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Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Part 1)

Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976 in Marietta, Georgia) is a retired American professional basketball player. He last played for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). On the basketball court, he played both forward or center positions. Abdur-Rahim was a standout player during his high school days. He left California after one year to enter the 1996 NBA Draft.
In his early NBA career, Abdur-Rahim was the star of the Vancouver Grizzlies franchise for five seasons. He was traded by the Grizzlies in 2001 and then played for the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers before joining his last team, the Sacramento Kings. Nicknamed "Reef",Abdur-Rahim was named an NBA All-Star in the 2001–02 season. He also played on the United States men's national basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Prior to joining the Kings, despite the fact that he achieved solid statistics throughout his career, Abdur-Rahim held the NBA record for most number of games played without making a playoff appearance. Following persistent injuries to his right knee, Abdur-Rahim announced his retirement from basketball on September 22, 2008.

Early life

Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the second eldest sibling in a family of twelve children born to Aminah and William Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim, whose first name means "noble" and whose last name means "servant of the most merciful one," is a devout Muslim. He values his parents for their guiding influence on him since his youth and credits them with his life philosophy: "remember how you came on all your accomplishments and stay humble." From an early age, Abdur-Rahim was surrounded by family members who played basketball; his brother, Muhammad, played at the University of Detroit while his younger brother, Amir, played at Southeastern Louisiana University. Abdur-Rahim himself started playing competitive basketball at Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. At Wheeler, he was named "Mr. Basketball" in back-to-back seasons, and he led the school to a state title as a junior in 1994.
Abdur-Rahim later attended college at the University of California, Berkeley, where he maintained a GPA of 3.5.At California, he averaged 21.1 points per game (ppg) and 8.4 rebounds per game (rpg) in 28 games. He was the first freshman in Pac-10 history to win Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named Third Team All-America by the Associated Press. Abdur-Rahim also set single-season freshman records for points, scoring average, field goals, and free throws. After a year at California however, he decided to leave college to enter the 1996 NBA Draft.