Background and career
Jerome Kersey (June 26, 1962 – February 18, 2015) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1995), Golden State Warriors (1995–96), Los Angeles Lakers (1996–97), Seattle SuperSonics (1997–98), San Antonio Spurs (1998–2000), and Milwaukee Bucks (2000–01). The Trail Blazers selected Kersey in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft from Longwood University (then Longwood College) in Farmville, Virginia. He was a member of the Spurs during their 1999 NBA Finals victory over the New York Knicks. Following his playing career, Kersey worked with his former Portland teammate and then-head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks Terry Porter as an assistant in 2005. Kersey died from a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot at his home in Tualatin, Oregon, on February 18, 2015.
Kersey attended the then Longwood College, at the time an NCAA Division II school, where he set school records for points, rebounds, steals and blocked shots while making 57% of his baskets. As a senior, his rebounding average of 14.2 led all Division II players. However, it was not until May 2006 that Kersey graduated from Longwood, having only needed two more college courses to graduate for some years.
Kersey was selected in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft with the 46th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers, unusually high for a Division II player. He was a regular contributor from the bench, eventually becoming a starter, and by his third year, he began to shine, even coming in second behind Michael Jordan in the Slam Dunk Contest. The 1987–88 season was his best statistically, as he averaged 19.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in his first year as a starter. He joined a nucleus of a strong Portland team composed of Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams, and Kevin Duckworth that made it to the NBA Finals two out of the next three years (in 1990 and 1992). However, in subsequent years the emergence of 6'10" Clifford Robinson at small forward found Kersey spending more time on the bench.
By 1995, Portland had several talented forwards, and he was left unprotected in that year's 1995 NBA expansion draft. Taken by the Toronto Raptors, he was waived before the 1995–96 season began. He signed with the Golden State Warriors, where he started 58 games, and had an altercation with Latrell Sprewell, which resulted in the latter threatening to bring a gun to practice.
For the 1996–97 season Kersey signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, and he had a quite productive year, logging his most playing time in five seasons on a team that had been left thin by injuries.
The 1997–98 season saw Kersey go to his fourth team in four years, but injuries kept him out of the Seattle SuperSonics' lineup for most of the season.
