Matt Steigenga
Matthew Todd Steigenga (born March 27, 1970) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'7", 220-40 lbs. power forward who most notably played a part of one season with the Chicago Bulls and a season in the Liga ACB.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1970 Grand Rapids, Michigan | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| High school | South Christian (Grand Rapids, Michigan) | |||||||||||||
| College | Michigan State (1988–1992) | |||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1992 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52nd overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1992–2000 | |||||||||||||
| Position | Small forward | |||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Tau Cerámica | |||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Grand Rapids Hoops | |||||||||||||
| 1993 | Rochester Renegade | |||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins | |||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Quad City Thunder | |||||||||||||
| 1997 | Chicago Bulls | |||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Quad City Thunder | |||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Rockford Lightning | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Steigenga showed athletic ability at an early age, winning the National Football League's Punt, Pass, and Kick for youths at age nine.
Basketball career
As a high schooler, Steigenga had starred for South Christian High School, leading them to the 1988 Michigan Class B title while being named Mr. Basketball of Michigan. In the year's McDonald's All American All-star game, Steigenga won the slam dunk contest.
As a collegian, Steigenga started his final three years at Michigan State University, averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his four years. He finished the Spartans 11th all-time leading scorer and currently stands 17th with 1296 career points, and was also the school's leading career shot blocker with 97 until 2008, when Drew Naymick surpassed this total. The Jud Heathcote-coached Spartans in 1990 won Big Ten championship and reached the NCAA tournament sweet 16.
A second round pick of the Chicago Bulls in the 1992 NBA Draft (52nd overall), Steigenga was signed late in the 1996-97 season when the Bulls needed to fill an injury-depleted roster. He appeared in two games playing a total of 12 minutes and scoring three points. Athletic, he scored his only field goal on an alley oop dunk, against the Toronto Raptors at the United Center.
Steigenga would again sign with the Bulls in January 1999, but was put on waivers a few weeks later, without appearing in any games. Despite playing so little, Steigenga was awarded an NBA championship ring as the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, won the 1997 NBA Championship.
Additionally, Steigenga played the 1995-96 pre-season with the Atlanta Hawks, but failed to make the regular season roster. From 1992-2000, the Bulls notwithstanding, he represented the CBA's Grand Rapids Hoops (1992–93), Rochester Renegade (1993), Quad City Thunder (1996–98) and Rockford Lightning (1998–2000), also playing abroad in Spain (Taugrés, 1993) and Japan (Mitsubishi Electric Melco Dolphins, 1995–96).
At the international level, Steigenga was on the silver-medalist 1999 Pan American Games US team. He was also a member of NBA Ambassador teams who played in league championships in South America during the summer of 1999, and China the following summer.