Brian Cook
Encyclopedia
Brian Joshua Cook (born December 4, 1980, in Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. It is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. First settled in the 1830s, Lincoln is home to three colleges and two prisons. The three...

) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. Cook was drafted out of the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 with the 24th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft
2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2003 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and...

 by the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

. He is the son of Norm Cook
Norm Cook
Norman Cook was an American basketball player.A 6'8" forward from Lincoln Community High School in Lincoln, Illinois, Cook played basketball at the University of Kansas from 1973 to 1976. He was named the Big Eight Conference's Freshman of the Year in 1974 after averaging 11.4 points per game and...

, an All-American for the Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas Jayhawks
The sports teams at the University of Kansas are known as the Jayhawks. They are one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a member of the Big 12 Conference...

 and played briefly for the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

, and the nephew of Joe Cook, who played basketball for Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 from 1988-1990.

Early life

Cook was born on December 4, 1980, in Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. It is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. First settled in the 1830s, Lincoln is home to three colleges and two prisons. The three...

. His father, Norman Cook, played collegiate basketball at the University of Kansas (1974–76) and professionally for the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 (1979–80). Cook played high school basketball at Lincoln High School in central Illinois. He led his high school team, the Lincoln Community High School
Lincoln Community High School
Lincoln Community High School is located at 1000 Primm Road in Lincoln, Illinois. The school has 912 students for the 2009-2010 school year, down from over 1200 30 years earlier.-Sports:...

 Railsplitters, to the quarterfinals of the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...

 class AA state boys basketball tournament. He was selected to the 1998 State Farm Holiday Classic all-tournament team.

University of Illinois

He was recruited by Lon Kruger
Lon Kruger
Lon Kruger is an American college and professional basketball coach who is currently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State University...

 to play center for the Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....

, making him the third consecutive Illinois Mr. Basketball
Illinois Mr. Basketball
Each year the Illinois Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Illinois....

 to sign with Illinois, following the lead of Sergio McClain
Sergio McClain
Sergio McClain is a former professional basketball player and NJCAA coach. He was the 1997 winner of the prestigious Illinois Mr...

 (1997) and Frank Williams
Frank Williams (basketball)
Frank Lowell Williams is a former American professional basketball player. As a point guard, Williams starred at both the high school and collegiate levels, and played briefly in the NBA....

 (1998).

Cook ultimately played 132 games in four years at the University of Illinois, most of them under coach Bill Self
Bill Self
Bill Self is an American college men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, where he led the Jayhawks to the 2008 NCAA national championship....

, and led the Illini in rebounding
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...

 in each season. Although a 6'10" center, Cook was a versitle scorer from both inside and outside the paint, utilizing his height to score in the post and hitting three-point shots when left open. This helped him to earn co Big Ten Freshman of the year honors during his first year at Illinois. As a senior in the 2002-03 season, Cook led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 20.0 points per game, and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball
Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball
The Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball was an award that was presented annually by the Chicago Tribune to the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference for both men's and women's basketball in the United States through 2007. The Chicago Tribune awarded the Silver Basketball for men's basketball...

 as the Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

 of the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

. That same season, Cook was named Second-Team All-American by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...

, and Third-Team All-American by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

, the National Association of Basketball Coaches
National Association of Basketball Coaches
The National Association of Basketball Coaches , headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of college men's basketball coaches...

, and The Basketball Times, as well as Big Ten Player of the Year and First-Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media.

Cook helped lead the Illini to a number one seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, and the Illini cruised to the Elite 8, where they were upset in a hard fought and controversial game by Cook's future teammate Luke Walton
Luke Walton
Luke Theodore Walton is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . His primary position is at small forward. After the 2010 NBA Finals, Walton and his father Hall of Famer Bill Walton became the first and only father and son to...

 and the Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats
-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...

. Cook was projected to be a top 10 draft pick in the NBA Draft, but ultimately slipped to the L.A. Lakers 24th pick. Cook left Illinois as the school's third all-time leading scorer with 1748 total points, at an average of 13.2 points per game, behind Deon Thomas
Deon Thomas
Deon La velle Thomas is an American former basketball player.-High school:Thomas was a star basketball player at Chicago's Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School , graduating in 1989. As a junior in 1988, he led the Wolverines to the Chicago Public League title. As a senior, he was named Illinois Mr...

 and Kiwane Garris
Kiwane Garris
Kiwane Garris is an American former professional basketball player. He was listed as a 6'2" , 183 lb point guard....

.

Cook was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

Professional basketball

Cook played sparingly in his rookie campaign as a backup to superstar center Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...

