Brad Daugherty (basketball)

Bradley Lee Daugherty ( Black Mountain, North Carolina, October 19 1965) is a commentator and analyst North American NBA games for ESPN, owner of JTG Daugherty Racing of the NASCAR, and a former basketball player who served as  pivot for Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. As a player, Daugherty was the 1st choice of the NBA Draft in 1986 by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played 8 seasons in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers between 1986-1994, being 5 of them called for the NBA All-Star Game (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993). He ended his short NBA career at the age of 28 in 1994 due to injuries. He averaged 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in 584 games in the NBA. His number 43 jersey was retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1997.

University career
Brad Daugherty entered the University of North Carolina in the summer of 1982 when the basketball team known as the "Tar Heels" just won the NCAA championship. Daugherty classes for 2 seasons in the shadow of the heroes of the time who are called Michael Jordan, James Worthy or Sam Perkins. In the spring of 1984, Jordan and Perkins, selected respectively in and  of the draft, reached the NBA where they found Worthy chosen in first position a year earlier. From then on, Daugherty will carry the campus team on his broad shoulders. He finished his with averages of 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds before achieving a last season of very high level turning 20.2 points and 9 rebounds per game. All observers then predict a golden future in the NBA.

Career in NBA
Brad Daugherty is no exception to the Tar Heels habit of previous years by being selected first in the 1986 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The franchise that comes out of several difficult seasons relies on this promising pivot and other players from the same draft to ensure a brighter future. Combined with Ron Harper and Mark Price, Daugherty had a solid first season with 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. While Chuck Person is elected best beginner of the year, the former “Tar Heel” shares with his teammate Harper the honor of a selection in the All- Rookie Team (the typical beginners team).

From the following season, this golden generation, helped by Larry Nance, won their ticket for the play-offs. Daugherty, now the team's best scorer and rebounder, participates in the NBA All-Star Game 1988 as do the stars of the league: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Larry Bird. In 1988-1989, Daugherty, again All-Star, led the Cavaliers to what was at the time (before the  season 2008-2009)  the best record in franchise history with 57 wins for 25 losses. While running at 18.9 points per game in the regular season, the linchpin collapsed in play-offs, scoring only 55 points in 5 games. For the consecutive, the Cavs, however given favorites, are eliminated in the first round by the Chicago Bulls of Jordan and  Pippen.

An injury forced Daugherty to miss the first 41 games of the 1989-90 season, but returned in time to help the Cavaliers reach the play-offs for the in a row. Having learned the lessons of the past, he achieved a great performance in the first round. His 22.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game combined with Mark Price's 20 points and 8.8 assists are not enough to get past the obstacle 76ers. Far from being slaughtered, Daugherty realizes the following year his most accomplished season. He becomes the first player in the franchise (and still the only one) to score at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in a season, a performance he will repeat 3 years in a row, earning him as many new appearances in the All-Star Game. But Mark Price only played 16 games in this 1990-91 season and the Cavs did not qualify for the finals.

The error is repaired the following season and Daugherty confirms that he is one of the dominant pivots of the league. He scores an average of 21.5 points, takes 10.2 rebounds and delivers 3.4 assists throughout the 17 games that the Cavaliers play in play-offs. Only the Bulls on their way to their are able to stop them. As a reward for their performance, Price and Daugherty were elected to the All-NBA Third Team (third typical team in the league). After a new season in playffs, Daugherty played in 1993-94 the last 50 matches of his career at just 28 years old. Away from the field as of February 1994 by a herniated disc, he missed the play-offs before learning that he could never tread on the floors.

Despite a career reduced to 8 years, Brad Daugherty established 4 Cleveland franchise records which still stood in 2008: best scorer with 10,389 points, best rebounder with 5,227 catches, greatest number of free throws attempted and scored (3,670 for 2741 successful); however LeBron James broke the record for points at just 23 years of age in March 2008. Daugherty also appears in the top 10 for the minutes played, the percentage of successful shots, the number of baskets attempted and scored, the points average, blocks, assists and interceptions. He is also the only player to have been unanimously chosen by the 32 journalists interviewed in 1999 to designate the ideal 5 major in the history of the franchise.

His jersey was retired by the Cavaliers on March 1, 1997.

Following his retirement from the NBA, Daugherty co-owned a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team (Liberty Racing) featuring such drivers as Kenny Irwin Jr. and Kevin Harvick. In 1997 Irwin won two Craftsman Truck Series races driving for Daugherty (Homestead-Miami Speedway in March and Texas Motor Speedway in June). Daugherty joined ESPN's return to NASCAR racing telecasts in 2007. He was an analyst on the weekly topical show Inside NASCAR on Showtime, and on NASCAR Now, a nightly newscast on the sport. He is also part owner of JTG Daugherty Racing, which owns the No. 37 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Ryan Preece and the No. 47 Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The team's only win came in 2014 at Watkins Glen International with A.J. Allmendinger driving the No. 47 Chevrolet.

On October 28, 2014 it was announced that Daugherty would serve as an NBA and college basketball analyst for ESPN, beginning in November.

After years of animosity for the team's handling of his close friend and former General Manager Wayne Embry, Daugherty joined Fox Sports Ohio for select Cavaliers telecasts in the 2019-20 season as part of the franchise's 50th season celebration.