| | Rolando Blackman joined ESPN as a college basketball analyst in the fall of 1997.
Selected ninth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1981 NBA draft, Blackman spent the majority of his 13-year career with the Mavs before being traded to the New York Knicks in 1992. He ended his career in New York with 17,623 points, but only after rewriting the Mavs' record books as their all-time leader in scoring (16,643), field goals made (6,487), free throws made (3,501) and minutes played (29,684).
A graduate of Kansas State University, Blackman was a member of the 1980 United States Olympic basketball team that ultimately did not compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics.
Throughout his career, Blackman has been dedicated to community service. He served as vice-president of the National Board of Directors for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and as co-chairman of the MDA Miles of Smiles Campaign from 1987 to 1992. In addition, he has worked with a number of Dallas-based organizations and has been honored by the National Basketball Players Association, the Special Olympics and the Boys and Girls Club of America. In recognition of his work, Brooklyn's Ditmas Park, where Blackman learned to play basketball, was renamed Rolando Blackman Park in 1987.
He also serves as a spokesman for the NBA TeamUp program, a league-wide initiative encouraging youth volunteerism.
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