Background and career
John Thomas Salley ( SAL-ee; born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Green, and LeBron James), as well as the first player in the NBA to win a championship in three different decades (since joined by Tim Duncan). After being drafted in the first round out of Georgia Tech in the 1986 NBA draft, the 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)-tall Salley played both power forward and center for the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Panathinaikos, and Los Angeles Lakers. He was a long-time host of the former Fox Sports Net show The Best Damn Sports Show Period. He is a vegan activist, chef, and wellness entrepreneur.
John Thomas Salley was born on May 16, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York. Salley played on the basketball team at Canarsie High School in Brooklyn.
Salley is a 1988 graduate of Georgia Tech's College of Management. He helped the Yellow Jackets win the 1985 ACC Championship, they also advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He left in 1986 as Tech's all-time leader in blocked shots. Salley holds Georgia Tech's personal fouls record, and has had his jersey number 22 retired, a very rare honor in college basketball. Salley was seen as potential top 3 pick during his senior year .
Prior to the 1986 NBA Draft, Salley worked out for the Boston Celtics, who had the 2nd overall pick, against Len Bias and in front of Red Auerbach . The Chicago Bulls promised Salley they would select him with the ninth pick if he were still available, only to select Brad Sellers instead. Salley was ultimately drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the 11th overall pick. After joining the Pistons, he became close friends with Adrian Dantley, who taught him proper nutrition, how to exercise, and how to conduct himself off the court. Salley, for his part, called Dantley "The Teacher". Salley would become good friends with comedian Eddie Murphy and made several appearances at comedy clubs in the off-season. In 1989 and 1990, he played on two NBA championship teams. He is among the Pistons' all-time leaders in blocked shots. Under the coaching of Chuck Daly, Salley was part of a Pistons era that featured three consecutive NBA Finals appearances. The team, nicknamed the “Bad Boys” for its highly physical, defense-oriented style of play, included Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, James Edwards, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahorn and Dantley. After losing the 1988 NBA Finals in seven games to the Lakers, the Pistons rebounded to sweep the Lakers in four games in 1989. Salley and the Pistons repeated in 1990, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. The Pistons' run came to an end when the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls swept them in four games in the 1991 Eastern Conference finals; following the decisive game, Salley was one of three Piston players to congratulate the Bulls, while the others left the court.
Salley was traded to the Miami Heat in 1992. In the 1995 NBA expansion draft he was selected by the inaugural Toronto Raptors team after being made available by the Heat.
In February 1996, he negotiated a buyout of his contract and was waived thus ending his stint with the Raptors during which he averaged 19.3 minutes and 6 points per game.
