Theophilus Curtis Ratliff , better known as Theo Ratliff, is an American former professional basketball player who last played with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. Primarily a center, he was an excellent shot-blocker who has led the league three times in blocks per game. As of 2011, he is ranked 18th all-time in career blocks, and 13th all-time in career blocks per game. Ratliff was selected with the 18th pick of the 1995 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, for whom he played for 2½ seasons. During the 1997–98 season he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He played in Philadelphia... for three seasons, and was voted Eastern Conference starting center of the 2001 All-Star Game, but was unable to play due to injury. He was a key fixture on the 2000–01 team that made it to the NBA finals, but an injured Ratliff was dealt at the trading deadline to the Atlanta Hawks for Dikembe Mutombo. He missed most of the next season due to injury, but rebounded to post 262 blocks the next year with the Hawks. His best year as a pro was 2003–04, when he recorded a league-leading 307 blocked shots.
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