Brandon Knight (basketball)

Brandon Knight

Knight during his tenure with the Detroit Pistons
No. 3 – Phoenix Suns
Position Point guard / Shooting guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born December 2, 1991
Miami, Florida
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
College Kentucky (2010–2011)
NBA draft 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Pro career 2011–present
Career history
2011–2013 Detroit Pistons
2013–2015 Milwaukee Bucks
2015–present Phoenix Suns
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Brandon Emmanuel Knight (born December 2, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. Knight has also previously played for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Knight won the 2009 and 2010 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year awards, becoming just the third junior to receive the award following LeBron James (2002) and Greg Oden (2005).[1]

High school career

Knight attended Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he was a two-time Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, becoming the first student-athlete from the state of Florida to earn such honor.[2] A national advisory board was composed of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the United States. This board selected Knight from more than 552,000 high school boys basketball players nationwide. Knight maintained a 4.3 grade-point average.[3]

In his junior year, he led the Panthers to their second consecutive Class 3A state title. He averaged 31.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and three steals per game during the season. Knight scored 27 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished four assists in a 60–44 win over Jones High in the state final. He beat his own school single-season record by more than 200 points, finishing with 968 points. He also set a school record with 127 three-pointers. These accomplishments contributed to Knight being named the 2009 Florida Mr. Basketball. Knight is second all-time on the scoring list for high school basketball in Florida, amassing a staggering 3,515 points from 2005–2010.

On March 4, 2010, Knight played his last high school basketball game. After injuring his groin in the state semi-finals, he led Pine Crest to the championship game seeking a third consecutive Class 3A state title, but lost 70–46 to Rickards High School of Tallahassee.[4]

Knight played in the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game in Columbus and hit the game winning three-point basket to give the West a 107–104 victory. He also played in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic in New York,[5] and earned first-team Parade All-American honors.

AAU

Knight also had a lot of success on the AAU circuit. As a sophomore, Knight's Team Breakdown won the Junior Division National Championship, which is the most competitive division in AAU. The following year, Knight formed a dominating backcourt with Kenny Boynton and Raymond Taylor, as Team Breakdown defended their title. Once Boynton graduated, Knight switched to Team STAT/Each One Teach One during 2009, joining Austin Rivers in the backcourt. Knight broke his foot in mid July during a game at the Nike Peach Jam Tournament and took the rest of the summer off to rest his foot.[6]

College recruiting

Knight was ranked as the No. 4 recruit in the class of 2010 in the ESPNU 100, and the No. 6 recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com. He considered Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse.[7]

On April 14, 2010, Knight signed an aid agreement with the University of Kentucky, not a letter of intent. Amid rumors that Kentucky coach John Calipari would jump to coach in the NBA, Knight's parents advised him to sign an aid agreement. By signing an aid agreement, the Wildcats were committed to Knight, but he was not committed to them.[8]

College career

Knight playing in a friendly exhibition game at Kentucky after his career.

On November 12, 2010, Knight made his regular season debut for Kentucky, recording 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in an 88-65 win over East Tennessee State.[9] After his first 14 games, Knight led all freshmen in the nation in scoring, averaging 18.3 points on 47% from the field and 40% from the three-point line. Impressively, Knight won SEC freshman of the week three times. In February 2011, Knight was one of ten players selected as a finalist for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award, given to the year's best point guard in college basketball.[10] He went on to earn All-SEC first team and SEC All-Freshman team honors. He was also named to the Fox Sports' All-America fifth team.[11] He led his team to an SEC championship victory and then went on to advance to the Final Four.

In April 2011, Knight declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility.[12]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Kentucky 383835.9.423.377.7954.04.2.7.217.3

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2011–2013)

On June 23, 2011, Knight was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 8th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. On February 8, 2012, he was selected to play in the 2012 Rising Stars competition; he was drafted to play for Team Shaq. On May 22, 2012, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team.[13]

On February 27, 2013, Knight scored a then career high 32 points in a 96-95 win over the Washington Wizards.[14] He went on to participate in the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend's Rising Stars Game where he recorded 10 points and 6 assists for Team Chuck.[15]

Milwaukee Bucks (2013–2015)

On July 31, 2013, Knight was traded, along with Khris Middleton and Viacheslav Kravtsov, to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for guard Brandon Jennings.[16]

On December 31, 2013, Knight scored a career high 37 points in a 94-79 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[17] On February 14, Knight took part in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and made it up until the final round before losing to Patrick Beverley.

