In the storied history of the Golden State Warriors organization, many great players come to mind. Players like Stephen Curry, Rick Barry, and Chris Mullin. Still, there is one Warriors great that I feel has been overlooked. Monta Ellis was the star of the Warriors before the days of Stephen Curry and at one point was so great, Warrior fans were conflicted on who they should build around. The 12 year NBA veteran was lightning quick and a phenomenal scorer but somehow never made a single all star team despite multiple seasons averaging over 20 Points per game. Here, I will highlight the basketball journey of one of the most electrifying and underrated players in NBA history.
Monta Ellis was born October 26th, 1985 out of Jackson, Mississippi. Eliis played high school basketball for Lanier High School. He had a fantastic senior season averaging averaging 38.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists per game while leading his to 2nd state title in four years. In Ellis' four years as a starter he finished with a record of 129-16. His successful high school career led to him getting an scholarship offer from Mississippi State University but ended up foregoing college and heading straight to NBA.
Unlike high school standouts such as Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, Monta Ellis was not as fortunate to get as much draft buzz as he deserved. Ellis was not selected until the 40th pick in the 2nd round of the 2005 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. Like many second rounds picks starting their career, he did not receive much playing time only averaging 18 minutes per game. He averaged 6.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists and appeared in only 46 games and managed to start in 3 games at the very end of the regular season.
Ellis improved his game tremendously in his 2nd season improving his overall numbers by averaging 16.5 points, 4.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds per game. His improved numbers came by have considerably more time on the court as he nearly doubled his playing time averaging 34.3 minutes per game. By improving his scoring average by 9.7 points from his rookie year along with starting 53 of his 77 games played made him a runaway favorite for the NBA Most Improved Player award. He ended up making the playoffs for the first time as a eight seed and despite not finding as much opportunity in the playoffs he was still part of a historic series win. The famed "We Believe" warriors became the first eight seed to win a best of 7 series by defeating the Dallas Mavericks. Though they ended up losing in the 2nd round to the Utah Jazz the 06-07 Warriors were a major part of NBA history for their unfathomable playoff upset.
Ellis once again took a step forward in 3rd season averaging 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game. He took a more significant role as a primary scorer for the Warriors scoring 30 plus on 12 occasion including a career high 39 points against the New Jersey Nets. His excellent season came at a perfect time as it earned him a huge pay day. On July 24th 2008 Ellis resigned to the Warriors on a six-year, $66 million contract. Not long after signing the big deal he found himself in trouble due to him lying about suffering multiple injuries in a moped accident. He originally told the Warriors the injuries were due to playing pick up basketball but later came clean about the incident. He ended up being suspended for the first 30 games of the 08-09 season without pay which was the approximate number of games he was expected to miss with the injury anyway. Even after returning from suspension the 08-09 season ended up being a underwhelming season for the star guard as he ended up playing just 25 games and missed the final 7 due to an ankle injury. He still put a solid numbers in his limited games played averaging 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game.
The 2009-10 season meant the beginning of the career of the greatest shooter of all time Stephen Curry, but it was not his team yet as Ellis was the star. He averaged a career best 25.5 points per game and played 41.4 minutes per game solidifying himself as one of the best guards in the NBA. He scored a career high 45 points against the Pacers in a 126-107. Later in the season he set a new career high dropping 46 points against the Dallas Mavericks in a 110-101 loss. Ellis' incredible season was a much needed bounce back not just in his on court performance but also as a team leader. Despite being the sixth leading scorer in the NBA he did not make the all star team likely due to Warriors having a lackluster season. The Warriors finished the season a disappointing 29-53 missing the playoffs which became an unfortunate trend for the Ellis-led Warriors.
The following season, Monta Ellis and Stephen developed into an explosive backcourt combination. Though Stephen showed improvement Monta was still the star of the show continuing to lead the Warriors as the primary scoring option. He again had multiple prolific scoring night starting with the season opener. On October 27th 2010, he matched his career high of 46 points against the Houston Rockets in a 132-128 win. For the season he was once again one of the top scorers in the league at 24.1 points per game. Despite once again finishing as a top 10 scorer in the league he was once again left off the all star team. His teammates as well as opposing players felt he did not get the recognition he deserved being how talented he was. Unfortunately, his lack of recognition likely came down to his teams lack of wins as the Warriors once again missed the playoffs finishing the season with 36-46 record.
