Jason Terry

Jason Terry

No. 31    Dallas Mavericks
Point guard/Shooting guard
Personal information
Date of birth	September 15, 1977 (1977-09-15) (age 33)
Place of birth	Seattle, Washington
Nationality	American
High school	Franklin (Seattle)
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	181 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College	Arizona
NBA Draft	1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Pro career	1999–present
Career history
Atlanta Hawks (1999–2004) Dallas Mavericks (2004–present)
Career highlights and awards
NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2009) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2000)
Jason Terry at NBA.com

Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977^[1]) is an American professional basketball player playing with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He plays shooting guard, although he also can play point guard. His nickname, "JET", derives from his initials.^[1]

Early life

Jason was born in Seattle, Washington. He was one of ten children raised by his mother, Andrea Cheatham and his father, Curtis Terry.^[1] One of his brothers, Curtis, plays college basketball for UNLV. On February 2, 2007 Terry's number (31) was retired at Franklin High School.^[2]

College career

In 1997, Terry won an NCAA Championship with the University of Arizona. His teammates included Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson, and Miles Simon.^[3] Terry has announced that he would like to be an assistant coach with his old college basketball team once he retires from playing in the NBA.

NBA

Terry was drafted out of the University of Arizona by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1999 NBA Draft as the 10th overall selection. In the 2000-01 season, Jason emerged as the team's best player, averaging 19.7 points and leading the club in steals, assists and free throws made. He played 3,089 minutes. After spending his first five seasons with the Hawks, Terry was traded to the Mavericks just prior to the start of the 2004-05 season. He had a mediocre first few months with the Mavericks but eventually came into his own, putting up solid numbers and by the end of the season earning his spot as the Mavs' number one guard.

In the 2004-05 NBA Playoffs, Terry averaged 17.5 points on 51% shooting while hitting 49% from three-point range in his first playoff run. Yet his team failed to advance to the conference finals, losing its second-round series 4-2 to Nash's Phoenix Suns. In Game 6 of that series Terry got in a confrontation with teammate Dirk Nowitzki, who was frustrated by his own erratic play during the playoffs, for committing the crucial error of backing off of Steve Nash in the final seconds of regulation with his team up by 3, who subsequently hit the 3-point shot to send the game into overtime resulting eventually in the ousting of the Mavericks from the playoffs.

In the final seconds of Game 5 of the 2005-06 NBA Western Conference playoff semi-finals against the San Antonio Spurs, Terry in closeups was shown punching opposing guard and former teammate Michael Finley in the groin. On May 18, 2006, Jason Terry was suspended without pay from Game 6. Despite losing that game, the Mavericks were able to close out the series in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. In Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals, Terry shot 7-25 from the field and 2-11 from three-point territory as the cold shooting Mavericks were eliminated in 6 games by the Miami Heat.

On July 1, 2006, after spending only 12 hours on the free-agent market, Jason Terry agreed to a 6-year contract to stay with the Dallas Mavericks.^[4]

Playing style

In offense, Terry relies mainly on his shooting skills and speed. He is regarded as one of the fastest players in the league, and is an elite 3 point shooter. He often pulls up for jump shots off the dribble, making him difficult to be guarded. He is known as a very streaky player, as his shooting accuracy can change dramatically from game to game. In defense, he is an average on ball defender, but has great ability to come up with steals which leads to many easy fast break points.

Personal life

Jason Terry and his wife, Johnyika, have four daughters; Jasionna, Jalayah, Jaida and Jasa Azuré.^[5] His younger sister, Lyric, used to live with them in Dallas.^[6]

Terry has the number 206 tattooed on his chest. It is his hometown area code. He also has a tattoo of Underdog.^[6]

Jason is the cousin of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Martell Webster.

Trivia

• Terry was named one of the Top 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness. ^[7]
• Terry was the first Hawk since Stacey Augmon to make the NBA's All-Rookie team.^[6]
• In 2004-05, Jason Terry and Steve Nash were the only players to shoot 80% from the line, 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range.^[6]
• His nickname is "JET" and he wears size 12½ basketball shoes.^[1]
• Terry loves watching ESPN's SportsCenter.^[1]
• In college, Jason always slept in his jersey the night before a game.^[6]
• While Martin Lawrence is his favorite actor and Halle Berry is his favorite actress, Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor's "Harlem Nights" is his favorite all-time movie.^[1]
• Terry majored in general studies at Arizona.^[1]
• Holds an annual basketball camp every year.^[1]
• Terry's Atlanta house was featured in an episode of MTV Cribs

International career

Terry was a member of the United States squad for the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

External links

• NBA.com - Jason Terry
• TucsonCitizen.com - Q&A of Those in the Know - Jason Terry