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Guard Aided Spurs Run To NBA Title Last Season

OAKLAND, CA - The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard Craig "Speedy" Claxton to a contract, general manager Garry St. Jean announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not announced.

"We're excited to add a player of Speedy's caliber to our team," said St. Jean. "He certainly has the ability to run a club and will be a nice fit to our up-tempo style that we like to play. He has continued to develop as a player in this league and certainly played a vital role in helping San Antonio win the NBA Championship this past season."

Claxton, 25, averaged 5.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 15.7 minutes in 30 regular season games with the Spurs last season. He tallied a season-high 16 points at Detroit on April 6 and averaged 9.6 points when logging 20-plus minutes (12 times). The three-year NBA veteran was slowed during the early part of the campaign after dislocating his right shoulder in the third game of the season against Toronto (November 1). The injury forced him to miss 48 games before he returned to the active roster on February 18.

During the Spurs run to the NBA Championship, Claxton appeared in each of San Antonio's 24 playoff games, averaging 5.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 13.6 minutes. During the NBA Finals, he averaged 6.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 12.5 minutes. In Game 6 - the deciding game - of The Finals, Claxton scored 13 points in 23 minutes, helping the Spurs claim the title.

Prior to joining the Spurs, Claxton spent the previous two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. After suffering a torn left ACL in the preseason of his rookie campaign - which caused him to miss the entire 2000-01 season - Claxton returned the following year (2001-02), averaging 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.42 steals in 67 games with the Sixers. He appeared as a starter in 18 games that season with Philadelphia, averaging 12.4 points and 4.3 assists. Additionally, he led all rookies in free throw percentage (.838), ranked eighth in the NBA in steal-to-turnover ratio (1.00-to-1.00) and owned a 3.0-to-1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Overall, Claxton has averaged 6.7 points and 2.8 assists in 97 career NBA games, including 13.1 points and 5.4 assists when logging 30-plus minutes (17 times).