by FOX Sports Net

Updated: April 13, 2008, 2:39 AM EST 11 comments

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John Salley's Best Damn trading card. (FOX Sports Net)

Salley has earned the reputation as one of the smartest and most well-rounded athletes and one of sports' best storytellers. He was named the best interview in basketball by the Associated Press three times.

The 11th pick in the 1986 NBA Draft from Georgia Tech, Salley helped lead the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back World Championships in 1989 and 1990. In 1996, Salley was used as a defensive specialist for the Chicago Bulls championship team.

In 1999, while in Hollywood to pursue his television career, Salley put a call into Phil Jackson, the new Lakers coach and Salley's former coach with the Bulls, asking for a tryout. The Lakers went on to sign Salley and win the NBA title.

Salley, no stranger to television, co-starred in NBC's "Come To Papa" and starred in "Salley's Alley" and "Showtime at Halftime," both also for NBC. He appeared as a recurring guest on "Politically Incorrect" and "The Late, Late Show" and made appearances on "The Match Game," "Hollywood Squares," "Malcolm and Eddie," "Son of a Beach" and "DAG." Most recently, Salley hosted "BET Live" for 86 episodes and served as the host of the Los Angeles morning radio show, "The John Salley Block Party" on 100.3 The Beat, KKBT-FM.

Salley has also found success on the big screen with appearances in such films as "Bad Boys" and "Bad Boys II" with Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, "The Ultimate Christmas Present" on the Disney Channel and "Eddie" with Whoopi Goldberg.

Salley founded the production company Black Folk Entertainment to develop feature films with urban-based storylines. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

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