Paul Murphy Shirley (born December 23, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Unicaja Málaga in the Spanish ACB. Shirley is noted for briefly maintaining an online journal (blog) while playing for the Phoenix Suns in 2004–05. His first journal dealt with a several-day-long road trip, while the second chronicled the Suns' NBA Playoffs run. He was later the author of a blog for ESPN.com entitled "My So-Called Career". Shirley was signed to a non-guaranteed contract by the Minnesota Timberwolves in early October 2006, but was cut in training camp before the start of the 2006–07 season. He finished his career in Spain, playing in the ACB for ViveMenorca and Unicaja Malaga. After Shirley's playing career, he wrote a column for the Spanish newspaper El Pais, maintained a podcast (Short Corner) with Justin Halpern, and founded a writing group in Los Angeles called Writers Blok. Shirley's first book, Can I Keep My Jersey?, was released in 2007. His second book, Stories I Tell On Dates, came out October 17, 2017. His third book (and first novel), Ball Boy, was released in February 2021. Career Shirley was born in Redwood City, California and grew up near the small town of Meriden, Kansas. He played high school basketball at Jefferson West High School, where he was a National Merit Finalist. Shirley worked his way from walk-on to three-year starter for the Iowa State basketball team. He was coached first by Tim Floyd (until Floyd left the Cyclones to become the head coach of the Chicago Bulls) and then by Larry Eustachy. Notable teammates included future NBA players Jamaal Tinsley, Kelvin Cato, and Marcus Fizer. After winning the Big XII's regular-season conference championship, the Cyclones advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA basketball tournament during Shirley's junior season, losing to eventual champion Michigan State. At the end of Shirley's senior year, Iowa State became the fourth number-two seed to lose in the first round of the tournament. During his college career, Shirley earned three Academic All-Big 12 selections and, in his senior season, was named second-team Academic All-American. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. After college, the 6'9" Shirley played power forward for thirteen different professional teams including, in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls, as well as Panionios Athens of the Greek A1 League, Joventut Badalona, ViveMenorca, and Unicaja