sports stars: amare stoudemire American professional basketball center and power forward for the New York Knicks

Early life and careerStoudemire was born in Lake Wales, Florida. His father, Hazell, died of a heart attack when Stoudemire was 12, and his mother, Carrie, was in and out of prison during that time.
As a result, he attended six different high schools—among them Mount Zion Christian Academy—before graduating from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida.[5] He told Isaac Perry in an article for Dime Magazine that what kept him going in that time period was God and the words of rapper Tupac Shakur.
He did not start playing organized basketball until he was 14.[6] Stoudemire only played two years of high school-level basketball, but in those two years he was named the MVP of the Nike Summer League. He committed to play at the University of Memphis, but never attended the school.
Instead, he declared for the NBA draft because of his desire to help his family quickly. The Phoenix Suns decided on him with the ninth pick in the 2002 NBA Draft due to a need for inside strength at the time. Phoenix was the only team that year to select a high school player in the first round
In his rookie season, Stoudemire averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, with a season high of 38 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 30, 2002, the highest score by a prep-to-pro player until broken a year later by LeBron James.[citation needed] Stoudemire won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, beating out Yao Ming and Caron Butler and becoming the first player drafted out of high school to win the award.
The following season, Stoudemire improved statistically,[7][8] but his team stumbled to a 29–53 record, and point guard Stephon Marbury was traded to the New York Knicks. During the summer of 2004, Stoudemire was selected to play for the eventual Bronze Medal-winning United States national team in the 2004 Summer Olympics. However, head coach Larry Brown declined to give him significant playing time[quantify].
During the 2004–05 NBA season, Stoudemire teamed up with point guard Steve Nash to lead the Suns to a 62–20 record. Averaging 26 points per game that year and achieving a new career high of 50 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 2, 2005, he was selected to his first National Basketball Association All-Star Game as a reserve forward. In the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, Stoudemire performed magnificently, averaging 37 points per game, but the Suns lost in 5 games.
On June 30, 2010, Stoudemire opted out of his contract with the Phoenix Suns, which made him an unrestricted free agent. On July 5, 2010, Stoudemire and the New York Knicks agreed in principle to a contract estimated to be worth around $99.7 million over five years.[20] On the first day that free agents were allowed to officially sign, the Knicks formally introduced Stoudemire at Madison Square Garden.[21] With the Knicks, Stoudemire was reunited with head coach Mike D'Antoni, who had coached him with the Suns. On December 15, 2010, in a loss against the Boston Celtics, Stoudemire set a franchise record with his ninth straight 30-point game.[22] On December 17, 2010, Stoudemire set a franchise record with his ninth straight game shooting 50 percent or better from the field.[citation needed] On January 27th, 2011, Stoudemire was named a starter on the Eastern Conference All Star Team alongside LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, and Dwight Howard. On February 22, 2011 the Knicks made a 3-team trade with the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves that sent Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks along with the Nuggets' starting point guard Chauncey Billups.[23] In 2011, the Knicks made the playoffs for the first time since 2004. In the first round of the playoffs, the Knicks were swept by the Boston Celtics.
Stoudemire's mother has "mentioned that somewhere back in her lineage there might be some Jewish roots".[26] In a 2010 interview, Stoudemire said: "I have been aware since my youth that I am a Hebrew through my mother, and that is something that has played a subtle but important role in my development." He visited Israel that year, saying he intended "to get a better understanding of my heritage."