Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his career, Sprewell received four NBA All-Star selections and an All-NBA First Team selection; he also helped the Knicks reach the 1999 NBA Finals and the Timberwolves to the 2004 Western Conference finals. Despite Sprewell's accomplishments, his career was overshadowed by a 1997 incident in which he choked and punched then-Warriors coach P. J. Carlesimo during practice, which resulted in a 68-game suspension. Early life Sprewell attended Washington High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. College career Sprewell played competitively with the Three Rivers Community College Raiders Basketball Team in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1990 to 1992 with the University of Alabama, where he was a teammate of future NBA players Robert Horry, Jason Caffey, James Robinson, and Marcus Webb. Professional career Golden State Warriors (1992–1998) Sprewell was selected 24th overall in the 1992 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. Sprewell, nicknamed "Spree", made an immediate impact, starting 69 of the 77 games he played in during his rookie season and averaging 15.4 points per game. His performance improved over the next few years; he led the team in scoring and played on the Western Conference All-Star team in 1994, 1995, and 1997, scoring 24.2 ppg in 1996–97, fifth in the league. In 1993–1994 he led the league in games played and minutes per game as the Warriors, led by Sprewell and NBA Rookie of the year power forward Chris Webber, made it back to the playoffs. They lost in the first round to the Phoenix Suns in three games. 1997 choking incident A significant blemish on Sprewell's career occurred on December 1, 1997, when he attacked head coach P. J. Carlesimo during a Warriors practice in Oakland. When Carlesimo yelled at Sprewell to make crisper passes (specifically asking him to "put a little mustard" on a pass), Sprewell responded that he was not in the mood for criticism and told the coach to keep his distance. When Carlesimo approached, Sprewell threatened to kill him and dragged him backward by his throat, choking him for 7–10 seconds before his teammates and assistant coaches pulled him off Carlesimo. Sprewell returned about 20 minutes later after showering and changing and again accosted