Chris Copeland, a shooting striker who was assassinated

Does anyone remember Chris Copeland? A shooter striker who has been assassinated.

Chris Copeland, Chris Copeland, 6-foot-8 inches (203cm), plays as a small forward (SF). He was born in Orange, northeastern New Jersey, USA in March 1984. He was produced by the University of Colorado. He was defeated in the 2006 NBA Draft and then went to the NBA Development League, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the Belgian leagues. In July 2012, he signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent and entered the NBA. In his four seasons of NBA career, Copeland has played for three teams, the Knicks (2012-2013), the Pacers (2013-2015), and the Bucks (2015-2016). He played in a total of 171 games in the regular season, including 26 starts, averaging 12.4 minutes per game, contributing 5.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.2 steals, and blocks. In the playoffs, they played 21 games, starting in one game, averaging 8.3 minutes per game, contributing 3.5 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.1 blocks.

As a thin striker forward, Chris Copeland has a positive style of playing, good offensive awareness, excellent shooting ability, good three-point shooting ability, can get rid of defensive players through active running position, and get better shots through fake moves and rhythm changes. However, his athletic ability is average, lacks sufficient explosive power and speed, poor rebounding ability, insufficient defensive awareness and skills, slow speed when defending small forwards, and insufficient confrontation ability when defending power forwards.

Whether in terms of data or tactical status, Chris Copeland is undoubtedly a small figure in the NBA, but he also has his own highlight moments. On April 17, 2013, local time in the United States, in the New York Knicks lost to the Atlanta Hawks at home, Copeland started for 40 minutes, making 14 of 29 shots (including 1 of 4 three-pointers), and 4 of 8 free throws, scoring the highest single-game 33 points in NBA career, plus 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks. On November 5, 2014, in the Indiana Pacers' loss to the Washington Wizards 94:96 away, Copeland played for 37 minutes on the bench and scored a double-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. 12 rebounds set his career single-game record, which is also the only double-double in his NBA career.

But Chris Copeland is most famous for his attack. One early morning in April 2015, Copeland and his wife were stabbed at the door of a nightclub in New York, causing Copeland to be stabbed in the abdomen and left elbow, multiple scratches on his left hand, fractured elbow, and injured the diaphragm. He even entered the intensive care unit for one time. It is reported that Pero Antich and Sabo Seifrosa, who were playing for the Hawks at the time, were arrested for obstructing police law enforcement. However, he was released after a brief appearance in court. Chris Copeland fell in shape after recovering from stabbing and was later slashed for poor performance after less than a season in the Bucks. In the offseason in 2016, Copeland went to many teams, but was all cut. He had no choice but to leave the NBA completely and competed in the leagues of Turkey (2016-2017) and Spain (November 2017), but ended his career as a player in just one game in the Spanish League. In the 2023-2014 season, Chris Copeland was invited to serve as assistant coach of the NBA Development League Wisconsin Herds, and no news about him has since been heard.