Background and career
Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Sacramento State Hornets of the Big West Conference (BWC). He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a point guard. Bibby played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, with whom he won the 1997 NCAA Championship during his freshman season. He was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and was a first-team All-American selection during his sophomore year, en route to being drafted second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1998 NBA draft. After spending three seasons with the Grizzlies, Bibby was traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2001, where he helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals in 2002 as their starting point guard. After seven seasons in Sacramento, he was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks in 2008 and spent parts of four seasons with the team. After a short stint with the Washington Wizards, Bibby signed with the Miami Heat in 2011, with whom he reached the 2011 NBA Finals as a starter. He finished his career with the New York Knicks during the 2011–12 season.
Bibby attended Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, and won an Arizona state championship as a point guard under coach Jerry Conner. He is the son of professional basketball player Henry Bibby and the nephew of Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bibby.
Although his father, former UCLA basketball star Henry Bibby, was named the head coach at USC when Bibby was a senior in high school, Bibby committed to Arizona. As a freshman playing under coach Lute Olson, Bibby helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA championship in 1997, scoring 19 points in the overtime, 84–79 NCAA Championship Game win versus the University of Kentucky and finished third in the voting for the 1998 Wooden Award. He was selected to the ’97 All-Final Four Team, after also being named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year after posting averages of 13.5 ppg, 5.2 apg and 3.2 rpg. Bibby and his father are one of four father-son duos to each win an NCAA basketball championship. His sophomore year was just as impressive, as he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year (1997–98), after averaging 17.2 ppg, 5.7 apg, and 3.0 rpg (.464 FG%, .387 3FG%, .755 FT%). He started all 69 games during his Wildcat career and earned First-Team All-America honors after his sophomore campaign. Following his sophomore season, Bibby entered the 1998 NBA Draft and was seen as the favorite to be selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the first overall pick, but was instead selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the second overall pick.
In his rookie season, Bibby averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game, earning NBA All-Rookie honors during the season which was abbreviated by a labor dispute. He improved those numbers in his next two seasons with the team, averaging 14.5 points per game during the 1999–2000 season and 15.9 points per game as well as what would be a career-best 8.4 assists per game during the 2000–01 season, but the Grizzlies continued to struggle. On January 16, 2000, and April 2, 2000, Bibby twice tied Vancouver's franchise record for steals in a single game with seven. On June 27, 2001, Bibby and Brent Price were traded to the Sacramento Kings for Jason Williams and Nick Anderson.
In his first season with Sacramento, Bibby formed best duos alongside Chris Webber. The two of them guided the Kings to an NBA best-record at 61–21 and a Pacific division title over their archrivals the Los Angeles Lakers, who at the time were the two-time defending NBA Champions. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, they easily defeated the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, setting up a Western Conference Finals match-up against the Lakers. The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers was one of the most memorable in league history. Bibby's performance during the series, perhaps most memorably his Game 5 game-winner, earned him a reputation as a clutch performer, and as a reward, he was granted a 7-year, $80.5 million contract. During the 2002–03 season, Bibby was hampered by injuries, playing in only 55 games, but still averaged a respectable 15.9 points per game with the Kings going 59–23 and securing second seed in the West, as well as a second-consecutive division title. They faced the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks in the first two rounds respectively for the second consecutive playoffs, but after defeating the Jazz, 4–1, lost to the Mavericks in seven games. The Kings had lost Chris Webber to season-ending injury in game 2 against Dallas, but still forced the series to seven games. For the 2003–04 season, Bibby posted some of the best numbers of his career, scoring 1,506 points (18.4 per game) and helping the Kings reach the playoffs. Bibby helped to lift the Kings over the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, scoring a career playoff-best 36 points in the clinching Game 5. They would go on to lose in the second round for the second consecutive year, this time to the Minnesota Timberwolves 4–3. The next two seasons would see Sacramento taking yet another step backwards, losing in the opening round of the playoffs in both years. During the 2005–06 season, Bibby started all 82 games, and averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game. They would lose in the first round of the playoffs to the defending-champion Spurs 4–2. Bibby was made a guest of honor by the Sacramento Kings, as he sat court side to watch the game against the Chicago Bulls on November 20, 2014. Along with former teammate Chris Webber, the pair were introduced to the crowd along with video clips as part of the team honoring its legends.
On February 16, 2008, the Atlanta Hawks acquired Bibby in exchange for Shelden Williams, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round draft pick (which was used to select Sean Singletary). Battling injuries and joining a Hawks team that was 22–28, Bibby put up 14.1 points and 6.6 assists per game while working in an unfamiliar offense to lead the Hawks to their first playoff berth in eight years. Despite being the eighth seed and expected to be swept out of the first round, Bibby helped the Hawks force an improbable seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, who went on to win the NBA Championship. The next season, Bibby averaged 15 points, 5 assists and 1.2 steals per game to help the Hawks win their first playoff series since 1999, against the Miami Heat. The Hawks lost in the conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bibby was also selected as a participant for the Three Point Shooting Competition. On July 7, 2009, Bibby and the Hawks agreed to a three-year deal worth about $18 million. In the same offseason, the Hawks traded for Jamal Crawford and drafted Jeff Teague. Though Bibby would remain the Hawks starting point guard, he was not relied on to be a top scorer, as he had in years past. Bibby was credited for his leadership and unselfishness that helped Atlanta to consecutive playoff appearances.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
