Where Are They Now: Steve Novak

When you think of Steve Novak, you think of guy who shoots a lot of three pointers. A LOT of three pointers. That’s because over the course of Novak’s eight-year career, about 77.5 percent of his shots have come from beyond the arc.

But it’s for good reason.

He has hit 43.2 percent of his three-point shot attempts, second only to Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors amongst active players.

Novak attended Marquette University in 2002 and joined Tom Crean and a Golden Eagles squad that reached the Final Four for the first time since 1977. The freshman was voted as the Sixth Man of the Year in Conference USA and was also selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team. Guard Dwyane Wade had most of the spotlight in Novak’s freshman season and rightfully so, but Novak had a significant impact on MU’s NCAA Tournament run.

Novak shot 56 percent (14-25 3 PT FG) from deep during that tournament, but that was just the beginning for the 6-foot-10’ forward.

Maybe the highlight of Novak’s career was on January 3, 2006, during Novak’s senior season. It was Marquette’s inaugural season in the Big East Conference, and this, the Golden Eagles’ first Big East Conference game. And they wasted no time getting acclimated. The second-ranked and title contending Connecticut Huskies were welcomed to the Bradley Center to take on the young Marquette squad headlined by a very hyped trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews.

MU went in as significant underdogs, but Novak had other ideas. The senior put on a show as he totaled a career-high 41 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 60 percent (12-20 FG) from the field and 46.1 percent (6-13 3 PT FG) from beyond the arc, helping the Golden Eagles defeat Rudy Gay’s Huskies 94-79.

Performances like these allowed Novak to get drafted with the 32nd pick in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Novak has never been a significant NBA player, but saw his largest wealth of success in 2013 with the New York Knicks when he appeared in 81 games. He played in Canada this past season with the Raptors, but was shipped to Utah in the offseason.

Novak has averaged five points and 1.4 rebounds over 414 career games, playing with Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls. Novak will most likely always have a place in the NBA with his shooting ability, but will probably continue to bounce around teams looking to spread the floor.

But one thing’s for sure, Novak will always be a Golden Eagle.