Kareem Lamar Rush (born October 30, 1980 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player positioned at shooting guard currently under contract with the NBA's Indiana Pacers. Rush's younger brother, Brandon, currently plays for Bill Self's Jayhawks at the University of Kansas, while older brother JaRon, played college basketball for UCLA.[1]
Rush entered the 2002 NBA Draft after his junior season and was selected with the 20th pick overall by the Toronto Raptors, who immediately traded his rights to the Los Angeles Lakers. Rush was projected to be a top 10 pick, but much like what happened to Kareem's elder brother JaRon - a former UCLA star - Kareem slipped down much further than anticipated. At the 2000 draft, JaRon, who left the Bruins after his sophomore season,
was not selected. "No one wants to see something like that happen to his brother", JaRon said, weeping. "I mean, I knew he was going to get drafted eventually, but it was still hard."
Over his first two seasons, he played a limited, back-up role on the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant-led club. H
owever, due to his three-point shooting accuracy, he would beome a more frequently used reserve player in the 2003-2004 playoffs for coach Phil Jackson. Although the Lakers would lose to the Pistons in the NBA Finals, Rush was able to make somewhat of a name for himself as a sharpshooter, averaging
14 minutes per game and hitting 40% of his three-point shots in the playoffs. He was a major contributer in helping the Lakers clinch the Western Conference Finals against the Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he scored 18 points in the sixth and final match, all from 3-point range,
where was was 6 for 7.[2]
Fourteen games into the 2004-05 season, the Lakers traded Rush to the Charlotte Bobcats for two future second-round draft picks. In Charlotte, Rush found a larger role, often starting and averaging more than 25 minutes and 11.5 points per game. He set a then-Bobcats franc
hise record by scoring 35 points against the Indiana Pacers. His season ended March 2 when he strained his MCL during a game in New Orleans.[3]
During the 2006-07 offseason, Rush signed with the Seattle SuperSonics,[4] but recovered slowly from a groin injury. In November 2006, the club waived him
to make room for a replacement for two frontcourt players who had sustained injuries.[5]
Rush spent the next season playing in Lithuania. On December 21, 2006, he signed with ULEB Cup participant Lietuvos Rytas from Vilnius. He was chosen by the Slovenian coach Zmago Sagadin and led his team to the
cup final. On February 24, 2007, Rush was named the MVP of the Lithuanian Basketball League All Star Game. On April 21, Rush's team became the champion of the Baltic Basketball League; he was named the Final Four MVP.
On July 3, 2007, Rush signed with the Indiana Pacers, who cited their need for a
shooter
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