If you are not an avid basketball fan or from the Bay Area, you probably don't know who Monta Ellis is.
Why should you? He doesn't have a multi million dollar shoe deal with Nike. He doesn't go into the stands and throw Mike Tyson hay makers at fans.
What he is doing is lighting the NBA up on a nightly basis and his name deserves to be heard.
I first learned about Monta Ellis about three years ago at Oracle Arena on Martin Luther King Day. The Warriors were blowing out the Seattle Supersonics and a skinny 6'3" guard checked into the game. He immediately caught my eye with his great speed and athleticism.
I left the Arena that day thinking that Monta could be a player and i kept hearing it from my dad, "That Mon-ta Ellis sure was impressive today." "What do you think of Mon-Ta?" My dad didn't know his name then, but he knows it now.
So who exactly is Monta Ellis?
Monta was a McDonald's All-American out of Lanier high in Jackson, Missippi. When Monta decided to enter the NBA Draft that year he was an after thought. With guys like Andrew Bynum, Martell Webster, and Gerald Green entering the draft, nobody cared about the skinny kid from Jackson. Monta had a bad McDonald's game, so people he won't be that good in the pros.
The Warriors didn't listen to that talk taking Monta with the 10th pick in the 2nd round (40th overall). The Warriors drafted another undersized two guard named Gilbert Arenas in 2001, and we know how that turned out. Everyone knows lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, it does in the Golden State.
Monta got used to the bench in Mike Montgomery's system his rookie year. When he did get more run later in the season when the Warriors were eliminated from playoff contention, Monta showed flashes of brilliance. Monta averaged nearly seven points per game in only 18 minutes on the floor. He also showed elite quickness that turned into many fast break points for the Warriors.
After the season a great thing happened for Monta. The Warriors brought in Mr. Fast break, Don Nelson to run the show. That opened up new doors not only for the Warriors future, but Monta was picture perfect for Nelson's run-and-gun system.
Early word out of Don Nelson's first training camp with the Warriors was that "Nellie" didn't like the way Monta played, and he was looking for someone to take his spot in the rotation. The Warriors brought in Dajaun Wagner and many thought Monta was going to resume his position on the bench.
That was not the case.
Dajaun was cut before the season started and Monta got minutes immediately. Ellis made it tough for Nellie not to put him on the floor. When you shoot 47 percent from the field and average 1.7 steals a game, you deserve to be in the rotation.
By mid-season Monta cracked the starting five and was taking time away from the Warriors franchise player Jason Richardson. Monta finished the season averaging 16.5 points per game and was voted NBA Most Improved Player. The best thing yet was that Monta was part of the Warriors making the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons ending the longest drought in the league.
The scene was set for Monta to have his coming out party against the 67 win Dallas Mavericks.
3 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Khalid Shakran about 1 year ago
Monta's a beast man. Nice article dude. I went to see him in Oracle Arena during the Nuggets game front court, I would see him dashing by so damn fast. People don't realize he is the fastest guard in the game right now. Probably one of the fastest ever!
Good read man.
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Scott Tully about 1 year ago
Thanks Khalid, appreciate the love. Monta probably is top 5 fastest guards in the league. People will catch on.
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Eric Labrador 11 months ago
monte ellis will be an all-star in 2-3 years. that means the first all-star coming from golden state since Latrell Sprewell did it in '97 !
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