Kevin Magee (basketball)


Kevin Dornell Magee, was an American basketball player who played most of his professional career for Maccabi Tel Aviv. 2.03m tall and weighing 104 kg, he played at the power forward and center positions.
He died in a car accident on Interstate 55, south of Amite, Louisiana, in October 2003.

College career

He played collegiately for two years for the Anteaters of the University of California, Irvine. A two-time All-American basketball
player in the early 1980s, Magee was also the Pacific Coast Athletic Association player of the year in 1980–81 and 1981–82. In those two seasons he averaged 26.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and shot 66% from the field, was a first-team Associated Press All-American, first-team All-West Coast, and first-team All-District 8 both seasons, was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association Player of the Year each season, was named District 8 Most Valuable Player in 1982, and was ranked in the nation's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, and field-goal percentage both seasons. His was the only number retired in UCI history, and he was inducted into the UCI Hall of Fame in 1997, until Scott Brooks had his number retired in 2019.

Professional career

Magee was selected by the Phoenix Suns, in the 2nd round of the 1982 NBA Draft; however he never played in the NBA.
He played in Europe, for Spanish side CAI Zaragoza, with whom he won Spanish King's Cup in 1984, and with them, he was also a FIBA Korać Cup semifinalist.
Later, he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning with them 6 Israeli League championships, and 5 Israeli State Cups. He was also a two-time EuroLeague semifinalist, and a three-time Finalist. At the peak of his career in Israel, he became a national sensation, being one of the first celebrities featured in advertisements. Most notable was his commercial for Telma peanut butter.
He rejoined CAI Zaragoza in 1991, and was a FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup Finalist, in the 1990-91 season.
While playing with Auxilium Torino of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A, he led the league in rebounding, in the 1991-92 season.

Awards and accomplishments