Joseph Forte - Career Highlights

Career Highlights

After a 2-year college career at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (highlights of which included winning the 2000 ACC Rookie of the Year as well as 2001 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year) that was marked by flashes of brilliant play, he was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 21st pick in the 2001 NBA Draft (at a time when later star players Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas were still available on the guard position).

Unfortunately, his most memorable moment with the Celtics came when he wore a Scooby-Doo shirt on the sidelines during the playoffs. In two seasons with the Celtics and the Seattle SuperSonics, Forte averaged 1.2 points and 0.7 assists per game, struggling to convert from his natural shooting guard position to point guard. He was eventually waived by the Sonics due mostly to attitude and legal problems. While with the Sonics, he was arrested on gun and drug charges in Maryland, as well as an assault charge in which he allegedly punched a man in the face during a pickup game.

After being released by the Sonics, Forte could not find a roster spot in the NBA and joined the Asheville Altitude of the NBA D-League. During the summer of 2005, Forte played with Team Certified of the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park, and many say it revived his career as a star basketball player. Forte showcased his talent to New York City, led Certified to the playoffs. After the summer, he went off to Greece to play with Apollon Patras, and this past season for the Italian club Montepaschi Siena, which won the 2007 Italian championship.

In July 2007 he signed with the Russian team UNICS Kazan. In January 2008 he signed for Fortitudo Bologna with a franchise option for the following season. He was waived after only two games played and in December 2008 he joined Snaidero Udine, another Italian Serie A team. In May 2009 he asked to be waived for personal matters. On January 8, 2010, he joined Nuova Pallacanestro Pavia, an Italian LegaDue team (Italian second division).

Forte signed with Pistoia Basket of Italy on August 20, 2010 for the 2011 season. With Pistoia, he averaged 18.9 points and 3.6 assists per game in the regular season In an 82-81 loss to Fileni BPA Jesi on January 9, 2011, Forte amassed 34 points, the third-highest single-game total in team history. Forte left Pistoia after being a key component and frequent starter in the team's playoff run.

On October 6, 2011, Israeli side Ironi Ashkelon signed Forte to a one-week trial. However, Forte ultimately ended up signing with Iranian Basketball Super League team Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC for 2012. Through his first two games in league play, Forte averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game.