Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

Michael Joseph "Mike" Dunleavy, Jr. (born September 15, 1980) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. He is the son of long-time NBA player and former Los Angeles Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy.

High school

As a 1999 graduate of Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon, Dunleavy led them to the 1999 4A State Boys Basketball Championship over North Salem High School, 65–38. Dunleavy attended the University School of Milwaukee for his freshman year, and Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin for his sophomore year.

College career

Dunleavy played at Duke University from 1999–2002. As a sophomore, he played on Duke's national championship team and scored a team-high 21 points in the title game, including 3 three-pointers during a decisive 11–2 second-half Duke run. As a junior, Dunleavy was a first-team NABC All-American, averaging 17.3 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game for the 31–4 Blue Devils.^[2]

In 2001–02, Dunleavy, Jay Williams, and Carlos Boozer each scored at least 600 points for the season, a feat only matched at Duke by Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith in the 2009–10 season.^[3]

Professional career

Dunleavy was selected by the Golden State Warriors third overall in the 2002 NBA Draft.

In November 2005, the Warriors signed Dunleavy to a 5-year, $44 million contract extension. Golden State General Manager Chris Mullin said, "The way Mike performed, the way he conducted himself and the way we run our organization, we both felt it was something that we wanted." The deal has drawn criticism from fans, though, in light of the other large contracts that the Warriors franchise has signed, including Adonal Foyle and Derek Fisher. During the 2005-06 season, Dunleavy lost his starting role as small forward for a number of games, due partly to a shooting slump. He won back the starting job later in the season and was expected to start at his new position of power forward for the 2006–07 season. Some early struggles, however, prompted Warriors head coach Don Nelson to send Dunleavy back to the bench, juggling his lineup in search of better team chemistry and winning results.

On January 17, 2007, Dunleavy was dealt to the Indiana Pacers along with teammates Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, and Josh Powell.^[4] In his first full season with the Pacers, Dunleavy started all 82 games and averaged a career-high 19.1 points per game.

During the 2010-2011 season, the Indiana Pacers advanced to the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006 thanks to an end of the season win over the Washington Wizards coupled with a Charlotte Bobcats loss to the Orlando Magic. Dunleavy scored 14 points in the 136 - 112 victory.^[5] Dunleavy also ended his career playoff drought of 9 years and 624 games. He was the second active leader in this category behind former Warriors and Pacers teammate Troy Murphy, who also ended his drought as a part of the Boston Celtics. Chris Wilcox of the Detroit Pistons now holds the record.^[6]

Personal life

Dunleavy has two younger brothers: Baker, who played at Villanova from 2002–06; and James, who was a walk-on for USC. His father is Mike Dunleavy, Sr., former Los Angeles Clippers coach and retired NBA player.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

• Mike Dunleavy, Jr. at NBA.com