Xavier McDaniel (born June 4, 1963 in Columbia South Carolina), is a former NBA basketball player who, at 6'7, played small forward for the Seattle Supersonics, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and New Jersey Nets. Most opponents and fans referred to McDaniel as X or The X-Man. During his pro basketball career, McDaniel was known widely as an explosive player who could attack the rim and shoot a deadly turnaround jumper. He was also known for using his muscles to physically punish his opponent and box out for a rebound, while intimidating them at the same time with his trash talking. Following a stellar collegiate career at Wichita State, McDaniel was drafted 4th overall in the 1985 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics. In Seattle, McDaniel was part of a core built around himself, guard Dale Ellis, and center Tom Chambers. McDaniel averaged 23.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.4 spg. Together, they made noise in the Western Conference by appearing in a string of playoff series in the late 1980s. With the drafting of point guard Gary Payton and power forward Shawn Kemp in the early 1990s, the Sonics rebuilt the team around the two rising stars. McDaniel was traded during the 1990-1991 NBA season to the Phoenix Suns. immediately following the season, McDaniel was traded to the New York Knicks, where he had quite a remarkable season in 1991-1992. The Knicks had just hired coach Pat Riley, who immediately instated a rough defensive scheme that McDaniel would fit right into as well as bring the best out of teammates Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and John Starks. Though the scheme did not provide many scoring opportunites for McDaniel, which was not really necessary because of the scoring output provided by both Ewing and Starks, it did bring the best out of McDaniel on defense, where he would intimidate opponents and get many rebounding opportunitues. The Knicks rolled to the playoffs, where their defense outplayed that of the aging Detroit Pistons and challenged the defending champion Chicago Bulls. It was in the series with the Bulls that McDaniel truly shined. His intimidating defense threw Scottie Pippen's offense off the entire series. Though he and the Knicks gave the Bulls all they could handle, they eventually lost to them in seven games. Following the season, a contract dispute would prevent any chance of McDaniel's return to the Knicks. From there, his career went downward. He signed with the, then, struggling Boston Celtics and even played overseas in Europe for a few seasons. He returned to the NBA for two more years by signing with the New Jersey Nets. He retired from the NBA in 1998.
