Kendall Gill

Early life

Gill was born in Chicago and attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Graduating in 1986 as a senior, Gill led Rich Central to a 2nd-place finish in the IHSA class AA state boys basketball tournament. Gill led Rich Central in scoring with 54 points in the 4 games of the tournament finals, and was named to the six-player All-Tournament team.

After high school, Gill attended the University of Illinois. Playing four years for the Fighting Illini, Gill was a starter for his last three seasons. As a junior, Gill led the Fighting Illini to the 1989 Final Four before losing to Michigan on a last second shot. Also among that fabled "Flyin' Illini" squadron were future NBA players Nick Anderson, Marcus Liberty, Kenny Battle and Illini TV/radio broadcaster Stephen Bardo as well as four-year starter, Lowell Hamilton. As a senior, Gill led the Big Ten in scoring and was named a first-team All-American (UPI). Gill left Illinois as the 7th all-time leading scorer in school history. Gill's Illini earned NCAA bids each year he played. Gill also won the NCAA Slam Dunk championship at the Final Four his senior season.

Gill was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

Charlotte Hornets

Gill was chosen in the 1990 NBA draft as the fifth overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, and was named First Team All-Rookie for the 1990–91 season. Kendall also participated in an NBA Slam-Dunk Competition. Gill played 15 seasons in the NBA. He averaged over 20 points as a second-year player for the Hornets in 1991–92 (20.5 ppg). He spent a majority of his career playing for the Hornets (including two separate stints).

Seattle SuperSonics

Gill also played for the Seattle SuperSonics for two seasons.

New Jersey Nets

Gill was then traded to the New Jersey Nets. Gill had the best year of his career scoring-wise with the Nets in 1996–97 (21.8 ppg). In the 1998–99 NBA season, Gill led the league in steals as a member of the Nets. On April 3, 1999, he recorded 11 steals in a game against Miami, tying a single-game record set by Larry Kenon during the 1976–77 season. In this game, he also recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds for a rare Points-Rebounds-Steals triple double. In the 1999–00 season, he also made a half-court shot against the Orlando Magic that hit the top of the backboard and swished in the net.

Miami Heat

He also was a member of the Miami Heat near the end of his career.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Gill played for the Minnesota Timberwolves as well.

Chicago Bulls

Gill played for the Chicago Bulls for a season too. He played number 13.

Milwaukee Bucks

Gill played with the Bucks for a short period of time before retiring from the NBA.

Career summary

In the 1998–99 NBA season, Gill led the league in steals as a member of the Nets. Gill's career totals include 12,914 points in 966 regular season games. He made an appearance as himself in a Nickelodeon TV Show My Brother and Me.

Off court

Gill was brought up in Park Forest and lived in Flossmoor.

As a means to maintain his conditioning, Gill took up boxing, eventually entering the professional ranks. Gill had his first bout on June 25, 2005 at the age of 37.

He appeared on the January 23, 2008 edition of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes.

On May 15, 2010, Gill sang a rendition of 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, as they took on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Gill has provided analysis during pregame and postgame shows on Comcast SportsNet Chicago for Chicago Bulls games. On March 22, 2013, Gill was suspended by Comcast SportsNet for the remainder of the 2012–13 season after a reported physical altercation with analyst Tim Doyle in the CSN newsroom. In September 2013, Gill indicated that he was not returning to the station. However, he was rehired by CSN in late 2015.