Mario Elie

Elie, who is of Haitian heritage, was born and raised in the Manhattan borough of New York City.[1][2] He was named "Mario" for opera singer Mario Lanza.[3]

Elie attended Power Memorial Academy. After being cut from the freshman basketball team, Elie made the junior varsity team the following season; one of his teammates was future NBA star Chris Mullin.[3]

After Division I schools failed to recruit him, Elie played college basketball at the Division II level for American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts.[3] He led AIC to the NCAA Division II Tournament Quarter-Final[4] and became the school's all-time leading scorer.[3] He was selected with the 160th pick (out of 162 total) in the 1985 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks,[5] but was cut from the team during training camp.[6]

In 1986, Elie started his professional career in Ireland with Killester, where he won Player of the Year honors.[7] Elie played for the USBL's Miami Tropics,[8] Elie played eight games in Argentina with Unión de Santa Fe.[9][10] He then spent two seasons in Portugal with Ovarense, helping them win their first national title.[11] He spent two seasons with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1991,[12] earning All-CBA First Team honors in 1991.[13]

In December 1990, he made his NBA debut, joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a 10-day contract.[14] He played three games for the 76ers between December 28 and January 2.[15] In February 1991, he joined the Golden State Warriors,[14] where he remained for the rest of the 1990–91 season as well as the 1991–92 season.[16] Elie spent the 1992–93 season with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to the Houston Rockets prior to the 1993–94 season.[16]

Elie won two NBA championships with the Rockets, one in 1994 and one in 1995.[3] During this period, Elie was dubbed the "Junkyard Dog" by his teammates.[6] One highlight of Elie's career came when he hit a game-winning three-pointer in Game 7 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns to break a tie with 7.1 seconds. The shot is called the "Kiss of Death" by Rockets fans, as Elie made a taunting kissing gesture towards the Suns' bench after the shot.[17] While Elie was a key role player for the Rockets off the bench throughout the regular season and the playoffs, he became a starter in the 1995 NBA Finals. This move paid off for the Rockets, as Elie averaged 16.3 points per game in the Finals while shooting 65% from the field.[18][19]

Elie played for the Rockets through the 1997–98 season and then signed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he played for two seasons.[20] The Spurs reportedly signed Elie in an effort to add "nastiness" to their team. Elie started for the Spurs for much of the season.[18] With Elie, the Spurs won their first-ever NBA championship in 1999.[21]

After playing the 2000–01 season for the Phoenix Suns,[16] Elie retired.[22] He finished his career with 6,265 points in 732 NBA games.[5]

In 2007, Elie was inducted into the New York Basketball Hall of Fame. He has been named one of the top ten players in Houston Rockets history.[23]

During his playing career, Elie was a role player who performed well in clutch situations.[24][6] He had a reputation as a tough defender, a fierce competitor,[3] and an accurate outside shooter.[20]

On September 28, 2007, Elie was hired by the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach.[25] He served with the Mavericks for one season. On June 22, 2009, Paul Westphal hired Elie as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.[26] On December 8, 2011, Elie was added to former teammate Avery Johnson's coaching staff with the New Jersey Nets.[27] On June 26, 2015, he was hired by the Orlando Magic as an assistant coach.[28]

Elie is married to Gina Gaston, a journalist and anchorwoman for Houston's Channel ABC13. Elie and Gaston have triplets.[29][30][31]

Elie speaks four languages: English and French from growing up in a Haitian-Creole household, Portuguese from playing pro basketball in Portugal, and Spanish from playing in Argentina.[32]

In December 2010, Elie was arrested in Sacramento, California for allegedly driving while intoxicated.[33][34]

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com