| Jennings with the Bucks | |
| No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks | |
|---|---|
| Point guard | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | September 23, 1989 |
| Place of birth | Compton, California |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Dominguez HS (Compton, California) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 169 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA Draft | 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall |
| Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks | |
| Pro career | 2008–present |
| Career history | |
| 2008–2009 | Lottomatica Roma (Italy) |
| 2009–present | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Brandon Jennings (born September 23, 1989 in Compton, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays at point guard.
Jennings was a highly acclaimed high school player, averaging 32.7 points and 7.4 assists as a senior, and won all major player of the year awards in his senior year. After graduating from Oak Hill Academy, he decided to play professional basketball with the Italian club Lottomatica Roma instead of playing collegiately for the University of Arizona Wildcats, leading to controversy and debate on the NBA's "prep-to-pro" policy adopted in 2006. After a year in Italy, Jennings declared for the 2009 NBA Draft and was selected 10th overall by the Bucks.
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Brandon Jennings was born to Alice Knox. He has a brother named Terrence Phillips.[1]
Jennings attended Dominguez High School in Compton, California for his freshman and sophomore year. Before his junior year, Jennings transferred to powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. In his last year of high school, Jennings averaged 32.7 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game[2] and set the school record for points in a season. This performance earned him some of high school basketball’s most prestigious awards: the 2008 Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award, 2007–08 Gatorade Player of the Year (Virginia), 2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year and 2008 EA Sports Player of the Year. He led his 2006–2007 team to a 41–1 record and the top ranking in the USA Today Super 25 list of high school teams.[3] He was rated as the nation's #1 high school basketball prospect in the class of 2008 by Scout.com,[4] the #1 prospect in the ESPNU 150,[5] and the #4 prospect by Rivals.com.[6]
In August 2006, he chose to attend USC. On April 24, 2007, he decided instead to join the University of Arizona Wildcats, citing Arizona's quality academic faculty and his desire to play with Jerryd Bayless. (Bayless left after one season to enter the 2008 NBA Draft.)[7] In November 2007, SLAM Magazine’s third edition of PUNKS featured Jennings on the cover along with three other top-rated high school guards (Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Lance Stephenson).[8][9]
In June 2008, Jennings attended the premiere of Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch's basketball movie Gunnin' For That #1 Spot at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem. Also attending were Kevin Love, Lance Stephenson, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, DJ Augustin, and Adam Yauch. The film follows eight top high school players—including Jennings—from their hometowns to NYC, for the 2006 Elite 24 at Rucker Park.
In June 2008, Jennings announced that he was considering becoming the first American to skip college to play professionally in Europe. The NBA requires players to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school before entering the league, meaning that Jennings could not enter the 2008 NBA draft. Jennings declared that his goal was to play in the NBA and that playing overseas instead of at an American college could be his best route to gain experience and make money until he was eligible to join the NBA.[10]
On July 16, 2008, Jennings signed with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian Lega A.[11] The contract he signed with Roma was for $1.65 million net income guaranteed[12] and after earning the contract with Lottomatica, Under Armour gave Jennings a $2 million contract[13] to showcase their products in the Euroleague. Jennings was the first player to play for a European team rather than play for a college basketball team since the NBA's age restriction rule was implemented.
In the Italian Lega A 2008-09 season, Jennings averaged in 27 games, 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals in 17.0 minutes per game. He shot 35.1 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from 3 point range in Lega A play.[14] In 16 Euroleague games, Jennings averaged 7.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 19.6 minutes per game. In the Euroleague he shot 38.7 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from 3 point range.[15]
Jennings was selected tenth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2009 NBA Draft. He became the first player who skipped college to play professional basketball in Europe to be drafted by an NBA team. Jennings also made a notable appearance at the draft. He had initially decided not to attend the draft and preferred to be at a family function during the draft. After he was drafted by the Bucks, he left the family function and headed to Madison Square Garden. He later came out on stage after the 14th pick was announced to have his picture taken with NBA commissioner David Stern, just like all drafted players who attend the draft.[16]
During Jennings's NBA regular season debut on October 30, 2009, against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jennings recorded 17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and hit 2 three-point shots, just shy of a triple-double, and played 34 minutes. In his second game, on October 31, 2009, against the Detroit Pistons, also the debut in Bradley Center, Jennings scored 16 points during the third quarter and a team-high 24 points for the game to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their first victory of the 2009–10 regular season.
On November 14, 2009, after a scoreless first quarter, Jennings scored 29 points in the 3rd quarter against Golden State en route to a total of 55 points in the game to break the team record for most points by a rookie previously set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970. Jennings's performance was the most points scored by a rookie since Earl "The Pearl" Monroe scored 56 in 1968. He became the youngest player to ever score 55, collecting the second-highest total for a player under 21, behind only LeBron James's 56 points in March 2005, and the second-most points scored by a Milwaukee Buck (behind Michael Redd's 57 in 2006).[17] On February 2, 2010, he was selected to compete in the Skills Challenge.[18]
On October 30, 2010, Jennings recorded his first ever triple double, with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Charlotte Bobcats. On December 15, 2010, Jennings broke his left foot against the San Antonio Spurs when he came down awkwardly on his ankle.[19] Despite the injury, he played 30 minutes the following game against the Jazz. The team later confirmed that Jennings would miss the next four to six weeks as he recovered from surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot.[20] He had been averaging 18.7 points per game before the injury.[21] Jennings missed a total of 19 games with the injury before returning on January 29, 2011 in a 91-81 home victory over the New Jersey Nets.[22] He scored a season-high 37 points against the New York Knicks on March 25, 2011.[23]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Milwaukee | 82 | 82 | 32.6 | .371 | .374 | .817 | 3.4 | 5.7 | 1.3 | .2 | 15.5 |
| 2010–11 | Milwaukee | 63 | 61 | 34.4 | .390 | .323 | .809 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 1.5 | .3 | 16.2 |
| Career | 145 | 143 | 33.4 | .379 | .352 | .813 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 1.4 | .3 | 15.8 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Milwaukee | 7 | 7 | 35.6 | .408 | .293 | .808 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.1 | .6 | 18.7 |
| Career | 7 | 7 | 35.6 | .408 | .293 | .808 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.1 | .6 | 18.7 |
NBA records
Ranks 2nd in NBA history in:
Milwaukee Bucks franchise records
Rookie
Franchise
After an earthquake in Italy while he was playing there in April 2009, Jennings donated $50,000 to support victims.[24]
Jennings participated in Steve Nash's Showdown in Chinatown charity soccer match in New York City on June 24, 2010.[25]
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