Jerome Keith James (born November 17, 1975 in Tampa, Florida) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks of the NBA. James played at Florida A&M University, and was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft. Over the course of a 6 year career, he has played for the Kings, Seattle SuperSonics and New York Knicks. He has also played for the Harlem Globetrotters.

James has averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 325 career games (168 games started). Despite his huge stature and athletic ability, James has, for the most part, remained a career backup, mostly due to the alarming rate at which he is charged with personal fouls. During his tenure with Seattle, he was criticized by the media for his laziness and generally uninspired play, and found it hard to coexist with his teammates, until his last season with the Sonics, in which he started a tradition of huddling all the players together after games, win or lose, an uncommon practice in the NBA. Star guard Ray Allen became his biggest advocate on the team. James played well during the 2004-05 NBA playoffs, averaging 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 11 games against the Kings and San Antonio Spurs.

After 2004-2005 season, he signed a 5-year $30 million free-agent contract with the Knicks, a move which many believe was done solely on the basis of his playoff performance in the past season without taking his entire career into consideration. From the moment he joined the Knicks, James has been a disappointment. He arrived at his first training camp out of shape and in his first season he only averaged 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9 minutes per game. James missed much of the season due to injury and when he wasn't injured, he was frequently in the doghouse for conditioning or attitude problems. James was suspended on January 2, 2006 for not being prepared to practice.

James is often cited as one of many questionable signings done by Knicks General Manger Isiah Thomas. Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld wrote "James was universally panned as the worst free-agent signing of the summer (and in the pantheon of all-time worst.)" He is also sometimes cited as an example of the "contract year phenomenon", where an athlete with impending free agency plays at higher level than they ever have before, only to return to their normal level of play once they join their new team. Dan Zink of NJ.com wrote that "Jerome James is a nice example of the contract-year player." Chris Mannix of CNNSI.com wrote "James was a chronic underachiever who cashed in on a brief moment of excellence". He also wrote that the Knicks signing James "was a mistake before he ever took the court at Madison Square Garden. The day the Knicks announced his signing, they were universally panned by executives, experts, journalists -- really anyone with a voice box."
Source : Wikipedia