Gill was born in Chicago and attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Graduating in 1986 as a senior, he led Rich Central to a second-place finish in the IHSA class AA state boys basketball tournament. Gill led his team in scoring with 54 points in the four games of the tournament finals, and was named to the six-player All-Tournament team.
After high school, Gill attended the University of Illinois. Playing four years for the Fighting Illini, he was a starter in his last three seasons. As a junior, Gill led the Fighting Illini to the 1989 Final Four before losing to Michigan on a last-second shot. Also among that fabled "Flyin' Illini" squadron were future NBA players Nick Anderson, Marcus Liberty, Kenny Battle and Illini TV/radio broadcaster Stephen Bardo as well as four-year starter Lowell Hamilton. As a senior, Gill led the Big Ten in scoring and was named a first-team All-American (UPI). He left Illinois as the seventh-leading scorer in school history. Gill's Illini earned NCAA bids each year he played. He also won the NCAA Slam Dunk championship in the Final Four his senior season.
After the 1991 addition of Larry Johnson and departure of Rex Chapman to the Washington Bullets, Gill had a breakthrough year in the 1991–92 season by averaging 20.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while shooting 46.7% from the field.
In 1993 the Hornets reached the NBA postseason for the first time in franchise history. Gill was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics during the following off-season, along with the Hornets' 1994 first-round pick, for Eddie Johnson, Dana Barros, and the SuperSonics' 1994 first-round pick. The SuperSonics, who also added Detlef Schrempf that summer, had a team led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. The SuperSonics had two first round eliminations by the Denver Nuggets in 1994 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1995. Gill returned to Charlotte for the 1995–96 season after being traded there for Hersey Hawkins and David Wingate and in January 1996 the Hornets traded Gill and Khalid Reeves to the New Jersey Nets for Kenny Anderson, who became the team's starting point guard while Bogues sat out with a knee injury that limited him to just six games for the entire season. Gill's injury limited him to 11 games in the rest of the season.
From 1996 to 2001, Gill played for the Nets, scoring a career-high 41 points on January 14, 1997,[2] helping the team reach the 1998 playoffs, and leading the league in steals in 1998–99. On April 3, 1999, Gill recorded 11 steals in a game against the Miami Heat, tying a single-game record set by Larry Kenon during the 1976–77 season. In this game, he also recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds for a rare points-rebounds-steals triple-double. Gill's final season in New Jersey, the 2000–01 season, was shortened by injury, allowing him to play in only 31 games during the season.
In his 15 seasons in the NBA, Gill played in 966 games for seven teams. He also appeared in 27 playoff games for four teams. He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1991 and went on to compile 12,914 points, 2,945 assists, and 4,002 rebounds during his career.
Personal life
Gill was raised in Matteson, Illinois.[3] He is married to Wendy Gill, and has two boys, Phoenix and Kota.
Gill was a professional boxer who had his first bout on June 25, 2005 at the age of 37.
In 1994, Gill made an appearance as himself in a Nickelodeon TV show My Brother and Me. He appeared on the January 23, 2008 edition of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes.
Gill has provided analysis during pregame and postgame shows on Comcast SportsNet Chicago for Chicago Bulls games. On March 22, 2013, Gill was suspended by Comcast SportsNet for the remainder of the 2012–13 season after a reported physical altercation with analyst Tim Doyle in the Comcast SportsNet newsroom.[5] In September 2013, Gill indicated that he was not returning to the station. However, he was rehired by Comcast SportsNet in late 2015.[6]
In 2017, Gill was signed as a free agent in the BIG3 basketball league by Power to take the place of Corey Maggette after he suffered an injury during the season.
Honors
High school
1986 – IHSA State Tournament All-Tournament Team[7]
1992 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player[8]
2008 – Honored as one of the 33 honored jerseys, which hang in the State Farm Center, to show regard for being one of the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.
2018 – Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame[10]
