Bubba Wells
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Charles Richard "Bubba" Wells (born July 26, 1974 in Russellville, Kentucky) is an American former professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks.
Selected 34th by the Mavs in the 1997 NBA Draft out of Austin Peay State University, the little-used small forward's NBA career was short-lived, consisting of just 39 games of the 1997-98 season. Though he did start two games in March 1998, in place of the injured Cedric Ceballos.
His NBA career came to an abrupt end in 1998, after he was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Martin Müürsepp, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a future first-round draft pick in exchange for point guard Steve Nash. Wells never played a game for the Suns. As of the 2005-2006 season, Wells is an assistant men's basketball coach at Austin Peay.
[edit] Wells breaks 41-year NBA record
Bubba Wells holds the dubious distinction of being the player with the quickest disqualification due to personal fouls in an NBA regular season game. In a December 29, 1997 game against the Chicago Bulls, then-Mavericks coach Don Nelson employed a desperate tactic to limit the Bulls' offense. He inserted Wells into the game with the express purpose of fouling power forward Dennis Rodman, a notoriously poor free throw shooter, away from the ball. This would mark Nelson's first known use of the defensive strategy that would later become known as Hack-a-Shaq.[citation needed]
The plan failed, however, when Rodman hit nine-of-twelve foul shots and Chicago went on to win the game 111–105. Wells fouled out late in the third quarter after registering his sixth personal foul in a total of three minutes playing time.[1]
The previous record-holder was Dick Farley of the Syracuse Nationals who was disqualified in five minutes on March 12, 1956.[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bubba Update, Austin Peay State University website, Fall 1998
- ^ NBA.com History: This Date in History - March
