miami Heat in October 2001, joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in October 2002 and went to the Orlando Magic as a free agent in November 2003.
Unsigned for much of the 2003-04 season, Strickland signed with the Toronto Raptors in March 2004. He was another late-season signee the following year, joining the Houston Rockets in January 2005. He was waived in May of that year and retired.
Strickland was fourth in the decade with 5,885 assists, ninth with 1,205 steals and fifth with an average of 8.5 assists per game.
Now an assistant coach at South Florida, Strickland is 10th on the NBA’s all-time list with 7,987 assists, 28th with 1,616 steals, 22nd with an average of 7.3 assists per game and 40th with an average of 1.5 steals per game.