Early life and college

Born in Long Beach, California, Scalabrine was one of four children in his family and graduated from Enumclaw High School at Enumclaw, Washington in 1996. He is of Italian ancestry. He enrolled at Highline College in 1996, played his first year with its basketball team the Thunderbirds, and redshirted his second year. As a freshman at Highline, Scalabrine averaged 16.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Scalabrine recorded seventeen double-doubles, and led the team in rebounds, blocks, and free throw percentage (75%). The Thunderbirds went 31-1 in the 1996-97 season and won the state junior college championship. Scalabrine was a Northern Division All-Star in 1997 as well as part of the All-Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Championship Tournament Team.

In 1998, he transferred to the University of Southern California (USC). In his first year with the USC Trojans men's basketball team, he was the only player to start all 28 games. He led the Trojans in scoring (14.6 points), rebounding (6.4), and field goals (53.1%). In scoring, blocked shots, and field goals, he was also the only Pac-10 conference player among the top 10 players in those areas. His best game performance was against American University on December 21, 1998: 26 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. On February 13, 1999, he scored 22 points including an important three-pointer in overtime; the unranked USC won an upset victory over number-six Stanford 86-82 in overtime. He was the 1999 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and earned an All-Pac-10 honorable mention.

During his second season with USC, Scalabrine was named to the All-Pac-10 first team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 15 first team. He also earned a Sporting News All-American honorable mention. Again, he finished as USC's top scorer (17.8 ppg) and field goal shooter (53.1%) and was also the second-best Pac-10 scorer. He also made 40.3% of attempted three-pointers. Against the Oregon Ducks, Scalabrine scored 29 points and made 10 rebounds.

USC advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2001, Scalabrine's senior season. In the Elite Eight round, USC lost to Duke 79-69; Scalabrine scored 13 points. Scalabrine graduated with a degree in history.

Career

New Jersey Nets

Because he injured his fifth metatarsal bone during workouts in late September 2001, Scalabrine missed the first ten days of New Jersey Nets training camp. During the second quarter of the final 2001-02 preseason game, which took place against the Detroit Pistons on October 26, 2001, Scalabrine again injured his right foot. He made his NBA debut on January 31, 2002, when the Nets played against the Milwaukee Bucks. As a rookie, Scalabrine averaged 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. He played in six playoff games his debut season and averaged 0.3 points and 0.5 rebounds. The Nets were the Eastern Conference Champions of the 2001-02 season and lost the 2002 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in four games. In a triple-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Semifinal series, Scalabrine scored a career high 17 points. He surpassed that high with 29 points on January 26, 2005 against the Golden State Warriors. On April 15, 2005, he played a career high 45 minutes.

During his time with the Nets, Scalabrine gained the nickname "Veal", a play on words based on the dish veal scaloppini.

Boston Celtics

On August 2, 2005, Scalabrine signed a five-year contract with the Boston Celtics. A month earlier, he and the team agreed on terms that the contract be worth $15 million over the five years.

In 48 games during the 2007-08 season, Scalabrine started in nine and played on average 10.7 minutes. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. On April 16, 2008, in the final game of the regular season, Scalabrine tied a season-high with six rebounds and played 29 minutes. He did not make an appearance in the NBA playoffs. In the 2008 Finals, the Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games.

Chicago Bulls

On September 21, 2010, Scalabrine agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls visited the Boston Celtics on November 5, 2010, and in double overtime the Bulls won 110-105. Scalabrine played only three minutes that game. He played 18 games with the Bulls and averaged 1.1 points and 0.4 rebounds per game.

Italy

On September 22, 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, Scalabrine signed with the Italian team Benetton Treviso. He left the team in December 2011 to pursue opportunities in the NBA after the lockout had ended.

Return to Chicago

On December 12, 2011, Scalabrine re-signed with the Bulls.

Later work

In September 2012, Scalabrine announced that he had turned down an opportunity to become an assistant coach with the Bulls so that he could join Comcast SportsNet New England as a commentator. Scalabrine described the job as "a trial run", and said there was a "small possibility" he would resume his playing career overseas in 2013.

In July 2013, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson announced via Twitter that Scalabrine was joining his coaching staff. During the season, Jackson reassigned Scalabrine to the Warriors' D-League affiliate after a difference of opinion on the team's direction.

In 2014, Scalabrine wrote an essay to Boston to announce his "homecoming" to become a Comcast SportsNet announcer. His essay spoofed a famous Sports Illustrated story about LeBron James's return to Cleveland.

Personal life

Scalabrine married Kristen Couch in 2003; their wedding ceremony was held in Hawaii. They have two children. He is also a member of the sports philanthropy organization Athletes for Hope.

Fan support

Despite his limited playing time, Scalabrine became a popular player. Bulls fans referred to him as "The White Mamba", a play on Kobe Bryant's nickname of "The Black Mamba".

NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2001-02	New Jersey	28	0	10.4	.343	.300	.733	1.8	.8	.3	.1	2.1
2002-03	New Jersey	59	7	12.3	.402	.359	.833	2.4	.8	.3	.3	3.1
2003-04	New Jersey	69	2	13.4	.394	.244	.829	2.5	.9	.3	.2	3.5
2004-05	New Jersey	54	14	21.6	.398	.324	.768	4.5	1.6	.6	.3	6.3
2005-06	Boston	71	1	13.2	.383	.356	.722	1.6	.7	.3	.3	2.9
2006-07	Boston	54	17	19.0	.403	.400	.783	1.9	1.1	.4	.3	4.0
2007-08	Boston	48	9	10.7	.389	.326	.750	1.6	.8	.2	.2	1.8
2008-09	Boston	39	8	12.9	.421	.393	.889	1.3	.5	.2	.3	3.5
2009-10	Boston	52	3	9.1	.341	.327	.667	.9	.5	.2	.1	1.5
2010-11	Chicago	18	0	4.9	.526	.000	.000	.4	.3	.2	.2	1.1
2011-12	Chicago	28	0	4.4	.467	.143	.500	.8	.5	.2	.2	1.1
Career		520	61	13.0	.390	.344	.783	2.0	.8	.3	.2	3.1

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002	New Jersey	6	0	2.3	.333	.000	.000	.5	.0	.0	.2	.3
2003	New Jersey	7	0	2.9	.500	.000	.000	.6	.0	.0	.0	.6
2004	New Jersey	9	0	8.1	.647	.833	.500	1.3	.1	.3	.0	3.3
2005	New Jersey	4	3	15.3	.182	.250	1.000	1.8	.5	.3	.5	2.3
2009	Boston	12	0	20.5	.423	.448	1.000	2.2	1.0	.2	.4	5.1
2010	Boston	1	0	1.0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		39	3	10.6	.437	.463	.786	1.3	.4	.2	.2	2.7

[ Source: Wikipedia ]