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Elden Jerome Campbell (born July 23, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is an American former professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Campbell played college basketball at Clemson University. During his four years at Clemson, Campbell averaged 15.3 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 2.7 blocks per game. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him with the 27th pick in the 1990 NBA Draft. On March 10, 1999 he was traded by the Lakers along with Eddie Jones to the Charlotte Hornets for Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong. Campbell played for five NBA teams during his career. His longest tenures were with the Lakers and the Hornets (while they were in Charlotte and in New Orleans); he also played with the Seattle SuperSonics and briefly for the New Jersey Nets. He spent most of the final two seasons of his career as a member of the Detroit Pistons, and was a member of their 2004 NBA Championship team. During his tenure with the Pistons, perhaps his most important contribution was playing excellent defense on star center Shaquille O'Neal in the two playoff series in which the Pistons engaged O'Neal's teams (the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat in the 2005 NBA Eastern Conference Finals); because of his enormous bulk and strength, he presented a unique challenge to O'Neal in the low post and was one of the few NBA players who could pose a serious physical challenge to O'Neal on defense. His 15-year career comprised 1,044 games, of which he started 671, and 106 playoff games, of which he started 53. In 15 seasons in the NBA, Campbell has averaged 10.3 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and 1.5 blocks per game. He is especially known for his shot-blocking ability; his 1,602 career blocks currently ranks 22nd in NBA history. He is 7'0" tall, and at the end of his career weighed as much as 280 pounds. He was sometimes known by the nickname "The Janitor," for efficiency in cleaning the glass. His size led to the nickname "Big Homey" from the Charlotte Hornets' radio broadcasting team. Campbell was also known for his class and sportsmanship although, particularly early in his career, he was accused of restricting his effort. Because of this, he was also nicknamed Elden "The Elder" Campbell.
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