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Happy Birthday To Greenwich'’s Allan Houston

GREENWICH, Conn. -- Happy Birthday To Greenwich’s Allan Houston!

Happy birthday to Allan Houston.

Happy birthday to Allan Houston.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Houston, who has owned a home in Greenwich, turns 45 on Wednesday. The basketball player was born April 20, 1971, in Louisville, Ky.

Houston was selected in the first round and 11th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1993 NBA Draft, and he averaged 8.5 points per game in his rookie year.

In 1996 after his rookie contract expired, he signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks, playing there for the next nine seasons. He kept his scoring average at 17 points per game and helped lead the team to the 1999 NBA Finals.

His most famous play came in the decisive Game 5 of the first round of the 1999 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Miami Heat. In the fourth quarter, with the Knicks inbounding the ball and trailing by one point, Houston caught the inbounds pass, and made a running jumper in the lane with 0.8 second left on the clock to win the game and the series for the Knicks, 78-77. That was only the second time in NBA playoffs history where a No. 8 seed defeated a No. 1 team.

He was a member of the USA men's national basketball team that won the gold medal along with 11 other NBA players at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He also made the All-Star team in 2000 and 2001.

He was one of the top 3-point shooters in the NBA until a knee injury forced him to retire.

He was appointed special assistant to the General Manager and President Donnie Walsh.

He is a co-owner of the UNK NBA clothing brand along with his partner and friend David UNK Huie.

He currently spends his time helping different charities and nonprofit organizations.

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