As I was playing basketball the other day, my friend brought up a name that I had not heard in a quite a while. He mentioned the name of Tony Delk, a less than spectacular NBA player. The first thought that came to mind when I heard his name was that he was the guy who scored 53 points in a game. Other than that fact, I did not know much about him. It turns out that Tony Delk had a wonderful collegiate career for the Kentucky Wildcats, while playing under Coach Rick Pitino. (Yes, the same Rick Pitino that has been going around the news lately for some less than flattering reasons). While at Kentucky, Delk was named to the All-American and All-SEC first teams, both very big honors for college players. In addition, Delk was named NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player, during a season in which his Wildcats won the National Championship. Also that season, he received SEC Player of the Year honors for being the best player in a very competitive conference. 

Following his award filled senior season at Kentucky, Tony Delk was selected 16th overall in the NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. From Charlotte, Delk bounced around to many different teams until he ended up with the Phoenix Suns by the 2001 season. There he had his memorable 53 point game against a former team, the Sacramento Kings. That night he shot 20-27 from the field, a whopping 74%. Outside of that performance, the rest of his NBA career included trades and pedestrian numbers, and he retired in 2006. Delk finished his NBA career with averages of 9.1 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, and 1.9 assists per game.

Currently Delk sponsors the Tony Delk Legends Game, a benefit for the Taylor Delk Sickle Cell Foundation.