Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
 Cage with the San Diego State Aztecs in 1982–83 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | January 28, 1962 West Memphis, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | West Memphis (West Memphis, Arkansas) | ||||||||||||||
| College | San Diego State (1980–1984) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1984: 1st round, 14th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the San Diego Clippers[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1984–2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward / center | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 44, 4, 45 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 1984–1988 | Los Angeles Clippers | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1994 | Seattle SuperSonics | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Cleveland Cavaliers | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | New Jersey Nets | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Points | 8,278 (7.3 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 8,646 (7.6 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
| Steals | 1,050 (0.9 spg) | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Basketball career
editA 6'9" power forward/center from San Diego State, he is the Aztecs' all-time rebounding leader and second leading scorer as of 2011.[2] Cage was the 14th pick of the 1984 NBA draft. He played 15 NBA seasons (1984–2000) with five teams: the Los Angeles Clippers, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets.
On January 19, 1987, Cage scored a career-high 29 points in a loss against the San Antonio Spurs.[3]
During the 1987–88 season when, as a member of the Clippers, he led the league in rebounding with 13.0 per game. He was on a personal duel with Charles Oakley, who was playing with the Chicago Bulls at the time. Cage needed to register 28 rebounds in his final game to beat out Oakley for the rebounding title. He ended up grabbing 30.[1] Just weeks later, during the 1988 NBA draft, Cage was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for a future first-round pick and Gary Grant.[4] During his first season in Seattle, Cage would make the postseason for the first time in his career.[4] Several years later, during the 1993 NBA Playoffs, Cage and the SuperSonics would come within one game of reaching the NBA Finals, losing to the Charles Barkley-led Suns in seven games.[5]
During his career, Cage earned the nicknames "John Shaft" and "Windexman"[1] (as in "cleaning the glass") for his rebounding prowess and hard work on defense.
Cage held the record for most career 3-point attempts without a make (0–25) until Zaza Pachulia reached 0–26 for his career during the 2017–2018 season. Pachulia retired after the 2018 - 2019 season and he still holds the record at 0 - 31.
Cage's final game was on January 17, 2000, in a 96–101 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers where he recorded 3 rebounds and 1 assist, but no points.
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
NBA
editSource[4]
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | L.A. Clippers | 75 | 41 | 21.5 | .543 | – | .737 | 5.2 | .7 | .5 | .4 | 7.1 |
| 1985–86 | L.A. Clippers | 78 | 12 | 20.1 | .479 | .000 | .649 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .8 | .4 | 6.7 |
| 1986–87 | L.A. Clippers | 80 | 76 | 36.5 | .521 | .000 | .730 | 11.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 | .8 | 15.7 |
| 1987–88 | L.A. Clippers | 72 | 70 | 36.9 | .470 | .000 | .688 | 13.0* | 1.5 | 1.3 | .8 | 14.0 |
| 1988–89 | Seattle | 80 | 71 | 31.7 | .498 | .000 | .743 | 9.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 | .7 | 10.3 |
| 1989–90 | Seattle | 82* | 82* | 31.6 | .504 | – | .698 | 10.0 | .9 | 1.0 | .5 | 9.7 |
| 1990–91 | Seattle | 82* | 55 | 26.1 | .506 | .000 | .625 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | .7 | 6.4 |
| 1991–92 | Seattle | 82 | 69 | 30.0 | .566 | .000 | .620 | 8.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | .7 | 8.8 |
| 1992–93 | Seattle | 82 | 66 | 26.3 | .526 | .000 | .469 | 8.0 | .8 | .9 | .6 | 6.1 |
| 1993–94 | Seattle | 82* | 42 | 20.8 | .548 | .000 | .486 | 5.4 | .5 | .9 | .5 | 4.6 |
| 1994–95 | Cleveland | 82* | 21 | 24.9 | .521 | .000 | .602 | 6.9 | .7 | .7 | .8 | 5.0 |
| 1995–96 | Cleveland | 82 | 80 | 32.1 | .556 | .000 | .543 | 8.9 | .6 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| 1996–97 | Philadelphia | 82 | 24 | 15.2 | .468 | .000 | .463 | 3.9 | .5 | .6 | .5 | 1.8 |
| 1997–98 | New Jersey | 79 | 17 | 15.2 | .512 | .000 | .556 | 3.9 | .4 | .6 | .6 | 1.3 |
| 1999–00 | New Jersey | 20 | 7 | 12.1 | .500 | – | 1.000 | 4.1 | .5 | .4 | .4 | 1.4 |
| Career | 1,140 | 733 | 26.1 | .515 | .000 | .664 | 7.6 | .9 | .9 | .6 | 7.3 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Seattle | 8 | 0 | 21.9 | .609 | .000 | .409 | 5.8 | .6 | .9 | .4 | 7.1 |
| 1991 | Seattle | 5 | 0 | 16.0 | .429 | – | .765 | 4.2 | .4 | .6 | .4 | 5.0 |
| 1992 | Seattle | 9 | 4 | 21.9 | .559 | – | 1.000 | 5.7 | .4 | .7 | .9 | 4.3 |
| 1993 | Seattle | 19 | 2 | 19.9 | .525 | – | .389 | 5.8 | .5 | .7 | .4 | 4.8 |
| 1994 | Seattle | 5 | 5 | 18.6 | .375 | – | .333 | 5.4 | .8 | .8 | 1.0 | 2.8 |
| 1995 | Cleveland | 4 | 0 | 20.3 | .444 | .000 | .000 | 4.5 | .8 | .5 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| 1996 | Cleveland | 3 | 3 | 33.7 | .571 | – | .600 | 9.3 | .7 | .7 | 1.7 | 6.3 |
| Career | 53 | 14 | 20.8 | .523 | .000 | .493 | 5.7 | .6 | .7 | .6 | 4.9 | |
Personal life
editOn September 17, 2014, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced Cage would be joining their broadcast team, replacing analyst Grant Long.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "CLIPPERS: Catching up with Michael Cage – 8/9/11". nba.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ Canepa, Nick (February 25, 2011). "According to Cage, SDSU a strong enough 'team' to conquer Jimmer". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
- ^ Michael Cage scores a career high 29 points (1987)
- ^ a b c "Michael Cage NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ 1993 NBA Western Conference Finals SuperSonics vs. Suns
- ^ "Michael Cage to Join Thunder Broadcast Team". thunder.nba.com. September 17, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Official Website
- NBA biography of Cage (archived from 2000)