Basketball player Nick Van Exel, formerly of the NBA, is a $20 million net worth American celebrity. After 13 years in the NBA, Nick Van Exel made it as an All-Star with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998 thanks to his flamboyant play at point guard and lefty shooting.
Nick Van Exel Early Life
In Kenosha, Wisconsin on the 27th of November 1971 was born Nickey Maxwell Van Exel. Joyce was mostly responsible for Nick’s upbringing, and he went to a private high school in Kenosha for his secondary education. From 1987–1989, he played basketball for the school, amassing 1,282 points and ranking first in scoring at the WISAA state tournament both as a junior and senior. As a senior, he was recognised by the Associated Press as one of the best players in the state.
Nick Van Exel’s desire to play basketball at the collegiate level was thwarted by his subpar academic performance. So he enrolled at a community college and worked hard for a few years so that he could play basketball for coach Bob Huggins at the University of Cincinnati. With Van Exel as their point guard, the Bearcats won their conference tournament, four games in the NCAA tournament, and reached the national championship game. He held the records for Cincinnati in three-pointers made (147), attempts (411), and percentage (.358) before they were eventually broken.
Nick Van Exel NBA Career
As the 37th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draught, Nick Van Exel’s professional basketball career got underway when he was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. After the Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time in years during the 1994 season, he helped lead them back in 1995, earning the nickname “Nick the Quick” for his speed and ability to make clutch shots. Van Exel averaged 14.9 points and 7.3 assists per game during his time with the Lakers.
In spite of his five years of service as their starting point guard, the team eventually dealt him to the Denver Nuggets. Van Exel averaged 17.7 points and 8.4 assists per game throughout four seasons with the Nuggets, and 21.4 points per game through 45 games of the 2001-2002 season, despite the team being one of the poorest in the NBA. He was sent there in a 2002 deal involving seven other players and Dallas’ first-round pick. In Dallas, he had a reduced role, but he still did a good job.
Van Exel averaged 12.6 points and 5.3 assists in 39 games for the Golden State Warriors before being dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2004. Before being released, he had appeared in just 53 games with Portland. Later, Nick announced that he was retiring from the NBA and joined with the San Antonio Spurs. Due to knee and elbow problems, he only played in 65 games during the 2005–2006 season, when his average was a career low. Nick Van Exel announced his retirement after the San Antonio Spurs were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs.
Nick Van Exel Coaching
On October 15, 2009, Nick Van Exel became an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Texas Southern University. Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce announced Van Exel’s hiring as a player development instructor on September 8, 2010. Nick Van Exel continued to play that role during the 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13 seasons. He joined the Milwaukee Bucks’ coaching staff in 2013–14.
It was in 2015 that he was given the reins as head coach of the NBA Development League’s Texas Legends. In 2016, the Memphis Grizzlies signed Van Exel to be an assistant coach, marking his return to the professional ranks. And in 2021, after serving as a scout for the Dallas Mavericks for two years, Nick Van Exel came back to the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach.
Nick Van Exel Career Earnings
In his 15 years in the NBA, Nick Van Exel made $74,408,867. Van Exel signed a contract with the Denver Nuggets that guaranteed him $50.5 million over five years and had incentives worth up to $77 million over seven years. However, he only played for the franchise for four years before being sold. Van Exel made a total of $11,933,252 and $11,956,625 during his time with the Portland Trailblazers and the Golden State Warriors, respectively.
Nick Van Exel Personal Life
On January 31, 2013, Nickey Van Exel, son of Nick Van Exel, was convicted of murdering his friend and sentenced to sixty years in jail. To prevent his best friend Bradley Eyo from testifying to police about a string of bank robberies the two committed together, Nickey shot and dumped his body in Lake Ray Hubbard.
