Professional

During the 1991 NBA draft, he was rewarded the dream of his life, being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round as the 45th overall pick of the NBA draft. He was also the only draftee from a predominately Black university. When asked if he would go on to Vet School, he remarked that “every athlete dream of being drafted by a professional team, and even though I am very much interested in veterinary medicine, it would have to be put on hold while I give the NBA a shot.”
Despite a great deal of talent and high hopes, his NBA shot came to an abrupt halt before the season really got started. The season started on the 4th of November and on December 12th, the Milwaukee Bucks released him without really ever giving him a real chance to show them that he could play professional basketball at the NBA level. In fact, he played a total of 10 minutes in his initial NBA career in three games. His parents had taught him to never doubt his abilities, and as long as he knew that he could play professional basketball if given a real chance, he should follow his dream. After all, he still was young and had his college degree to fall back on. With his parent’s support, to prove to himself, if no one else, he accepted a contractual offer to play basketball in Spain. He quickly proved that he could hold his own in a professional league, though overseas. But this was not the NBA and his dream was to play professional basketball in the NBA. So he returned to the United States and quickly got a CBA contract with the Sioux Falls Continental Basketball team. There, he started in quickly where he had left off in Spain. While averaging over 20 points a game, in one game, he hit seven 3-pointers, and this caught the eye of Mr. Wayne Embry, General Manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Mr. Embry offered him a 10-day contract and at the end of this contract, he was offered another 10-day contract. Even though he still was not getting much playing time during regular games, his practice games were excellent, and because of this, he was offered a full contract for the remainder of the 1991 NBA season.
At the end of the season, he was offered a two year contract which he gladly accepted. At the end of his first full year in the NBA, his coach, Lenny Wilkins accepted a job with the Atlanta Hawks and Mike Fratella was hired to take his place. Shortly into the season, Gerald Wilkins got hurt and this gave Bobby the break he needed to play some major minutes as a NBA starter. He quickly showed that he could play with the best of the NBA players. Ironically, though he was brought in as a 3-point shooter, his main talent quickly became his defensive skills. This was probably highlighted most when he was pitted against Mr. “MJ”, yes, Michael Jordan, during a primetime Sunday NBA/NBC nationally televised game. When asked by a reporter if he was afraid to be guarding MichaelJordan, he replied “Michael Who?” He went on to say that “I am not intimidated by Michael since we both put our pants on the same way, one leg at a time.”
For the next several weeks coming up to the NBA/NBC game, his defensive skills became quite apparent and the sportscasters began to play up Bobby’s earlier comments about Michael Jordan. By the time the game Sunday rolled around, the hype was really high between the two players. During the game, Michael was held to 26 points, but only11 outside points. Bobby had 25 points and the best defensive game of his career, up to that point. When Michael was asked why he had such a difficult time shooting, he commented that “I have never been guarded that closely, Bobby can definitely play.” He said that he would always remember Bobby Phills, and they went on to become good friends. More importantly, Bobby’s career went on to blossom, and when Gerald Wilkins came off the injured list, his first string spot had been lost to Bobby Phills.
Following an outstanding three years in Cleveland, Bobby became a free agent and after failing to reach an acceptable contract with Cleveland, he entered the free agency pool and was offered a 7year contract with the Charlotte Hornets at $33 million, which he gladly accepted. This contract was the largest ever given to a Southern University Basketball player at that time, and one of the largest ever to anyone at the university. His consistent play in Charlotte gained him Team Captain honors from his team members, commensurate with his talent and leadership on and off the court. He was destined to be not only an NBA All Star, but a future NBA Hall of Famer, if not for a tragic car accident that ended his life as we know it here on earth. Even though he is not physically with us, his life lives on through the good deeds that come forth from the Foundation.
Despite the obvious successes Bobby had as a high school, college and professional basketball player, he never forgot his roots. He always found time to talk to people, especially children. He clearly recognized that he was a role model and he tried very much to live a positive life that children would want to emulate. One that was based in Christian faith, hard work, deep family values, and a love for all mankind. In 1994, he established the Bobby Phills Educational Awareness Foundation, Inc. as his way to reach out to youth and poor communities and help those that were less fortunate than he had been. He believed in hard work, scholarship and commitment to strong family unity.
These and other high values are intimately woven into this Foundation. For this reason, we invite the world to come join us in helping to keep his dream alive. A dream of giving back, of helping those that are desirous of helping themselves through hard work, scholarship and love for all mankind. Through the Foundation, his dream lives on through the good deeds we sow. Won’t you join us?