American basketball player
David John Corzine (born April 25, 1956) is an American retired professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Biography
A Chicago-area native who went to John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and DePaul University in Chicago, Corzine was the 18th overall pick of the 1978 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. With the Bullets, Corzine participated in the 1979 NBA Finals but they lost in five games to the Seattle SuperSonics. After two years with the Bullets and two more with the San Antonio Spurs, Corzine returned to his hometown to play for the Chicago Bulls for seven seasons, where he started in 285 out of 556 games played for the team.
He was then traded to the Orlando Magic for two second-round picks (which the Chicago Bulls used to select Toni Kukoč and P.J. Brown, respectively) on June 27, 1989. He began the 1989–90 season as the inaugural Orlando Magic's first starting center, but just as early as in a game no.3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers (won by the Magic in overtime giving them 2–1 record) in a first quarter he got serious ligament damage in his left knee, and was subsequently forced to miss a lot of time.[1] He returned to play a few minutes in three late-December games the same year, but hurt the knee again, and never suited up for the team again after that. After the season, he signed with the Seattle SuperSonics as a Free Agent on October 4, 1990. At the time of his signing, his attorney, Herb Rudoy allegedly said: "Dave is excited, but he's going to get into it slowly. He's looking to play four or five more years in this league."[2] – As it turned out, most likely because of the injuries and lack of playing time, he would only play that one final season to finish his NBA career.
He averaged 8.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in the NBA and his best season was arguable with the Chicago Bulls in 1982–83 when he averaged 14.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, or the 1983–84 NBA season, where he played and started all 82 games and had career-highs in many statistical categories, including steals, assists, blocks, FT%, and 3-PT%.[3]
On November 19, 2024 the DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team announced live during a game against Eastern Illinois that Corzine's No. 40 jersey would be retired by the program. Corzine played center for DePaul from 1974-1978 where he continues to hold the record for the most rebounds in franchise history, 1,151. In addition to being ranked fourth for most career points 1,896. His star show is considered to be his participation in the 1978 NCAA Tournament where he scored 46 points against Louisville in the Sweet 16. He would be named a Honorable Mention All-American that same year. The official ceremony will take place prior to a home game against Butler at Wintrust Arena on February 22, 2025.[4]
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
References
