Chris Childs (basketball)
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Chris Childs (born November 20, 1967 in Bakersfield, California) is an American professional basketball player.
A tough-minded 6'3" guard who starred at Boise State University in the late 1980s, Childs went undrafted in the 1989 NBA Draft and began his professional career in the Continental Basketball Association. Childs played for five different teams in his first three seasons in the league, but he eventually found a home with the Quad City Thunder, with whom he won a league title and an MVP award in 1994 after averaging 17.9 points and 7.6 assists. His success in the minor leagues proved to be his ticket to the NBA, as he signed with the New Jersey Nets prior to the start of the 1994-95 NBA season. Childs spent his first two seasons in the NBA with the Nets, and he averaged an NBA career-high 12.8 points in 1995-96.
However, Childs is perhaps best remembered for his five-year (1996–2001) tenure with the New York Knicks, who relied on his tight defense and streaky three-point shooting ability during their perennial runs to the NBA Playoffs. He led the team in assists (6.1 per game) as a starter during the 1996-97 season, and he was a valuable contributor off the bench during his next four years with the team. A visible figure in the New York media, he also represented the Knicks on the 1998-99 NBA All-Interview Team and won the New York Press Photographers Association's 2000 "Good Guy Award" for his involvement with several charities and youth basketball programs.
In 2001, Childs was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Mark Jackson and Muggsy Bogues, with whom he played for one-and-a-half seasons before rejoining the Nets in 2002. However, his second tenure with the Nets was disastrous, as he was suspended by the team for being overweight and out-of-shape at the beginning of the season. After tweleve games in which he averaged just 1.3 points, he was finally waived and saw his NBA career come to a close.
In 2002, Childs also made the news when he was robbed at gunpoint in an incident at a Manhattan nightclub owned by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. He allegedly lost over $30,000 in jewelery and cash.
