Ty Lawson

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Not to be confused with Ty Law.
Ty Lawson

Lawson with the Nuggets
No. 3 – Denver Nuggets
Position Point guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1987-11-03) November 3, 1987
Clinton, Maryland
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school Bishop McNamara
Oak Hill Academy
College North Carolina (2006–2009)
NBA draft 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Pro playing career 2009–present
Career history
2009–present Denver Nuggets
2011 BC Žalgiris (Lithuania)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Tywon Ronell "Ty" Lawson (born November 3, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. Lawson was drafted as the 18th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and was immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets for a future 1st round pick. Lawson played college basketball for the University of North Carolina from 2006 to 2009.

Lawson was named the ACC Player of the Year, the first time a point guard had won the ACC's highest honor since fellow Tar Heel Phil Ford won the award in 1978.

Middle school and high school

Lawson attended sixth and seventh grade at Gwynn Park Middle School in Prince George's County, Maryland.[1] In the eighth grade, he was recruited to the Newport School in Kensington, MD.[2]

Lawson attended Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland from 2003–2004. He later transferred to and graduated from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where he was a first team USA Today All-American. He participated in the McDonald's All-American Game, Jordan Classic and the Nike Hoop Summit. During Ty Lawson's senior year at Oak Hill Academy he averaged 23.8 points, 9.1 assists and five steals. His highest scoring game in high school was 55 points.

College

Lawson began playing for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2006–07 season; he wore number 5. In 38 games, he led the Tar Heels with 5.6 assists per game and was fourth with 10.2 points per game, during which time he helped the Tar Heels win a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, as well as the ACC Tournament. During his sophomore year he had 12.7 ppg and 5.3 assists per game, although he saw much less playing time due to an ankle sprain that kept him out much of the season. In spite of this nagging injury, he eventually returned to help Carolina repeat as both ACC regular season and tournament champions and ultimately earn a berth to the Final Four.[3]

He was charged with driving after drinking on June 6, 2008 by a police officer who felt that Lawson's music was too loud. He was not charged with a DWI because he was below the legal limit of .08 BAC, but still received misdemeanors due to state law prohibiting anyone under the age of 21 from driving after drinking any amount of alcohol.[4] He was also charged for driving with a suspended license.[5]

On the day of the deadline to withdraw from the June 16 2008 NBA Draft, Lawson decided to return to North Carolina for his junior season, along with Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and All-American Tyler Hansbrough, who all spurned the NBA draft to return to UNC, leaving the starters for the 2007–2008 season intact for the 2008–2009 season.[6]

Lawson was voted to the All-ACC First Team his junior year and was named the ACC Player of the Year, the first time a point guard had won the ACC's highest honor since fellow Tar Heel Phil Ford won the award in 1978.[7] Lawson was also a consensus second team all American as a junior, which makes him eligible to have his jersey honored in the rafters of the Smith Center at the conclusion of his college career. In 2009, Lawson also won the Bob Cousy Award that honors the best collegiate point guard. During the 2009 NCAA championship game, he also set a record with 8 steals against Michigan State, giving him the most steals of any player in an NCAA championship game and helping lead the Tar Heels to a national title.

On April 23, 2009 Lawson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2009 NBA Draft.[8]

College statistics

Season Averages
Season Team G PTS REB AST STL BLK FG% 3P% FT% MIN TO
2006–07 North Carolina Tar Heels 38 10.2 2.9 5.6 1.5 0.1 .500 .356 .688 25.7 2.2
2007–08 North Carolina Tar Heels 32 12.7 2.7 5.2 1.6 0.0 .515 .361 .835 25.3 2.2
2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels 35 16.6 3.0 6.6 2.1 0.1 .532 .472 .798 29.9 1.9
Totals: 105 13.1 2.9 5.8 1.8 0.1 .516 .402 .780 27.0 2.1

Professional career

NBA

Due to concerns of his height and his often-sprained ankle, Lawson slipped to 18th in the 2009 NBA Draft, where he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, they had already drafted 2 point guards, making Lawson expendable. This gave the Nuggets an opportunity to get a quality player as they traded their future draft pick to Minnesota in exchange for Lawson.[9][10] Lawson got a better opportunity in Denver, serving as a backup to then-Nugget Chauncey Billups. In a 105–79 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 13, 2009, Lawson made his Denver teammates and the Pepsi Center crowd jump up out of their seats when he dunked on then-Laker center D. J. Mbenga (7'0") and Josh Powell (6'9").

