Brandon Clarke

Brandon Clarke (born September 19, 1996) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and San Jose State University Spartans men’s basketball team. He was drafted 21st overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 NBA draft and then immediately traded to the Grizzlies. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2020.

For other people with similar names, see Brandon Clark.
Brandon Clarke
Clarke with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020
No. 15 – Memphis Grizzlies
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-19) September 19, 1996
Vancouver, British Columbia
NationalityCanadian / American
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolDesert Vista
(Phoenix, Arizona)
College
NBA draft2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21st overall
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentMemphis Grizzlies
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Clarke was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to a Canadian mother and Jamaican father. At age three, Clarke moved with his family to the U.S. city of Phoenix, Arizona; he is now a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S.[1][2] He attended Desert Vista High School in Phoenix.[3] He was named All-Arizona Division 1 honoree by the Arizona Republic after leading Desert Vista to the championship game in 2015.[4]

College career

He played two seasons for the San Jose State Spartans. As a freshman he was named Mountain West Six Man of the Year by the league's head coaches after putting up 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play.

As a sophomore, he averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.3 assists on route to being named All-Mountain West First Team and Mountain West All-Defensive Team. After the season he decided to transfer to Gonzaga, where he redshirted the 2017-18 season.[5]

In his junior season at Gonzaga, Clarke continued onward with his improvements to be named the West Coast Conference's Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and be named a member of the All-WCC First Team. Clarke was the first player in WCC history to win both their Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season.[6] He was also named to the All-American Third Team by the Sporting News. On March 23, 2019, Clarke recorded a career-high 36 points alongside 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 assists in a 83–71 win over #9 seeded Baylor. He became the third player in NCAA Tournament history to record a game of 35+ points alongside 5 blocks, joining Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson as the only players to do so.[7] Clarke also broke a team record in points scored in an NCAA Tournament game, breaking a record previously set by Adam Morrison.[8]

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2019–present)

Clarke was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft with the 21st overall pick. On July 7, 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that they had officially acquired the right to Clarke from the Oklahoma City Thunder for draft right to Darius Bazley and a future second round draft pick and signed Clarke to a two-year contract worth $5,081,760.[9] With four double-doubles, he was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2019 NBA Summer League. He had 15 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in the championship game to lead Memphis to the league championship, and earned game MVP honors as well, becoming the first player in Summer League history to win both honors.[10] On October 23, 2019, Clarke made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 101–120 loss to the Miami Heat with eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block.[11] He had 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting and seven rebounds in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 19.[12] On February 25, 2020, it was announced that Clarke will be sidelined because of a right quadricep injury.[13] On September 15, 2020, Clarke was named 2019–20 NBA All-Rookie First Team by the NBA.[14] On December 16, 2020, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that they had exercised option on Clarke.[15]

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
2019–20 Memphis 58422.4.618.359.7595.91.4.6.812.1
Career 58422.4.618.359.7595.91.4.6.812.1

College
* Led NCAA Division I
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 San Jose State 31323.5.634.167.5615.61.5.71.28.8
2016–17 San Jose State 303031.9.592.333.5728.72.31.22.617.3
2017–18 Gonzaga
Redshirt
2018–19 Gonzaga 373628.1.687*.267.6948.61.91.23.116.9
Career 986927.8.639.250.6187.71.91.02.314.5

References
  1. Crumpacker, John (14 December 2018). "Brandon Clarke Bolstering Bulldogs". West Coast Conference. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  2. Gay, Carlan (July 16, 2019). "NBA Draft 2019: The world may not have known it, but Brandon Clarke has always been a proud Canadian". NBA.com. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  3. Prehm, Matt (August 24, 2017). "Oregon makes final three for big-time basketball transfer". 247Sports. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  4. "SJSUSpartans.com - Brandon Clarke Bio - San Jose State University Official Athletic Site Men's Basketball". SJSUSpartans.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  5. "Brandon Clarke -2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster - Gonzaga University". GoZags. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  6. "WCC Announces 2018-19 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  7. https://twitter.com/JeffFaraudo/status/1109628490096078849
  8. https://twitter.com/marchmadness/status/1109628219098099712
  9. "Grizzlies acquire draft rights to Brandon Clarke from Thunder Memphis trades draft rights to Darius Bazley and future second round draft pick to Oklahoma City; Grizzlies sign Clarke to multi-year contract". NBA.com. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  10. "Clarke stakes Grizzlies to summer league crown". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  11. "Butler misses Miami debut, Heat beat Grizzlies 120-101". ESPN.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  12. Taylor, Cody (December 19, 2019). "Brandon Clarke dropped a career-high 27 points in Grizzlies' collapse". Rookie Wire. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  13. "Brandon Clarke out with leg injury". grizzlybearblues.com. February 25, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  14. "Ja Morant, Zion Williamsom headline 2019-20 Kia All-Rookie First Team Tyler Herro, Rui Hachimura voted to Second Team". NBA.com. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  15. "Grizzlies exercise 2021-22 contract options on Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen". NBA.com. December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.