Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Listed at 6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward. Early life McDyess was born in Quitman, Mississippi and attended the University of Alabama. As a prep, McDyess was one of the top 30 players nationally, and made the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic. McDyess played college basketball at the University of Alabama. As a sophomore, he led the Crimson Tide in scoring (13.6) and rebounding (10.0), and was considered the SEC's best big man. He decided to forgo his final two years of college to enter the 1995 NBA draft. Playing career McDyess was selected with the second overall pick in the 1995 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, and was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the season began, along with Randy Woods, for fellow forward Rodney Rogers and a mid-first-round pick that was later used to select Brent Barry. McDyess's explosive leaping and power dunking ability allowed him to average 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over his first six seasons. In 1997, before his third year, McDyess was traded to the Phoenix Suns. He helped the Suns to a 56–26 record during his lone season in Phoenix. He became a free agent prior to the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, and returned to the Nuggets. The move was controversial however, because after he had verbally agreed to return to Denver, he reconsidered an offer to return to Phoenix. According to Sports Illustrated, Jason Kidd, Rex Chapman, and George McCloud flew through a blizzard to Denver in hopes of convincing him to re-sign with the Suns. McDyess was attending a Colorado Avalanche game with Nuggets President and General Manager Dan Issel, and Issel told security to not let the three Suns players into the building. Without any further consultation, he re-signed with the Nuggets. That season, on February 28, 1999, McDyess scored a career-high 46 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in a 116–112 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies. Considered an up and comer, he was selected to be a part of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2000–01, McDyess was named an All–Star and became just the third Nugget to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for a season, after Issel in 1977–78 and George McGinnis in 1978–79. Early