Phoenix Suns (2015–present)

On February 19, 2015, Knight was traded, along with Kendall Marshall, to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team trade also involving the Philadelphia 76ers.[18] Two days later, Knight made his Suns debut, recording 13 points and 5 assists off the bench in a 112-107 loss to the Chicago Bulls.[19] On March 9, 2015, Knight suffered a short-term left ankle injury during a 98-80 home loss to the Golden State Warriors.[20] He returned to action on March 29 to score three points on 1-of-10 shooting against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but was then ruled out for the rest of the season in early April due to a left heel bone bruise.[21] He later underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle on April 17.[22]

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
2011–12 Detroit 66 60 32.3 .415 .380 .759 3.2 3.8 .7 .2 12.8
2012–13 Detroit 75 75 31.5 .407 .367 .733 3.3 4.0 .8 .1 13.3
2013–14 Milwaukee 72 69 33.3 .422 .325 .802 3.5 4.9 1.0 .2 17.9
2014–15 Milwaukee 52 52 32.5 .435 .409 .881 4.3 5.4 1.6 .2 17.8
2014–15 Phoenix 11 9 31.5 .357 .313 .828 2.1 4.5 .5 .1 13.4
Career 276 265 32.4 .417 .365 .796 3.5 4.5 1.0 .2 15.2

Personal

Knight is the son of Efrem and Tonya Knight.[23]

Knight is a Christian.[24][25] Knight frequently posts "TGBTG" ("To God Be The Glory") on his Twitter account.[26][27][28] Knight also has wristbands that say "TGBTG" and "Faith".[29]

References

  1. ↑ Winkeljohn, Matt (November 11, 2009). "Knight known for academics, athletics". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Brandon Knight". Reuters.com. March 31, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Brandon Knight: South Florida's Greatest Basketball Player". miamisouthpaw.blogspot.com.au. April 2, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Pine Crest falls in Knight's last game". Rivals.com. March 5, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Jordan Brand All-American Game Team Announced". SlamOnline.com. February 18, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Knight Breaks his Foot". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Brandon Knight – Basketball Recruiting – Player Profiles". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Kentucky's John Calipari wins big with verbal commitments from Brandon Knight and Michael Gilchrist". nydailynews.com. April 14, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Kentucky wakes up in 2nd half, finishes off ETSU". ESPN.com. November 12, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  10. ↑ "BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES FINAL TEN CANDIDATES FOR 2011 BOB COUSY AWARD" (PDF). CousyAward.com. February 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  11. ↑ Goodman, Jeff. "Goodman's 2010-11 All-America teams". FoxSports.com (Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC). Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Brandon Knight entering NBA draft". ESPN.com. April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  13. ↑ Brandon Knight Named to NBA All-Rookie First Team
  14. ↑ Notebook: Pistons 96, Wizards 95
  15. ↑ Team Shaq at Team Chuck
  16. ↑ "Bucks Acquire Knight, Middleton and Kravtsov from Pistons". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 31, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  17. ↑ Bucks send Lakers to sixth straight loss
  18. ↑ "Suns Acquire Brandon Knight in Three-Team Trade". NBA.com. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  19. ↑ Gasol comes up big, Bulls beat revamped Suns 112-107
  20. ↑ Brandon Knight leaves Suns-Warriors with sprained ankle, does not return
  21. ↑ Brandon Knight Is Latest Cautionary Tale for Late-Season NBA Rentals
  22. ↑ Knight Undergoes Arthroscopic Surgery on Left Ankle
  23. ↑ Brandon Knight Bio
  24. ↑ "Brandon Knight".
  25. ↑ "Vaught's Views: Family friend says Knight has his priorities straight".
  26. ↑ "Brandon Knight".
  27. ↑ "Brandon Knight".
  28. ↑ "Brandon Knight".
  29. ↑ "Brandon Knight".

External links