Brian Grant's stats

Forward, #55

• Born March 5, 1972
• Attended Xavier
• Coached by Frank Hamblen, Rudy Tomjanovich

Two years before he was traded to the Lakers in July 2004, Brian Grant was one of the NBA's top rebounders and shooters. Starting all 82 games for Miami, he was fourth in the league with 10.2 rebounds a game and 10th with a field goal percentage of .509.

But Grant was unable to duplicate those numbers after he came to Los Angeles as part of the deal that sent Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat. He started just eight games with the Lakers in 2004-05, averaging 3.7 rebounds a game and a .493 shooting percentage from the field.

The 6-foot-9 forward/center, known for his dreadlocked hair and goatee, was waived by the Lakers in August 2005 and retired after one more season with Phoenix, his fifth team in 12 seasons.

In May 2009 Grant announced he had young onset Parkinson's disease. A year later he hosted a benefit in Portland and spoke to The Times’ Lisa Dillman about going public with his diagnosis.

"A lot of it had to do with pride and the fact that as an athlete you are at the top of your conditioning," Grant said. "You always feel like you’re in control of everything going on in your life, mainly your body and then being hit with a debilitating disease, that actually you're going to lose control of your body over the years.

"As I sit here and talk to you about it, my hand is tremoring. You kind of get past it and you realize, look, you’re not the only one dealing with this. There are people dealing with this. It affects their jobs, and it affects what they have to do each and every day. Man up."