3
STEVE FRANCIS
Guard
Height: 6-3; Weight: 193
College: Maryland '99
Born: February 21, 1977 in Silver Spring, Maryland
High School: Montgomery Blair (Maryland)
Pro Experience: 2nd NBA Season
How Acquired: Traded from Vancouver on August 27, 1999

1999-2000
Named the 1999-2000 Schick NBA Co-Rookie of the Year, sharing honors with Chicago's Elton Brand ... led the Rockets with averages of 18.0 points, 6.6 assists and 1.53 steals in 77 starts ... became the first rookie and the fourth player to lead the Rockets in each of these categories in the same year ... led the Rockets in minutes, field goals made and attempted, 3-pointers made and attempted, free throws attempted and offensive rebounds as well ... also averaged 5.3 rebounds to become just the seventh rookie in NBA history to average 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, joining Oscar Robertson (1961), Alvan Adams (1976), Magic Johnson (1980), Michael Jordan (1985), Anfernee Hardaway (1994) and Grant Hill (1995) ... joined Brand as a unanimous selection on 1999-2000 Schick All-Rookie First Team ... led the rookie class in assists and 3-pointers made and attempted ... ranked second in scoring among newcomers ... held the distinction of being the only rookie to rank among the top five in his class in all nine statistical categories charted by the NBA and became the first player in franchise history to register 400 rebounds and 500 assists in the same season, reaching both of these marks on April 18 at Phoenix ... trailed only Gary Payton among Western Conference point guards in scoring and led all NBA guards in offensive rebounds, while his rebounding total trailed only Payton and Kobe Bryant among guards ... averaged 26.8 points (on .565 shooting and .500 3-point shooting), 6.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.83 steals in six games vs. 1999-2000 NBA All-Defensive Team point guards Jason Kidd and Payton and set the Rockets rookie record for assists in a season and also set or tied Rockets single-game rookie records for assists, free throws made, free throw percentage, 3-pointers attempted and 3-point percentage ... tied the NBA rookie individual season high for assists, steals and 3-pointers in a game and reached the 20-point mark 30 times and 30-point mark six times ... led the team in points 35 times, rebounds seven times and assists 58 times ... scored a career-high 34 points with a Rockets rookie-record-tying and career-high-tying 14 assists on March 23 vs. the LA Clippers ... had a team-leading 17 double-doubles ... compiled his first career triple-double by scoring 25 points and setting career highs of 17 rebounds and 14 assists vs. Golden State on Jan. 27 - in NBA history, only Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Elgin Baylor had ever reached all of these marks in one game and missed triple-doubles by one rebound Nov. 29 at Vancouver, Jan. 28 at Denver and March 23 vs. the LA Clippers ... set a career high and tied a Rockets individual season high with six 3-pointers vs. Phoenix on March 7 and set a career high and tied a Rockets individual season high with six steals at Washington on Dec. 26 ... enjoyed his finest month in January, when he averaged 21.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists ... named the Schick Rookie of the Month for December, March and April (sharing the final month's honors with Brand) ... on Jan. 24 became the first rookie in franchise history to win NBA Player of the Week ... finished as the runner-up to Vince Carter in the NBA.com Slam Dunk Contest, following his performances in the Schick Rookie Challenge and Sony 2ball competition during the All-Star Weekend ... missed three games with a left ankle sprain and two games with a right knee sprain.

As a Collegian
Named Second Team All-America by The Associated Press as a junior at Maryland and also received First Team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated following his only season of Division I competition and earned First Team All-ACC recognition after leading Maryland with 17.0 points and 2.8 steals per game as a junior and also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists and guided Maryland to a school record 28 wins and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen berth and his 95 steals led the ACC and were the second-highest single-season total in Maryland history and before arriving at Maryland, he became the first player to take two unbeaten teams into the National Junior College Championship tournament, accomplishing this with San Jacinto (Tx.) in 1997 and Allegany (Md.) in 1998 and earned First Team NJCAA All-American honors at Allegany as a sophomore, averaging 25.3 points, 8.7 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 steals and named First Team NJCAA All-Region IV at San Jacinto his freshman year, as he averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds.

Personal
Full name is Steve De'Shawn Francis and has the most admiration for his grandmother, Mabel Wilson, and his late mother, Brenda Wilson ... enjoys bowling and received the nickname "Wink" as a child ... started one game during his high school career, as he played just his sophomore season and Randall Cunningham was his sports hero as a youth and has two older brothers, Jeff Jr. and Terry, and a younger sister, Tiffany.

Career Transactions
Selected by Vancouver in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft (second pick overall). Traded to Houston on Aug. 27, 1999, along with Tony Massenburg as part of three-way deal, in which Vancouver received Antoine Carr, Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Brent Price and a future first-round draft choice from Houston and a future second-round draft choice from Orlando, Houston received Don MacLean and a future first-round draft choice from Orlando, and Orlando received Michael Smith, Rodrick Rhodes, Lee Mayberry and Makhtar Ndiaye from Vancouver. Signed with Houston on Sept. 1, 1999.