Editing Sean Elliott (section)

==NBA career==
{{BLP sources section|date=July 2020}}

===San Antonio Spurs (1989–1993)===
Elliott was drafted by the [[San Antonio Spurs]] as the third pick in the first round of the [[1989 NBA draft]]. Elliot started in 69 of 81 games for the season and averaged 10 points a game. The Spurs made the playoffs where they swept the [[Denver Nuggets]] in the first round before falling to the eventual Western Conference Champion [[Portland Trail Blazers]] in 7 games.

In the following season, Elliott was moved to the permanent starting line-up and increased his scoring to 15.9 points a game. The Spurs won 55 games but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the [[Golden State Warriors]] in four games. Elliott averaged 16.3 points per game during the 1991–92 season but San Antonio were swept in the first round by the [[Phoenix Suns]].

During the 1992–93 season, Elliott averaged 17.2 points per game, including a career-high 41 points against the [[Dallas Mavericks]] on December 18, 1992. He was named to play in the [[1993 NBA All-Star Game]] alongside teammate [[David Robinson]]. In the playoffs, San Antonio defeated Portland 3 games to 1, before facing the number one seeded Suns in the conference semifinal. After losing the first two games in Phoenix, the Spurs responded with consecutive games at home, as Elliott scored 17 points in game 3 and 19 points in game 4. The Suns managed to wrap up the series in the next two games. Elliot averaged 15.8 points per game in the playoffs.

===Detroit Pistons (1993–1994)===
Elliott spent the [[1993–94 NBA season|1993–94 season]] with the [[Detroit Pistons]] after being traded for [[Dennis Rodman]] in a multi-player deal. After Elliott struggled with the Pistons, the Pistons attempted to trade him to the eventual champion Houston Rockets in February 1994 in exchange for [[Robert Horry]], [[Matt Bullard]] and two second-round draft choices; the trade fell through when Elliott failed his physical.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/22/sports/pro-basketball-kidney-failure-imperils-career-of-spurs-elliott.html PRO BASKETBALL; Kidney Failure Imperils Career of Spurs' Elliott]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140413144859/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/335137/ELLIOTT-FAILS-PHYSICAL-TRADE-TO-ROCKETS-VOIDED.html ELLIOT FAILS PHYSICAL TRADE TO ROCKETS VOIDED]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-05-sp-19299-story.html|title = Archives| website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=February 5, 1994 }}</ref> After the trade was voided, Elliott held a press conference and announced that he had a kidney problem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1994/02/10/68991-sean-elliott-clears-the-air-seeks-advice-on-kidney-ailment/|title=Sean Elliott clears the air, seeks advice on kidney ailment - Tucson Citizen Morgue, Part 2 (1993-2009)}}</ref> Elliott remained in Detroit for the rest of the season and averaged 12.1 points per game. Following the end of the season, he was traded back to the Spurs for the draft rights of [[Bill Curley]].

===Return to San Antonio Spurs (1994–1998)===
In the 1994–1995 season, the Spurs won 62 games under the leadership of Elliott and the season's [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award|NBA Most Valuable Player]] Robinson. The Spurs clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, and swept the [[Denver Nuggets]] in the first round before facing the young [[Los Angeles Lakers]] in the semifinals. Elliott scored 26 points – his high for the playoffs – in the series-clinching game against the Lakers. The Spurs lost to the Houston Rockets in the conference finals.

The 1995–1996 season was a personal best for Elliott, as he averaged 20 points a game, a career high, in 77 games.  Elliott also made a career-high 161 three-pointers on the season. He played in the [[1996 NBA All-Star Game]] and scored 13 points. The following season, Elliott suffered injuries that limited him to 39 games. Injuries limited him again to just 36 games in the 1997–1998 season.

===NBA championship, kidney transplant, and comeback (1998–2001)===
The 1998–1999 season was shortened to 50 games as a result of a league lockout, but the Spurs won 37 of the games for the west's best record led by Duncan and Robinson, with Elliott starting in all 50 games with an average of 11.2 points a game.  The Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the conference finals. During game 2, the Trail Blazers held a 2-point lead with 9 seconds left to play in regulation. Elliott received a pass nearly stolen by Blazer [[Stacey Augmon]] in the corner, before Elliott caught the ball within an inch of the sideline. He managed to stay on his tiptoes rather than planting his feet, before releasing a 21-foot three-point attempt just over the outstretched arms of 6 foot 11 forward [[Rasheed Wallace]]. The shot went in, giving the Spurs a 1-point lead and the eventual victory. The shot was named the "[[Memorial Day Miracle]]" because of its improbability and the date on which it was made. Elliott finished the game with 22 points. The Spurs made the [[NBA Finals]] and faced the [[New York Knicks]]. The Spurs defeated the Knicks in five games to win their first NBA Championship. Elliott averaged 11.9 points in 17 games in the playoffs while shooting 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Shortly after the championship run, Elliott announced that he had a [[kidney disease]] known as [[focal segmental glomerulosclerosis]], that his kidney function was worsening, and that he would require a transplant as soon as a matching donor became available.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/22/sports/pro-basketball-kidney-failure-imperils-career-of-spurs-elliott.html|title=PRO BASKETBALL; Kidney Failure Imperils Career of Spurs' Elliott|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 22, 1999|last1=Wise|first1=Mike}}</ref> Elliott also disclosed that he had been aware of his kidney ailment since 1993.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/22/sports/pro-basketball-kidney-failure-imperils-career-of-spurs-elliott.html|title=PRO BASKETBALL; Kidney Failure Imperils Career of Spurs' Elliott|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 22, 1999|last1=Wise|first1=Mike}}</ref> He underwent surgery on August 16, 1999, after he received a kidney from his older brother, Noel.
[[File:Sean Elliott March 2000 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Elliott (left) at the [[Alamodome]] in March 2000]]
On March 13, 2000, in a game against the [[Atlanta Hawks]], Elliott became the first professional athlete to return to his sport after the kidney transplant.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SPURS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH METHODIST HEALTHCARE SYSTEM |url=https://www.nba.com/spurs/spurs-sports-entertainment-announces-comprehensive-strategic-partnership-methodist-healthcare-system |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=San Antonio Spurs |language=en}}</ref> He played in only 19 games in the 1999–2000 season. Elliott started in 34 of 52 games in the 2000–2001 season; the Spurs held the best record in the league, but lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

===Retirement===
Elliott announced his retirement in 2001. He finished his career averaging 14.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Elliott is the fifth all-time franchise leader in three-point field goals made (563) and fourth for three-point attempts (1,485).