Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis ( born October 26, 1985 in Jackson, Mississippi ) is an American professional basketball player who is currently active for the Dallas Mavericks in the North American professional league NBA. The 1.91 m wide and 84 -pound combo guard is distinguished by his rapid playing style, among other things, the nickname "The Mississippi Missile " him (English: " The Mississippi rocket" ) earned.

Playing career

Ellis was appointed along with Greg Oden for Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year in 2005 and All-American basketball team elected to USA Today in 2005, having in his last year at Lanier High School in Jackson (Mississippi) average 38.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 4.5 steals achieved. Originally he wanted to then enroll at Mississippi State University, but decided against it and signed up for the 2005 NBA Draft, where he was selected in the second round in 40th place of the Golden State Warriors.

As a rookie, he scored in the 2005/06 season his average of 6.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.6 steals. In the following season he was able to increase its value to 16.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, earning him the title of NBA Most Improved Player. He received in the election 47 of 129 possible votes. In addition, he was selected as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend 2007 in the Sophomore team in the NBA Rookie Challenge, where he scored 28 points in 22 minutes. The following years he improved his stats steadily and became the top performers at the Warriors. His previous Career he achieved in the 2009/10 season, averaging 25.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.2 steals.

In March 2012, Ellis was transferred along with Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh in exchange for Stephen Jackson and Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks. Originally, he had at the Bucks a contract until 2014, from which he, however, already in the summer of 2013 got off per option. He then reached an agreement in July of the same year with the Dallas Mavericks to a three-year contract until 2016.