View source for Matt Geiger

{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1969)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name            = Matt Geiger
| image           = 
| width           = 
| caption         = 
| height_ft       = 7
| height_in       = 0
| weight_lb       = 243
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1969|09|10}}
| birth_place     = [[Salem, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| high_school     = [[Countryside High School|Countryside]] ([[Clearwater, Florida]])
| college         = 
*[[Auburn Tigers men's basketball|Auburn]] (1987–1989)
*[[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball|Georgia Tech]] (1990–1992)
| draft_year      = 1992
| draft_round     = 2
| draft_pick      = 42
| draft_team      = [[Miami Heat]]
| career_start    = 1992
| career_end      = 2001
| career_number   = 52
| career_position = [[Center (basketball)|Center]]
| years1          = {{nbay|1992|start}}–{{nbay|1994|end}}
| team1           = [[Miami Heat]]
| years2          = {{nbay|1995|start}}–{{nbay|1997|end}}
| team2           = [[Charlotte Hornets]]
| years3          = {{nbay|1998|end}}–{{nbay|2001|start}} 
| team3           = [[Philadelphia 76ers]]
| stats_league    = NBA
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 5,059 (9.2 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 3,158 (5.7 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assist]]
| stat3value      = 388 (0.7 apg)
}}

'''Matthew Allen Geiger''' (born September 10, 1969) is an American former professional [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) player who played at the [[center (basketball)|center]] position.

==College career==
Geiger played for [[Countryside High School]] in [[Clearwater, Florida]] and was recruited to play [[college basketball]] at [[Auburn University]]. He played with [[Auburn Tigers men's basketball|Auburn]] before transferring to [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball|Georgia Tech]] for more playing time.

==NBA career==
His successful college career led Geiger to be selected by the [[Miami Heat]] in the second round (42nd pick overall) of the [[1992 NBA draft]]. He played in the NBA for 10 seasons from 1992 to 2002 with 3 teams: [[Miami Heat]], [[Charlotte Hornets]], and [[Philadelphia 76ers]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071109101922/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=GEIGEMA01 Matt Geiger Past Stats, Playoff Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards<!-- Bot generated title -->]}}</ref>

In the summer of 2000, Matt Geiger's refusal to waive a $5 million trade kicker clause in his contract stopped a four-team deal between Philadelphia, the Hornets, the [[Detroit Pistons]] and the [[L.A. Lakers]] that would have sent All-Star player [[Allen Iverson]] to the Pistons.<ref>[https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3244818 ESPN – Mavs forward George blocks trade of Kidd to Mavs – NBA<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He was suspended for 2 games during the 2000–01 season for a violation of the NBA/NBPA's steroid policy.<ref>[http://www.nba.com/playerfile/matt_geiger/bio.html NBA.com: Matt Geiger Bio<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221055238/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/matt_geiger/bio.html |date=December 21, 2007 }}</ref>

Geiger signed a contract in 2001 with the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] but knee injuries forced him to retire in 2002 after a ten-year career. For his career, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

==Career statistics==
{{NBA player statistics legend|leader=y}}

===College===
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1987–88]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1987–88 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team|Auburn]]
| 30 || 13 || 19.9 || .513 || – || .660 || 4.1 || .8 || .4 || .3 || 6.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1988–89]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1988–89 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team|Auburn]]
| 28 || 28 || '''28.8''' || .504 || .000 || .688 || 6.6 || '''1.2''' || .6 || .9 || '''15.9'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1989–90]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1989–90 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team|Georgia Tech]]
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"| Transfer
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1990–91]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1990–91 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team|Georgia Tech]]
| 27 || 24 || 26.3 || .549 || .000 || .671 || 6.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 1.1 || 11.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1991–92]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1991–92 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team|Georgia Tech]]
| '''35''' || '''35''' || 27.2 || '''.611''' || .000 || '''.706''' || '''7.3''' || 1.1 || '''.7''' || '''1.9''' || 11.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 120 || 100 || 25.6 || .545 || .000 || .687 || 6.1 || 1.0 || .5 || 1.1 || 11.4
{{S-end}}

