Howard Eisley

Eisley graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit, where he was teammates with future NBA players Jalen Rose and Voshon Lenard, and played for the Boston College Eagles basketball team for four years before being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (30th overall) in 1994. He graduated from Boston College with a degree in communications. In his senior season, Eisley led the Eagles to the eastern regional finals or "Elite Eight" round of the 1994 NCAA tournament and earned regional All-Tournament honors.^[1]

Eisley was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 30th overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. As a rookie in 1994–95, Eisley started in four games for the Timberwolves out of 34.^[1][2] With an average playing time of 14.6 minutes per game, Eisley averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 assists. On February 13, 1995, Eisley was waived by the Timberwolves.

On February 26, 1995, Eisley signed the first of two 10-day contracts with the San Antonio Spurs. He signed for the rest of the season on March 18, and was released on April 14. In 15 games and 56 minutes with the Spurs, Eisley recorded 7 points and 18 assists.^[1]

Eisley began the next season with the Rockford Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) before signing with the Utah Jazz, who sought a point guard to back up John Stockton and to replace the injured Jamie Watson.^[1][3] Previously, Eisley was the final player cut from Jazz training camp.^[4] By December 1995, Eisley had the top free throw percentage (17 for 17) in the CBA. In seven games with the Lightning, Eisley improved his performance: in 24 minutes per game, he averaged 12.4 points and 3.3 assists.^[3] Jazz coach Jerry Sloan commented that Eisley was "a focused young man" and: "So many people play with their athletic ability alone and forget to play with the other people on the court. He's adjusted as quickly to what we're doing as anybody we've had."^[2] Eisley was known for his quiet manner.^[4][5]

In the first half of Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Eisley made a 3-point shot that replays clearly showed was released before the shot clock expired. Referee Dick Bavetta mistakenly disallowed the shot.^[6][7] (This game took place four years before the NBA instituted instant replay to review calls.^[8]) The Chicago Bulls would beat the Utah Jazz in that game 87–86 and win the championship series four games to two.

Eisley was traded to the Dallas Mavericks during the 2000 season. He would play 82 games for the Mavericks during the 2000–01 season, averaging 9.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. That season he would also appear in nine games for the Mavericks in the 2001 NBA playoffs where Dallas defeated the Utah Jazz in the first round 3-2 and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the western conference semifinals 4–1.

Eisley was traded to the New York Knicks in 2001 in a three-team trade involving the Houston Rockets, sending Muggsy Bogues to Dallas. He spent three seasons with the Knicks from 2001 until 2003, including the 2002–03 season when he averaged a career-high 9.1 points per game.

Eisley was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2004, alongside Maciej Lampe, Antonio McDyess, Charlie Ward, the rights to Miloš Vujanić, and draft considerations, in exchange for Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybański. He would only play 34 games for the Suns in the 2003–04 season before being waived by the Suns on October 29, 2004.

On November 3, 2004, the first day of the regular season for the Utah Jazz, Eisley signed a $1.1 million, one-year contract with the team, for which he played five seasons from 1995 to 2000. He scored four points and made three assists, and the Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 104–78.^[9] In 74 games, Eisley averaged 19.3 minutes, 5.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.^[10] Among his milestones in his comeback season with the Jazz included his 700th career game (December 12, 2004 against the Portland Trail Blazers), 5,000th career point (April 15, 2005 against the Minnesota Timberwolves), and a career-high eight defensive rebounds (February 1, 2005 against the Charlotte Bobcats). In 19 games, Eisley led the Jazz in assists.^[1]

On November 17, 2005, Eisley signed as a free agent with the Clippers.^[11] In 13 games with the Clippers, Eisley averaged 0.7 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.^[10] The Clippers, having experimented with a three-guard lineup as Corey Maggette was out due to injury, released Eisley on January 3, 2006.^[12]

Following two 10-day contracts, the Nuggets kept Eisley for the rest of the season from March 23, 2006.^[13] With the Nuggets, Eisley played in 19 games and averaged 4.8 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.^[10] On July 20, 2006, the Nuggets traded Eisley to the Chicago Bulls, but the Bulls later waived him.^[14][15]

In 2010, Eisley became a player development assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers.^[16][17]

He was hired as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards on September 4, 2014. Following a three-year stint as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Eisley joined Juwan Howard's staff at the University of Michigan as an assistant coach.^[18]

• Howard Eisley coach profile at NBA.com
• Howard Eisley player profile at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2007) at NBA.com