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Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Part 2)

NBA career

Vancouver Grizzlies

Abdur-Rahim was selected third overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1996 Draft, behind Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. He made an immediate impact playing for the Grizzlies, becoming the team's leading scorer while setting a franchise record of 18.7 ppg. He also averaged 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 35 minutes per game. He finished third in balloting for the Schick NBA Rookie of the Year behind Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Minnesota's Stephon Marbury, and he was picked for the All-Rookie First Team. By the end of the 1996–97 season, Abdur-Rahim led the team in scoring on 33 occasions, rebounding the ball on 23 occasions.
For the next few seasons, Abdur-Rahim remained the centerpiece of the Grizzlies team. In his sophomore season, he averaged 22.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 2.6 assists per game (apg). The following season, he elevated his performance with 23.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 3.4 apg. Despite his best efforts, the Grizzlies remained grounded at the bottom two spots of the Midwest Division in his first four seasons. For the 2000–01 season, Abdur-Rahim finished with a 20 ppg-plus average for the fourth straight season and was ranked in the top 20 in 13 NBA statistical categories, once again leading the Grizzlies in both ppg and rpg. Abdur-Rahim's importance to the team was highlighted in a game against the Indiana Pacers on December 1, 2000, when he earned all of the 20 points scored by the Grizzlies in the final quarter of the game.

Atlanta Hawks
On June 27, 2001, the Atlanta Hawks reached an agreement to acquire Abdur-Rahim and the 27th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft from the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Brevin Knight, Lorenzen Wright and Pau Gasol, the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.Abdur-Rahim's return to his hometown, and expected partnership with sophomore Jason Terry, provided a significant amount of buzz around the league. While the Hawks finished the 2001–02 campaign with a 33–49 win-loss record, Abdur-Rahim's performances, including a career-high 50-point game,ensured that he would be selected to the NBA All-Star game for that season.
In his second season with the Hawks, Abdur-Rahim achieved another personal milestone on December 28, 2002, when his jump shot against the Washington Wizards made him the fifth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 10,000-points. Although Glenn Robinson, Jason Terry and Abdur-Rahim combined to average 57.9 ppg and become the highest-scoring trio in the league for the 2002–03 season, the Hawks failed to make the playoffs again. With an average of 19.9 ppg and 8.4 rpg, Abdur-Rahim played in all but one of the Hawks' games. By the end of the season, Hawks General Manager Billy Knight decided major changes had to be made for the franchise to move forward, and Abdur-Rahim was traded the next season.