Presented by PINNACLE WINDOWS & DOORS.
This Day In Sports…June 16, 1999:
Chris Childs becomes the first former Boise State player to appear in the NBA Finals in Game 1 of the New York Knicks’ series against the San Antonio Spurs. Childs, the Knicks’ starting point guard, scored just two points with three assists in the 89-77 loss and totaled only 12 points in five Finals games as the Spurs won the NBA championship four games-to-one. But he was known as an elite defender and floor general during his time in New York.
Childs went undrafted in 1989 and didn’t make his NBA debut until 1994 with the New Jersey Nets. His best season was in 1995-96, when he averaged 12.8 points and seven assists per game for the Nets. Childs parlayed that into a six-year, $24 million contract with the Knicks—he is most recognized for the five seasons he spent in the Big Apple, helping them become NBA Playoffs regulars. The list of former Broncos in the NBA is short, and Childs leads it with 541 career games and 3,730 points.
Only three Boise State alums have played in the NBA since Childs: Coby Karl, with 63 regular-season games between the Lakers, Cavaliers and Warriors from 2007-10; James Webb III, also undrafted before appearing in 10 games for the Nets in 2017-18; and Chandler Hutchison, picked 22nd overall in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Bulls. Hutchison played 103 regular-season games across three seasons with the Bulls and the Wizards. I’m not counting RayJ Dennis, who has appeared in 28 NBA regular-season games with the Pacers, Clippers and Hawks. Dennis only played two seasons at Boise State before transferring to Toledo, and then to Baylor.
Childs came to Boise State in 1985 as a highly-touted 18-year-old from Bakersfield. CA. Broncos coach Bobby Dye had noticed him while coaching Cal State Bakersfield before taking the reins at Boise State. Childs was the team’s best player as a true freshman, and the Broncos struggled without strong pieces around him. That changed his sophomore year, and Boise State basketball hit its zenith the rest of his college career, one he capped with Big Sky Player of the Year honors in 1989.
Childs is riding high right now. He predicted midseason on social media that the Knicks would make this year’s NBA Finals. And he re-posted that again and again during the playoffs, much to the amusement and/or annoyance of people like Draymond Green and Dez Bryant. Childs kept the receipts after the February 22 post, and he’s been letting everyone know it since New York finished off San Antonio Saturday night.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
