Robert Michael Archibald (29 March 1980 – 23 January 2020) was a Scottish professional basketball player. A 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) power forward / center from the University of Illinois, he was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA draft with the third pick of the second round (32nd overall).

Career

Archibald graduated from Lafayette High School in 1998, along with MLB player Ryan Howard. Archibald's father Bobby was a player for Murray BC in Scotland and was capped several times for Scotland and Great Britain's national teams.

NBA

After drafting him in the second round, the Memphis Grizzlies signed Archibald to a 2-year contract. After one season with the team, in which he played only 12 games, Archibald was traded with Brevin Knight and Cezary Trybański to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Bo Outlaw and Jake Tsakalidis. On 26 December 2003 Archibald was traded again, this time to the Orlando Magic. A week later he was traded, for the third time that season, to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Mengke Bateer and Remon van de Hare. He played 30 games with the Raptors.

Archibald's final NBA game was on April 9, 2004, in a 66–74 loss to the Detroit Pistons where he recorded four rebounds but no points.

Archibald holds NBA career averages of 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. He is the only Scotsman to play in the NBA.

Europe

Archibald played four seasons in the Euroleague with Scavolini Pesaro, Joventut Badalona and two seasons with Unicaja Málaga. In July 2011 he signed a one-year contract with CAI Zaragoza. Archibald retired after the 2012 Summer Olympics in which he represented Great Britain.

International

Archibald represented the Scottish national basketball team at junior level. He joined the Great Britain national team as it formed in 2007. He represented Great Britain 46 times including EuroBasket 2009, EuroBasket 2011, and at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Death

Archibald died of suicide by gunshot at age 39 at his home in Barrington, Illinois. According to his father, he suffered from depression and was going through a protracted divorce.

Career statistics

Legend
GPGames playedGSGames startedMPGMinutes per game
FG%Field goal percentage3P%3-point field goal percentageFT%Free throw percentage
RPGRebounds per gameAPGAssists per gameSPGSteals per game
BPGBlocks per gamePPGPoints per gameBoldCareer high

NBA

Regular season

Source

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2002–03Memphis1206.0.300.3891.40.30.00.31.6
2003–04Phoenix106.0.000.5001.01.00.00.01.0
2003–04Orlando104.0.500.0001.00.01.00.02.0
2003–04Toronto3038.2.267.4811.70.40.40.11.0
Career4437.5.283.4291.60.40.30.11.2

External links

  • @ NBA.com
  • Career statistics from ·
  • 26 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)