Amare Stoudemire

Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire (/əˈmɑreɪ ˈstɒdəmaɪər/; born November 16, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Stoudemire played high school basketball for five different schools, ultimately graduating from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida and declaring for the NBA draft as a prep-to-pro player. He won several prep honors, including being selected as Florida's Mr. Basketball. The Phoenix Suns selected him as the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2002 NBA Draft. He would spend eight seasons with them before signing with the New York Knicks.

Listed at 6 feet 10 inches (208 cm) and 245 pounds (111 kg), the highly athletic Stoudemire has suffered from chronic knee problems, including undergoing microfracture surgery on his knees. In spite of this he won the 2003 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, made six appearances in the NBA All-Star Game, was a first-team All-NBA selection in 2007, and won a bronze medal with the United States men's national basketball team at the 2004 Olympic Games.

His off-court ventures include a record label, a clothing line, acting and a series of children's books for Scholastic Press. In addition, Stoudemire owns a significant share of the Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club.

Stoudemire's first name had previously been listed in the Phoenix Suns media guide as Amaré or Amare, but it was changed to Amar'e in October 2008. Stoudemire told NBA.com that his name had always been spelled Amar'e, but the media had been spelling it incorrectly since he joined the NBA.

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