After Billups was traded to the Knicks on February 22, 2011 as part of the Carmelo Anthony trade, Lawson became the Nuggets' starting point guard. On April 9, 2011, Lawson became the first player in NBA history to make his first 10 3-point attempts to start a game. He went 10–11 from behind three-point range and finished the game with a career-high 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.[11]

After Nuggets leading scorer Danilo Gallinari was injured with a torn ACL, Lawson lead the team in points and steals. He also lead the Denver Nuggets to a franchise best record of 57-25 and the best record at home in the league. The Nuggets earned the third seed in the Western Conference but, were eliminated in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Despite an early playoff exit, Lawson's play did not go unnoticed as he averaged 21.3 points and 8 assists per game.

Europe

On August 15, 2011 he signed a one-year contract with BC Žalgiris. The deal included an out-clause that allowed him to return to the Denver Nuggets when the 2011 NBA lockout ended.[12][13] Lawson played seven Euroleague games during his stint in Kaunas, averaging 7.4 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 assists.[14]

NBA career statistics

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

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Denver 65 8 20.3 .515 .410 .757 1.9 3.1 .7 .0 8.3
2010–11 Denver 80 31 26.3 .503 .404 .764 2.6 4.7 1.0 .1 11.7
2011–12 Denver 61 61 34.8 .488 .365 .824 3.7 6.6 1.3 .1 16.4
2012–13 Denver 73 71 34.4 .461 .366 .756 2.7 6.9 1.5 .1 16.7
Career 279 171 28.9 .486 .380 .775 2.7 5.3 1.1 .1 13.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010 Denver 6 0 19.7 .429 .400 .684 1.3 2.7 1.0 .0 7.8
2011 Denver 5 5 33.4 .500 .455 .913 3.4 3.8 1.0 .2 15.6
2012 Denver 7 7 34.6 .514 .321 .632 2.6 6.0 1.0 .1 19.0
2013 Denver 6 6 39.3 .440 .190 .848 3.3 8.0 1.7 .0 21.3
Career 24 18 31.8 .475 .314 .787 2.6 5.2 1.2 .1 16.1

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nuggets rookie Lawson quick on the court, quicker with a practical joke. The Denver Post. Retrieved on 2011-04-18.
  2. ↑ DC Area Players Named PARADE All-American | DC Basketball Blog. Dcbasketball.wordpress.com (2008-12-01). Retrieved on 2011-04-18.
  3. ↑ DALY Daly, Jack. – "Roy and Ty: Working for it – Recruiting – and Practice – brings North Carolina to Final Four". – The Herald-Sun. – April 3, 2008.
  4. ↑ Ty Lawson charged with drinking, driving
  5. ↑ Tar Heels' Lawson charged with driving after consuming alcohol
  6. ↑ Tar Heel Trio Returning to School
  7. ↑ Lawson Named ACC Player Of The Year – NORTH CAROLINA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE. Tarheelblue.cstv.com (2009-03-10). Retrieved on 2011-04-18.
  8. ↑ http://basketball.about.com/b/2009/04/24/carolinas-lawson-ellington-going-pro.htm
  9. ↑ Stapleton, Arnie. Wolves trade Lawson to Denver, USA Today, June 25, 2009.
  10. ↑ Taylor, Nate. Last first-round pick delivers guard only sweep, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, June 26, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Ty Lawson scores career-high 37 to help short-handed Nuggets". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. April 9, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
  12. ↑ ZALGIRIS inks playmaker Ty Lawson
  13. ↑ "Ty Lawson taking his game to Lithuania". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011. 
  14. ↑ Lawson's Euroleague statistics

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.com
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ty Lawson.
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