Marcus Banks

Arthur Lemarcus Banks III is a professional basketball player from the USA who plays as a point guard. Following his years at the Cimarron-Memorial High School, Banks went on to attend the Dixie State College of Utah for two years. After two years, he got a transfer to the University of Las Vegas where he was voted as the Co-Defensive Player of the Year during his senior year, in 2002. Banks declared for the 2003 NBA Draft and was picked at 13th overall, by the Memphis Grizzlies. The same day, he was traded out to the Boston Celtics alongside Kendrick Perkins. He played 81 games in his rookie year and on an average of 17.1 minutes per game, had a 5.9 points per game record for the season.

The following year, Banks was traded out to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Gary Payton however Payton refused to take a physical test before joining the Celtics and that meant that the trade was canceled. Banks was back at Boston and with his defense, made himself a crowd favourite despite poor shooting. After his three-year rookie contract expired, the Celtics decided to trade him out and Banks was on his way to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Banks spent a single season in Minnesota and played just 40 games. In those games, he played a career-high 30.7 minutes per game while his scoring was at a career-high 12 points per game. Banks also recorded career highs in Assists (4.7), Steals (1.2) and Rebounds (2.9) per game while starting a career-high 28 games.

A standout season, as far as his own career was concerned, was followed by free agency as the Timberwolves decided to decline him a new contact. The Phoenix Suns decided to pick Banks up and since they weren’t looking for a point guard, Banks spent the training camp playing as a shooting guard. Banks spent two seasons at the Suns after signing a 5-year, $21.3 million contract. He played just 45 games in 2006-07 and 24 in 2007-08, barely averaging around 11.5 minutes per game over the two seasons. His scoring was back in the lower single figures, while his support play had gone down in the new role, his defense also took a bit of a hit.

In February 2008, Banks finally moved to the Miami Heat in a move that saw Shawn Marion accompany Banks while Shaquille O’Neal went the other way. At Miami, Banks was barely played and in two seasons, he had just 28 games under his belt with an average playing time of 21.6 minutes in the first season and just 10.4 in the next.

At the end of 2008-09, Banks was traded out to the Toronto Raptors along with Shawn Marion, in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon. For the Raptors, in 2008-09, Banks played just 6 games with an average of 6.7 minutes on court.