===NBA===

====Regular season====
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1992}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1992–93 Miami Heat season|Miami]]
| 48 || 2 || 11.5 || .524 || .000 || .674 || 2.5 || .3 || .3 || .4 || 4.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1993}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1993–94 Miami Heat season|Miami]]
| 72 || 0 || 16.7 || '''.574''' || .200 || .779 || 4.2 || .4 || .5 || .4 || 7.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1994}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1994–95 Miami Heat season|Miami]]
| 74 || 43 || 23.1 || .536 || '''.400''' || .650 || 5.6 || .7 || .6 || .7 || 8.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1995}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1995–96 Charlotte Hornets season|Charlotte]]
| 77 || '''50''' || 30.5 || .536 || .375 || .727 || '''8.4''' || .8 || .6 || .8 || 11.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1996}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season|Charlotte]]
| 49 || 13 || 21.3 || .489 || .300 || .701 || 5.3 || .8 || .4 || .6 || 8.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1997}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1997–98 Charlotte Hornets season|Charlotte]]
| '''78''' || 42 || 23.6 || .505 || .091 || .712 || 6.7 || 1.0 || '''.9''' || '''1.1''' || 11.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1998}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1998–99 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| style="background:#cfecec;"| 50* || 40 || '''30.8''' || .479 || .200 || '''.797''' || 7.2 || '''1.2''' || .8 || .8 || '''13.5'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|1999|trunc=y}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1999–2000 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| 65 || 20 || 21.6 || .441 || .000 || .779 || 6.0 || .6 || .4 || .3 || 9.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|2000}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| 35 || 4 || 15.5 || .393 || .000 || .685 || 4.0 || .4 || .3 || .2 || 6.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbay|2001}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2001–02 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| 4 || 0 || 8.8 || .125 || {{sort|-|–}} || .500 || 1.5 || .0 || .0 || .5 || .8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 552 || 214 || 22.1 || .499 || .232 || .728 || 5.7 || .7 || .6 || .6 || 9.2
|-
{{s-end}}

====Playoffs====
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1994}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1993–94 Miami Heat season|Miami]]
| 2 || 0 || 5.5 || .000 || {{sort|-|–}} || .500 || 2.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1997}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1996–97 Charlotte Hornets season|Charlotte]]
| 3 || 0 || 10.3 || .667 || {{sort|-|–}} || '''1.000''' || 2.7 || .7 || .7 || .3 || 2.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1998}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1997–98 Charlotte Hornets season|Charlotte]]
| 4 || 0 || 5.5 || .167 || {{sort|-|–}} || {{sort|-|–}} || 1.3 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|1999}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1998–99 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| 8 || '''8''' || '''29.9''' || .438 || .000 || .828 || '''7.6''' || '''.8''' || '''1.1''' || '''.8''' || '''13.5'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|2000}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1999–2000 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| 8 || 0 || 16.0 || '''.500''' || {{sort|-|–}} || .800 || 5.0 || .3 || .6 || .3 || 8.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nowrap|{{nbapy|2001}}}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
| '''12''' || 0 || 8.3 || .586 || {{sort|-|–}} || '''1.000''' || 1.5 || .6 || .2 || .0 || 3.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 37 || 8 || 14.4 || .468 || .000 || .823 || 3.7 || .5 || .5 || .2 || 6.1
|-
{{s-end}}

==Personal life==
Geiger resides in [[Tarpon Springs, Florida]] where he is a real estate investor. His {{convert|28000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} estate, reported as the largest in the county,<ref>[http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/27/Sports/Livin__large.shtml Sports: Livin' large<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> sold on January 3, 2011, for 8 million dollars.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/matt-geigers-mansion-finally-sells-8212-at-a-deep-discount/1143686 |title=Geiger's Mansion finally sells — at deep discount |access-date=January 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108171117/http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/matt-geigers-mansion-finally-sells-8212-at-a-deep-discount/1143686 |archive-date=January 8, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[The Punisher (2004 film)|The Punisher]]'' used this home as the residence of [[John Travolta]]'s character Mr. Saint.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

In January 1992, during Geiger's senior year at Georgia Tech, his [[fraternal twin]] Mark Geiger was diagnosed with [[Hodgkin's disease]] at the age of 22.<ref name="dailypress">{{cite news |title=Matt Geiger Toughens Up The Hard Way |author=David Teel |url=https://www.dailypress.com/1992/03/13/matt-geiger-toughens-up-the-hard-way/ |newspaper=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]] |date=March 13, 1992 |access-date=May 14, 2011}}</ref> Because his brother lost his hair during [[chemotherapy]], Matt Geiger shaved his head during his NBA career in support of his brother.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iverson might be available vs. Bucks |author=Phil Jasner |url=http://articles.philly.com/2001-03-26/sports/25328008_1_allen-iverson-primary-backup-injuries/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509202740/http://articles.philly.com/2001-03-26/sports/25328008_1_allen-iverson-primary-backup-injuries/2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 9, 2012 |newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News |date=March 26, 2011 |accessdate=May 14, 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{1992 NBA draft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, Matt}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Auburn Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Pinellas County, Florida]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Essex County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Centers (basketball)]]
[[Category:Charlotte Hornets players]]
[[Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Miami Heat draft picks]]
[[Category:Miami Heat players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia 76ers players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Clearwater, Florida]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Salem, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]