Kevin Gamble - Professional Career

Professional Career

Gamble was selected with the 17th pick of the third round (63rd overall) by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1987 NBA Draft. He only played in 19 minutes with Portland before being waived on December 9, 1987.

Gamble then headed to the Continental Basketball Association for the Quad City Thunder, where he averaged 21.1 points per game (ppg) with the team in 1988. His stint was followed by an invitation to the Detroit Pistons’ rookie camp the following summer, followed by a training camp tryout with the Milwaukee Bucks later that fall. Neither team ended up signing Gamble.

Gamble then played in the Philippines for a month, where he teamed with Billy Ray Bates in the 1988 PBA Reinforced Conference for Anejo Rum. In the four games he Gamble played with Anejo, he averaged near 50 ppg. However, with a losing record, Anejo management decided to send Bates and Gamble home.

Gamble returned to the Quad City Thunder and scored 27.8 ppg in a 12-game stint with the team. Scouts from several NBA teams took notice, including the Boston Celtics, a team that at the time featured four future Basketball Hall of Famers entering the final years of their careers.

In December 1988, one of those Hall of Famers, Larry Bird was injured. Gamble was called up from the CBA and was signed the remainder of the season. Gamble played sparingly the first few months after signing his contract (not playing in 17 games), however his playing time picked up at the end of the season, with Gamble scoring at least 15 points in the final six games and hitting a season-high with 31 in the regular season finale. Gamble played in one playoff game before going down with an injury; the Celtics were swept by the Detroit Pistons in the first round.

Gamble played in 71 games the following season, 1989–1990, averaging 5.1 points in 13.9 minutes-per-game.

After seeing spot duty for two seasons, Gamble assumed a major role with Boston in 1990–91. Gamble played in every game, including 76 starts, and averaged 15.6 points (fourth on the team, behind Bird, Reggie Lewis and Kevin McHale) in 33 minutes per game and helped the Celtics to a 56–26 record and a return to first place in the Atlantic Division. His 58.7% shooting percentage was third-best in the NBA. He also placed second to Scott Skiles of Orlando in the voting for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, the closest finish in the history of the award, with a winning margin of four votes. Gamble's minutes were cut dramatically in the playoffs and he averaged just six points per game against the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons.

Gamble played in all 82 games the next season, starting 77 of them, but the Celtics were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs. He then saw his starting time drop dramatically in his final two seasons in Boston, playing in 75 games but starting only 29 in 1994. Following the season, Gamble signed a free agent contract with the Miami Heat, playing in 44 games (starting 13) before a late February 1996 trade sent him to the Sacramento Kings. With the Kings, Gamble did not start a game for the remainder of the season. He returned in 1996–97 to play in 62 games and start two, but averaged only five points a game. He did not play for the Kings in 1997–98 and was released by the team on February 20, 1998.

For his NBA career, Gamble averaged 9.5 points with a 50.2% shooting percentage, with a 36% three point percentage and making 81% of free throws. He also averaged 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 22.4 minutes per game for 649 games.