, and mostly was an interior player, notching only five three-point attempts out of 141 total field goal attempts. As his professional career evolved, however, Cook once again became a player who could play beyond the perimeter, after Shaq moved on to the Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

 and Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudolph Tomjanovich, Jr. , nicknamed Rudy T., is an American retired basketball player and coach who coached the Houston Rockets to two consecutive NBA championships. He is currently a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers.-Early life:...

 took over for Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...

 as Lakers' head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

. He was mainly used as a three-point
Three-point field goal
A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket...

 specialist; 199 of 422 (or 47.2%) of Cook's field goal attempts were from behind the three-point arc. When Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...

 returned to coach the Lakers in 2005-06, Cook shot from the perimeter less often, which has resulted in Cook improving his overall field-goal percentage from .417 in 2004-05 to .520 in 2005-06, and has also resulted in an improvement in his three-point field-goal percentage, from .392 in 2004-05 to .441 in 2005-06. His improved play kept Cook on the court more as his minutes played per game rose from 15.1 in 2004-05 to 19.4 in 2005-06.

On November 20, 2007, he along with teammate Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans (basketball)
Maurice Eugene Evans is an American professional basketball player who most recently played with the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association. A 6 ft 5 in guard/forward, Evans weighs 220 lb...

 were traded to the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...

 in exchange for Trevor Ariza
Trevor Ariza
Trevor Anthony Ariza is an American basketball player in the National Basketball Association who plays for the New Orleans Hornets. Primarily a small forward, he is listed at tall and 210 pounds.-Biography:...

.

On February 19, 2009, Cook was traded to the Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

 in a 3-team trade involving the Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...

 and Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...

. In Houston, Cook temporarily joined fellow Illini Alumni Luther Head
Luther Head
Luther Dale Head is an American professional basketball player. Standing 6'3" and weighing 185 lb , Head plays primarily shooting guard but played small forward as a college basketball star at the University of Illinois.-High school:Head attended Manley Academy in Chicago where he averaged over...

, prior to his being dealt to the Miami Heat.

On February 19, 2010, Cook was waived by the Rockets.

On July 9, 2010, Cook was signed by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Regular season

|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...


| 35 || 2 || 12.6 || .475 || .000 || .750 || 2.9 || .6 || .5 || .5 || 4.4
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
| 72 || 0 || 15.1 || .417 || .392 || .757 || 3.0 || .5 || .3 || .4 || 6.4
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
| 81 || 46 || 19.0 || .511 || .429 || .832 || 3.4 || .9 || .5 || .4 || 7.9
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
| 65 || 24 || 15.7 || .453 || .400 || .723 || 3.3 || 1.0 || .4 || .4 || 6.9
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
| 6 || 2 || 11.7 || .190 || .200 || 1.000 || 1.7 || .5 || .3 || .0 || 2.3
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Orlando
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...


| 45 || 0 || 12.4 || .394 || .390 || .882 || 2.2 || .5 || .2 || .3 || 5.0
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...


| align="left" | Orlando
| 21 || 0 || 7.0 || .383 || .440 || .833 || 1.3 || .2 || .1 || .0 || 3.0
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" | Houston
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...


| 9 || 0 || 2.8 || .313 || .400 || .000 || .6 || .1 || .0 || .3 || 1.3
|-
| align="left" | 2009-10
| align="left" | Houston
| 15 || 0 || 2.9 || .304 || .222 || .714 || .6 || .1 || .0 || .1 || 1.4
|-
| align="left" | 2010-11
| align="left" | L.A. Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...


| 40 || 0 || 11.2 || .424 || .430 || .625 || 2.4 || .4 || .3 || .3 || 4.8
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 389 || 74 || 13.8 || .445 || .396 || .779 || 2.7 || .6 || .3 || .3 || 5.7

Playoffs

|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
2004 NBA Playoffs
The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...


| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...


| 13 || 0 || 3.5 || .333 || .000 || 1.000 || .9 || .1 || .1 || .0 || .9
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
2006 NBA Playoffs
The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...


| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
| 7 || 0 || 11.1 || .391 || .364 || 1.000 || 3.1 || 1.1 || .1 || .0 || 6.3
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...


| align="left" | L.A. Lakers
| 5 || 0 || 10.2 || .333 || .429 || 1.000 || 1.2 || .0 || .0 || .2 || 3.6
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...


| align="left" | Houston
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...


| 6 || 0 || 5.3 || .267 || .222 || .000 || 2.0 || .5 || .3 || .2 || 1.7
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 31 || 0 || 6.7 || .351 || .333 || 1.000 || 1.7 || .4 || .1 || .1 || 2.7

External links

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