The Warriors would have a decision to make in the 2011-12 season as it was clear the duo of Curry-Ellis was not leading to wins and they would have to decide who they would build around. They would have to decide between the potential of a young Steph Curry or the dynamic elite scorer that was Monta Ellis. Even with trade rumors swirling, Ellis was still having another great season averaging 21.9 points and 6 assists per game. He achieved his career high in scoring this season dropping 48 points in a 119–116 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7th, 2012. Just a few weeks later, Monta Ellis career would change forever. On March 13th 2012, just a day after winning his second career player of the week award Monta Ellis was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. This move sent shockwaves through the Warriors fanbase as at the time the move was unpopular because of how beloved Ellis was as a player. Though Ellis did not agree with the pairing of him and Curry at first they ended up having a great relationship and took the trade in stride. He spoke with Curry telling him "its your team now", which meant a huge sign of respect between the veteran and young star.
Ellis, now a Milwaukee Buck, would make his debut against his former team on March 16th where he recorded 18 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 120–98 win. Ellis started all 21 games with the Bucks to close out the season and averaged 17.6 points per game. In his first full season as a Buck he averaged 19.2 points per game and led them to playoffs. It was his first time making the playoffs since his 2nd year with the Warriors but his team did not have the same success. The Bucks failed to win a series as they were swept by the eventual champion Miami Heat in the first round.
Ellis ended up leaving the Bucks in free agency as he signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He made his Mavericks debut on October 30th 2013 against the Atlanta Hawks where he scored 32 points and had eight assists in a 118-109 win. He would later score a season high 37 points against the division rival Houston Rockets in a 123-120 win. Overall he had another successful season starting all 82 games and averaged 19 points per game. The Dallas Mavericks made the playoffs as an eight seed and matched up with the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Ellis averaged 20.4 points per game in a competitive back and forth series that went 7 games but the Mavericks ultimately lost the series 4-3. The next season, Ellis led the Dallas Mavericks in scoring with 18.9 points per game. This was the first time since the'99-00 season a player other than Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks in scoring. The Mavericks returned to the playoffs this time as an seven seed and played the Houston Rockets in the first round. Ellis had his best playoff performance of his career as he scored a playoff career-high in a 130–128 loss in game three. For the series, he averaged 26 points per game but lost in five to the Rockets. This would end up being his last year as a Maverick as he choose to become a free agent.
For next season Ellis would once again join a new team as he signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the Indiana Pacers. He started 81 games but was no longer a primary scoring option at this point averaging just 13.8 points per game. He did manage to be a part of a playoff team as the Pacers were a seven seed and played the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, for back to back years Ellis would be part of a team that lost in decisive game 7 in the first round. Ellis averaged 11.6 points per game for the series. Ellis career would take a turn in his second season with the Pacers as he injured his groin in a game against the Portland Trailblazers on December 10th. When he made his return from injury a couple weeks later he ending up losing his starting job to Glenn Robinson III. For the season he played in 74 but made just 33 starts and averaged 8.5 points per game, his lowest scoring average since his rookie season. The Pacers made the playoffs but were swept in the first round by the Lebron-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Ellis averaged just 5.5 points per game and started in 2 out of 4 games of the series. The series marked Ellis' last appearance in the NBA as he was waived by the Pacers on July 6, 2017.
Ellis could be considered "the star that never was" as despite some incredible scoring seasons, especially during his years as a Warrior he was never properly recognized as an all star. He was often stuck with the narrative of being a good scorer on a bad team. That narrative was not just unfair but showed how underrated he was. The fact that an undersized shooting guard was able to score the ball at such a high clip should have been admired. At his best, Monta Ellis was one of the best shooting guards in the league at a time where there was a prime Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. Curry, when reflecting on his time playing with Monta Ellis said "When I got here my rookie year, he was that guy." If you grew up watching Monta Ellis get buckets like I did there is no doubt that you would agree with Steph, he really was that guy.
Source: NBA YouTube Channel
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