Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

Michael Joseph Dunleavy, Jr. (born September 15, 1980) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before signing with the Bulls, Dunleavy played for the Warriors, Pacers, and Bucks. He is the son of long-time NBA player and former NBA head coach Mike Dunleavy.

High school career

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Professional career

Dunleavy with the Pacers

Golden State Warriors (2002–2007)

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.

Indiana Pacers (2007–2011)

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.^[3] In his first full season with the Pacers, Dunleavy started all 82 games and averaged a career-high 19.1 points per game.

Dunleavy in 2009 with Indiana

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.^[4] 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 Boston Celtics now holds the record.^[5]

Milwaukee Bucks (2011–2013)

Following the 2011 NBA lockout, Dunleavy signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on December 10.^[6] His best game as a Buck came on November 3, 2012 when he recorded 29 points and 12 rebounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[7]

Chicago Bulls (2013–present)

On July 10, 2013, Dunleavy signed with the Chicago Bulls,^[8] on a reported two-year deal worth about $6 million.^[9]

On April 25, 2014, Dunleavy set a playoff career-high 35 points including a franchise playoff record for most three-point field goals with 8 against the Washington Wizards in game three of their 2014 NBA Playoffs first round match-up, which the Bulls won 100-97.^[10]

Dunleavy injured his right ankle against the Denver Nuggets on January 1, 2015 and was sidelined for over a month.^[11]

On July 14, 2015, Dunleavy re-signed with the Bulls^[12] to a reported three-year, $14.4 million contract.^[13] After missing the Bulls' first 16 games of the season due to a back injury, he was ruled out for a further four-to-six weeks on December 3 due to the injury requiring additional rehabilitation.^[14] On February 1, 2016, using the flexible assignment rule, Dunleavy was assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors, the D-League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors,^[15] with the goal to practice there during the Bulls' West Coast road trip.^[16] Two days later, he was recalled by the Bulls.^[17] On February 6, Dunleavy made his season debut for the Bulls after missing the first 49 games. He played 14 minutes and scored five points in a 112–105 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[18]

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. While growing-up, Dunleavy attended a residential sports camp in Eagle River, Wisconsin called Camp Menominee. In 2008, Camp Menominee honored Mike by naming its basketball courts "The Mike Dunleavy, Jr. Courts". Many of Mike's boyhood cabin-mates attended the ceremony.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Media related to Mike Dunleavy, Jr. at Wikimedia Commons