Matrix Mania Part 1 - Shawn Marion Day Begins

Last Thursday, we celebrated our own personal "Amare Day" here with a couple of posts dedicated to the Suns' beast in the middle. If you missed them, they are here and here. Today, we turn our attention to another member of the Suns' big three who makes fantasy owners everywhere smile with glee: Shawn Marion AKA The Matrix. Marion's unique and versatile game is, in my mind, every bit as important to the Suns' continued success as Nash's passes or Amare's dunks. That's hard to prove because he hardly ever misses a game, but one has only to watch him hustle from end to end making deflections and steals, defending players of all sizes, and grabbing critical rebounds when the Suns need it most to know how much Shawn would be missed if he wasn't around. Plus, he's just downright fun to watch with all of those high-flying alley-oop dunks, and his ability to appear out of nowhere to make the big play.

Like last time, this will be split into two posts. This one will include some quick facts and trivia items, and tomorrow's will be filled with YouTube videos, and anything else I can find that I think is appropriate. So, without further ado...

A Few Quick Facts about The Matrix (from Wikipedia, Marion's NBA player profile page, and other sources):

Full Name: Shawn Dwayne Marion

Birth Date: May 7, 1978 (Waukegan, Illinois)

College: UNLV

Height: 6'7"

Weight: 228lbs

Trivia:

• Was selected with the 9th pick in 1999
• The pick with which he was selected was obtained by trading Steve Nash to Dallas
• Got his Matrix nickname from TNT analyst Kenny Smith
• Wears #31 because of Reggie Miller
• Has a leg tattoo that means "The Matrix" in Japanese--and (roughly) "demon bird moth balls" in Chinese.
• Likes to watch cartoons and eat Hamburger Helper
• Is thrifty, and prefers to stay at the Holiday Inn when footing the bill himself (Jack McCallum, :07 Seconds or Less)
• Has been with the Suns longer than any other player on the roster
• Has a twin sister named Shawnett
• Was cut from his junior high team
• Is the Suns' highest paid player

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, check out this interview with Shawn's mother that Suns.com did last season.