Derek Strong
Height6 ft
Height in8
Weight lb220
Birth dateFebruary 9, 1968 (age 58)
Birth placeLos Angeles, California, U.S.
High schoolPacific Palisades
(Los Angeles, California)
CollegeXavier (1987–1990)
Draft year1990
Draft round2
Draft pick47
Draft teamPhiladelphia 76ers
Career start1990
Career end2003
Career number35, 20, 31, 7, 33, 30
Years 11990–1991
Team 1Huesca La Magia
Years 21991
Team 2Miami Tropics
Team 3Washington Bullets
Years 41992–1993
Team 4Quad City Thunder
Years 5–
Team 5Milwaukee Bucks
Team 6Boston Celtics
Team 7Los Angeles Lakers
Years 8–
Team 8Orlando Magic
Team 9Los Angeles Clippers
Years 102002–2003
Team 10Columbus Riverdragons
Highlights
Stats leagueNBA
Stat1labelPoints
Stat1value3,088 (6.8 ppg)
Stat2labelRebounds
Stat2value2,213 (4.9 rpg)
Stat3labelAssists
Stat3value291 (0.6 apg)

Derek Lamar Strong (born February 9, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in ten National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons from 1991 to 2001 for six different teams. A 6'8" power forward from Xavier University, Strong was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round (47th pick overall) of the 1990 NBA draft. Strong has successfully transitioned into stock car racing.

Professional basketball career

Strong played for the Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers.

In his NBA career, Strong played in 456 games and scored a total of 3,088 points. His best year as a professional came during the 1997–98 season as a member of the Magic, appearing in 58 games and averaging 12.7 ppg.

Strong played for the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1992–93 season.[1] He was selected as the CBA Most Valuable Player and Newcomer of the Year, and named to the All-CBA First Team and All-Defensive Team.[1]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1991–92 | align="left" | Washington | 1 || 0 || 12.0 || .000 || .000 || .750 || 5.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 |- | align="left" | 1992–93 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 23 || 0 || 14.7 || .457 || .500 || .800 || 5.0 || 0.6 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 6.8 |- | align="left" | 1993–94 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 67 || 11 || 16.9 || .413 || .231 || .772 || 4.2 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 6.6 |- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | Boston | 70 || 24 || 19.2 || .453 || .286 || .820 || 5.4 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 6.3 |- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | L.A. Lakers | 63 || 0 || 11.8 || .426 || .111 || .812 || 2.8 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 3.4 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Orlando | 82 || 21 || 24.4 || .447 || .000 || .803 || 6.3 || 0.9 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 8.5 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Orlando | 58 || 8 || 28.2 || .420 || .000 || .781 || 7.4 || 0.9 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 12.7 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Orlando | 44 || 0 || 15.8 || .422 || .000 || .717 || 3.7 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 5.1 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Orlando | 20 || 0 || 7.4 || .438 || .250 || .786 || 2.2 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 2.7 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | L.A. Clippers | 28 || 8 || 17.5 || .385 || .000 || .757 || 3.9 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 4.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 456 || 72 || 18.7 || .430 || .180 || .786 || 4.9 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 6.8 |}

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | Boston | 4 || 1 || 20.3 || .333 || .000 || .500 || 6.0 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 2.8 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Orlando | 5 || 5 || 39.0 || .525 || .000 || .760 || 10.0 || 0.8 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 12.2 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Orlando | 1 || 0 || 16.0 || .500 || .000 || 1.000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 4.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 10 || 6 || 29.2 || .481 || .000 || .727 || 7.4 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 7.6 |}

College

|- | align="left" | 1987–88 | align="left" | Xavier | 30 || - || 22.3 || .569 || .000 || .718 || 7.1 || 0.8 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 10.6 |- | align="left" | 1988–89 | align="left" | Xavier | 33 || 31 || 29.8 || .617 || .000 || .817 || 8.0 || 0.5 || 0.8 || 0.5 || 15.3 |- | align="left" | 1989–90 | align="left" | Xavier | 33 || 31 || 29.7 || .533 || .000 || .839 || 9.9 || 0.9 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 14.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 96 || 62 || 27.4 || .573 || .000 || .802 || 8.4 || 0.7 || 0.8 || 0.6 || 13.4 |}

NASCAR career

During his tenure in the NBA, Derek was an avid NASCAR fan and remained committed to pursuing this childhood dream when his playing days ended. Strong transitioned into a professional stock car driver and owner of Strong Racing Team Derek is the first NBA player to successfully transition into stock car racing. Strong Racing is the first team in NASCAR history to have African-American female owners – Dawn Whitaker and Erika Hill.[2] Strong Racing is a Stock Car Racing Team that competes in ASA and NASCAR Racing events. Strong Racing is managed by Stuart Lycett and is based in Los Angeles.[3]

Charities

Strong supports many charities including The Music City Motorsports Institute, a non-profit associated with Strong Racing that seeks to motivate and inspire students to achieve academic success with an educational platform of learning, discovery and fun in the motor sports industry.[3] Co-owner of Strong Racing, Erika Hill is also the co-founder of Peace International, a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to build schools in remote areas throughout the world.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Derek Strong minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  2. ^ "LTTS Exclusive: NBA and NASCAR Legend Derek Strong". Look to the Stars. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  3. ^ "None"
  4. ^ "LTTS Exclusive: NBA and NASCAR Legend Derek Strong". Look to the Stars. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2019-11-29.