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Arizona basketball: 30 Greatest Wildcats of all time

By Shereen Rayan

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Former Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson waves to fans as he walks with wife Kelly Pugnea during the first half of the college football game against the Utah Utes at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Former Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson waves to fans as he walks with wife Kelly Pugnea during the first half of the college football game against the Utah Utes at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport
Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport /

Arizona Basketball Greatest Player No. 5  – Jason Terry

Position: Point Guard, Shooting guard

Years at Arizona: 1996-1999

College Stats: 11.3 pts, 2.3 reb, 3.8 Ast, 1.9 stl, 0.1 blk

College Awards: 

1997 NCAA Champion
1999 Consensus All-America (1st Tm)
1999 Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year
1999 1st Team All-Pac-10
1998-99 NCAA AP All-America (1st)
No. 31 Jersey Retired by the University of Arizona

NBA Draft: 1999 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Years in the NBA: 19

NBA Awards:

2011 NBA Champion
2000 NBA All-Rookie Team
2008-09 Sixth Man of the Year
2007-08 NBA 82 (1st) Most Games Played

Jason “The Jet” Terry is one of the most well-recognized names in the NBA. He recently got his jersey retired in McKale after completing his degree and it was one of the most memorable ceremonies of this decade.  TJ McConnell and Jason Terry (TJ and JT) were both awarded Best NBA Teammate in 2017. Fitting that two unselfish players that had already won the hearts of Wildcats fans won the hearts of their teammates, one at the beginning of his career and one near the end.

While at Arizona, he played with Miles Simon and Mike Bibby to win the 1997 NCAA Tournament Championship. Terry also earned the Pac-10 Player of the Year award as a senior as well as named to the All-Conference First Team selection. He completed his career ranked as a Wildcat. He is ranked No. 12 in points at 1,461, No. 5 in assists with 493 and No. 2 in 3-pointers at 192. On top of all that Terry is the only player in Arizona history to score 1,000 points and grab 200 steals in his college career.

According to Steve Rivera, Jason was so unselfish that when Miles Simon became eligible to play, Terry asked Coach Olson if he could start Simon because he didn’t want to quell the freshman’s spirit. So Terry became the 6th man in college well before he became famous for that spot later in his career.

Terry spent almost two decades playing in the NBA, 19 years, but by far the team he won’t ever forget is Dallas Mavericks. In 2009 Terry won the coveted 6th Man awards while playing for the Mavs and in 2011 his team won the NBA Championship. Terry last played for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018.  His career average was impressive considering the vast number of games he played in (1410 games total, 679 started). Terry scored a total of 18,881 points and 5,415 assists. His total NBA earnings amount to a whopping $108,253,648.

Jason officially retired in December 2018, but it was conditional. If the Lakers, Warriors or Mavericks wanted to sign him, he would come out of retirement. At the time of this post, he is 41 years old, so the hopes of getting signed may be dashed.

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