Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced today that the team has acquired center Theo Ratliff from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for a protected second-round draft pick in 2016.
The 6-10 Ratliff is in his 15th NBA season, with career averages of 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocked shots, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals in 25.7 minutes in 772 games played for Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Portland, Boston, Minnesota and San Antonio. The 18th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, Ratliff was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1999 and 2004 and was voted the starting center for the Eastern Conference in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game but was unable to play due to a stress fracture in his right wrist suffered four days before the game.
In 21 games played with San Antonio this season, Ratliff is averaging 1.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.9 blocked shots and 0.4 assists in 8.7 minutes.
Ratliff, who previously played for Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown in Philadelphia from 1997-2001, led the NBA in blocked shots per game in 2000-01, 2002-03 and 2003-04. One of only seven players in NBA history to lead the league in blocked shots at least three times, his 1,920 career blocked shots ranks 18th all-time and fifth among active players. He is the last NBA player to record at least 300 blocked shots in a season, finishing with 307 in 2003-04, and is the only player to do so since Dikembe Mutumbo in 1995-96.
Ratliff has also played in 39 career playoff games, averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots in 21.2 minutes for Detroit and Philadelphia.
